Willis Lee, Sr.

Willis Lee August 16, 1745-1776

Parents: Hancock Lee, II 1709-1762 and Mary Willis 1716-1766

Hancock Lee III came to Kentucky, accompanied by his older brother, Willis Lee and his cousin, Hancock Taylor. They arrived in Kentucky around June 1st to conduct extensive surveys for the Ohio Company. The party traveled to the buffalo crossing at the bend of the Kentucky River, where they established Leestown. The village was to endure significant problems in its formative years. Growth was slow; early settlers into Kentucky used Leestown as a stop-over on their way to Boonesboro and Harrodsburg. The settlement was plagued with the threat of Indian attacks.

Early in July of 1774, Hancock Taylor was killed during an attack and Willis Lee was wounded. Hancock Taylor made his will a few days before he died, leaving his cousin Hancock Lee, part of the lands he had surveyed in Kentucky. In April 1776, a band of Indians suddenly attacked and burned several cabins at Leestown. During this attack, Willis Lee was killed; Cyrus McCracken and Joseph Lindsey were wounded. Indian attacks continued to cause havoc on the residents and in 1777 they temporarily abandoned the Leestown settlement and relocated to Boonesboro.