History and genealogy of Peter Montague, of Nansemond and ...

BRANCH OF HIS SON PETER. 115
brother, William, was seated in Co. Essex. Said Benedict was the
son of John Lee and Margaret Hocknell. He was a great-great-
grandson of Sir Walter of W7
yburnbury, Co. Chester. The original
arms of all these Lees was "three leopards' heads sable, between a
chevron sable." These arms were altered by Richard Lee, a nephew
of said Benedict, to "three crescents sable, between a fess sable,"
which have remained the family arms through the generations since
that time. This Richard Lee married Anne, dau. of William
Saunders of Co. Oxford. The Va. line of Lees should be looked for
among the families who bore the fess compony and the billets, and
traced themselves to Co. Salop.
In the time of King Henry II. [1155] there was a certain Hamon
Lee, seated at High Lee, Co. Chester. His great-great-great-grandson
Robert Lee, who died 1369, was seated at Adlington, Co. Chester.
He bore on his shield "a bend counter-compony [or cheque] red and
yellow" [gules et or]. From this fact, it seems possible that the Lees
of Salop may have originally come from Co. Chester, at least, the
fess, cheque, or compony on their arms, seems to indicate it.
There were, on the ancient map, many places suggestive of Lee, in
Co. Chester. Two Lea Manors ; two Lee-Halls ; two
Manors, and a Morton Priory; Moreton-Hall ;
and
Morton
Mere-Manor;
Marton Manor, near the lake of Marten-Mere. Manors of W 7 ay-
Leigh ; Fernly-Leigh ; Matte-Leigh
and Leighton ;
Besides High-Leigh and Lea chapel.
and
a river Lee.
Col. Richard Lee came to Va. 1641. His will was made in London,
Eng., Feb. 6, 1663, proved in London Jan., 1665. In it he mentions
his wife Anna, children John, Francis, Richard, William, Hancock,
Betsey, Anne, Elizabeth and Charles.
The College of Arms has the following coat of arms :
" Lee—Gules
a fess chequy, or and azure, between eight billets argent. CoL
Richard Lee, Secretary of State in Va. A. D. 1659, descended from
the Lees in Shropshire [who sometimes bore eight billets and some-
times ten, and sometimes ye fesse counter-compone]." These arms
are found cut or engraved over the door of Col. Lee's house,
pCobbs," on the Chesapeake Bay in Va. except that there are ten
billets instead of eight. Queens College, Oxford, has a silver pint
cup, presented to the College 1658 by John Lee, son of Col. Richard,
which has the Lee family arms engraved upon it [with eight billets],
with the following inscription in Latin :