George Lee, 2nd Earl of Lichfield

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George Lee
Earl of Lichfield
Reign1716–1742
PredecessorEdward, 1st Earl of Lichfield
SuccessorGeorge, 3rd Earl of Lichfield
Born12 March 1690
Died15 February 1743 aged 52
Spouse(s)Frances Hales
Issue
George Henry & others
FatherEdward, 1st Earl of Lichfield
MotherCharlotte Fitzroy

George Henry Lee I, 2nd Earl of Lichfield (1690–1743) was a younger son of Edward Henry Lee, 1st Earl of Lichfield and his wife Charlotte Fitzroy, an illegitimate daughter of Charles II by his mistress, the celebrated courtesan Barbara Villiers. On 14 July 1716 George Henry Lee succeeded his father as the 2nd Earl of Lichfield.

Birth and origins[]

George was born on 12 March 1690 in St. James Park, London.[1] He was one of the ten children and the fourth of the sons of Edward Henry Lee and his wife Charlotte Fitzroy. His father was created Viscount Quarendon and Earl of Lichfield just before his marriage. George's mother was a natural daughter of Charles II and Barbara Villiers.[2]

Family tree
George Lee, 2nd Earl, with wife, parents, and other selected relatives.
Charles II
1630–1685		Barbara
Villiers
1640–1709
Edward
1st Earl
1663–1716		Charlotte
FitzRoy
1664–1718
George
2nd Earl
1690–1742		Frances
Hales
d. 1769		Robert
4th Earl
1706–1766		Catherine
Stonhouse
1708–1784
George
3rd Earl
1718–1772		Diana
Frankland
c. 1719–1779		Henry
11th
Viscount
1705–1787		Charlotte
Lee
d. 1794
Henrietta-
Maria
Phipps
1757–1782		Charles
12th
Viscount
1745–1813		Marie
Rogier
d. 1833
Legend
XXXGeorge
Lee		XXXEarls of
Lichfield		XXXViscounts
Dillon
Also see the lists of siblings and children in the text.

Early life[]

He became heir apparent when his eldest brother, Edward Henry, died in 1713 and was given the corresponding courtesy title of Viscount Quarendon.[12] On 14 July 1716 his father died and he became the 2nd Earl of Lichfield.[13]

Marriage and children[]

In about 1717 Lord Lichfield, as he was now, married Frances Hales (d. 3 February 1769), daughter of Sir John Hales, 4th Baronet of Hackington, of Woodchurch in Kent.[14]

The marriage produced at least nine children:

  1. George Henry (1718–1772), his successor;
  2. Charles Henry (c. 1719 – 1740)
  3. Frances (1721–1723)
  4. Edward Henry (c. 1723 – 1742)
  5. Frances (1724–1761), married Henry Hyde, 5th Baron Hyde;
  6. Charlotte (c. 1724 – 1794), married Henry Dillon, 11th Viscount Dillon;
  7. Henrietta or Harriet (1726–1752), married John Bellew, 4th Baron Bellew of Duleek;
  8. Mary (born c. 1728), married Cosmo Neville, Esq.; and
  9. Anne (1731–1802), married Hugh Edward Henry Clifford, 5th Baron Clifford of Chudleigh.

Later life, death and succession[]

In 1719 Lord Lichfield was one of main subscribers in the Royal Academy of Music (1719), a corporation that produced baroque opera on stage. In 1722 he built the Oxfordshire Stately home, Ditchley, designed by James Gibbs. Lichfield was educated at St John's College, Oxford and created a D.C.L. of Oxford on 19 August 1732. On 7 August 1739 he was made Custos Brevium in the Court of Common Pleas, as well as a governor of the Foundling Hospital.

Lichfield died on 15 February 1743 and was buried in Spelsbury.[15] He was succeeded by his son and namesake, George Henry Lee II.

See also[]

  • Lee Baronets of Quarendon, Buckinghamshire, 1611–1776.

References[]

  1. ^ a b Cokayne 1893, p. 75, line 23: "... [George Lee, the 2nd Earl was] b. in St. James' Park, 12 March 1689/90;"
  2. ^ Burke 1866, p. 317, right column, line 29: "His lordship [Edward Lee, 1st Earl] m. Lady Charlotte Fits-Roy, natural dau. of King CHARLES II., by Barbara Villiers, Duchess of Cleveland ..."
  3. ^ Cokayne 1893, p. 75, line 19: "EDWARD HENRY LEE, styled Viscount Quarendon, 2d but 1st surv. s. and H. ap., b. at Windsor 6 June 1681, Col. of the Royal Reg. of Guards. He d.v.p. and unm. 1713."
  4. ^ Burke 1866, p. 317, right column, line 35: "James, capt. R.N., m. Sarah, dau. of John Bagshaw, and d. in 1711, s.p."
  5. ^ Burke 1866, p. 317, right column, line 37: "Charles, d. unm. 1708."
  6. ^ Burke 1866, p. 317, right column, line 39: "Fitzroy Henry, vice-admiral R.N., d.s.p. 1720."
  7. ^ Burke 1866, p. 317, right column, line 41: "Charlotte, m. to Benedict Calvert, Lord Baltimore."
  8. ^ Burke 1866, p. 317, right column, line 42: "Anne, d. young."
  9. ^ Burke 1866, p. 317, right column, line 43: "Elizabeth, m. 1st to Col. Lee 2ndly to Rev. Dr. Edward Young."
  10. ^ Burke & Burke 1838, p. 89, right column, line 4: "The gentleman [George Browne] m. first, in 1725, Lady Barbara Lee, youngest daughter of Edward, first Earl of Lichfield and widow of Colonel Lee ..."
  11. ^ Burke 1866, p. 317, right column, line 44: "Barbara, m. to Sir Charles Browne, Bart. of Kiddington."
  12. ^ a b Cokayne 1893, p. 75, line 24: "... styled Viscount QUARENTON from 1713 till he suc. to the peerage on 14 July 1716;"
  13. ^ a b Burke 1866, p. 317, right column, line 47: "... [the 1st Earl] d. in 1716 and was s. by his eldest surviving son, GEORGE HENRY LEE, 2nd Earl ..."
  14. ^ a b Cokayne 1893, p. 75, line 26: "He [George Lee, the 2nd Earl] m. Frances, da. of Sir John HALES, 4th Bart. of Woodchurch, co Kent, by his first wife "
  15. ^ Cokayne 1893, p. 75, line 27: "He [George Lee, the 2nd Earl was] d. 15 Feb. 1742/3 and was bur. at Spelsbury."
  • Burke, John; Burke, John Bernard (1838), A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Extinct and Dormant Baronetcies of England, London: Scott, Webster and Geary
  • Burke, Bernard (1866), A Genealogical History of the Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited and Extinct Peerages of the British Empire (New ed.), London: Harrison
  • Cokayne, George Edward (1893), The complete peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, extant, extinct, or dormant, 5 (1st ed.), London: George Bell and Sons – L to M (for Lichfield)
Peerage of England
Preceded by
Edward Lee 		Earl of Lichfield
1716–1742 		Succeeded by
George Lee
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