Ancestry of General
Robert E. Lee
Confederate Army - U.S. Civil War
Who was Robert E. Lee?
In 1861, President Abraham Lincoln offered General Lee the opportunity to command the entire Union Army. Lee, however, chose to follow his heart which was with his home state of Virginia. When Virginia seceded from the Union, Lee went with her.
A year later General Lee was the commander of the Army of Northern Virginia and soon established himself as the greatest tactician and leader of the war. One has to wonder how different the war may have gone had Lee accepted Lincoln's offer.
One of the more interesting and ironic aspects about General Lee's ancestry is his relationship to President George Washington. It is commonly known that Robert E. Lee married Mary Custis, great-granddaughter to Martha Washington and step-great-granddaughter to George Washington.
What isn't so well known is that Robert E. Lee and George Washington were 3rd cousins, 2 times removed through their common ancestor of Augustine Warner. It is ironic how one fought so hard to create the Union while the other fought to split it in two.
Some of the most recently added connections of famous kin for General Robert E. Lee
Mary Winthrop Gooding
Prolific Mayflower Descendant
15th cousin 3 times removed
via Ralph de Stafford
Mary Winthrop Gooding
Prolific Mayflower Descendant
15th cousin 3 times removed
via Margaret de Audley
Mary Winthrop Gooding
Prolific Mayflower Descendant
19th cousin 2 times removed
via Sir Roger de Quincy
Mary Winthrop Gooding
Prolific Mayflower Descendant
17th cousin 2 times removed
via Hugh le Despencer
Mary Winthrop Gooding
Prolific Mayflower Descendant
19th cousin 1 time removed
via John de Botetourte
Mary Winthrop Gooding
Prolific Mayflower Descendant
11th cousin 3 times removed
via Sir Thomas Stanley
Mary Winthrop Gooding
Prolific Mayflower Descendant
14th cousin 1 time removed
via Sir Thomas Mowbray
View entire list of famous kin for Robert E. Lee
Please note: The ancestor reports on this website have been compiled from thousands of different sources, many over 100 years old. These sources are attached to each ancestor so that you can personally judge their reliability. As with any good genealogical research, if you discover a link to your own family tree, consider it a starting point for further research. It is always preferable to locate primary records where possible. FamousKin.com cannot and does not guarantee the accuracy and reliability of these sources.