Ancestry of
Richard Henry Lee
Signer of the Declaration of Independence
Who was Richard Henry Lee?
Richard Henry Lee was a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses, the first legislative body of elected officials in North America. Richard, along with his brother Francis Lightfoot Lee, were signatories of both the Articles of Confederation and the Declaration of Independence as representatives of Virginia. The Articles of Confederation was an agreement among the 13 American colonies that served as the first U.S. constitution until it was replaced by the current U.S. Constitution.
Famous Kin
Richard Henry Lee was a member of the famous Lee family which is among those families referred to as the First Families of Virginia. Famous members of this family include Henry Lee III, 9th Governor of Virginia, and Henry’s son Confederate General Robert E. Lee. He has a number of fellow signers of the Declaration of Independence in his family tree including his brother Francis Lightfoot Lee, Thomas Jefferson, John Hancock, Benjamin Harrison V, Thomas Nelson, Caesar Rodney, Robert Treat Paine, Roger Sherman, William Floyd, William Ellery, William Whipple, Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, and Philip Livingston.
Richard Henry Lee’s ancestry can be traced back through direct descents from William the Conqueror, King Edward I, and a number of Magna Charta Sureties. Connections to the current royal family include Queen Elizabeth II, the late Princess Diana, and Catherine Middleton. His U.S. Presidential kin include, but is not limited to, James Madison, John Quincy Adams, William Henry Harrison, Zachary Taylor, Benjamin Harrison, Rutherford B. Hayes, Grover Cleveland, Calvin Coolidge, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Barack Obama, and both Presidents Bush.
Celebrity kin of Richard Henry Lee include actor Edward Norton, singer and songwriter Mary Chapin Carpenter, actor Brad Pitt, actress Katharine Hepburn, radio and TV host Dick Clark, actor Matt Damon, TV science guy Bill Nye, and actor Benedict Cumberbatch. Some of his historically significant kin include author and activist Helen Keller, polar explorer Admiral Richard Byrd, WWII General George S. Patton, boxing champion Muhammad Ali, explorer Meriwether Lewis, poet Robert Frost, artist Norman Rockwell and astronaut Alan Shepard.
Some of the most recently added connections of famous kin for Richard Henry Lee
George Albert Smith
8th President of the Mormon Church
17th cousin 4 times removed
via Sir William de Ros
George Albert Smith
8th President of the Mormon Church
10th cousin 7 times removed
via Sir Nicholas Harington
Elizabeth Cabot Agassiz
1st President of Radcliff College
17th cousin 1 time removed
via Sir William de Ros
Elizabeth Cabot Agassiz
1st President of Radcliff College
10th cousin 4 times removed
via Sir Nicholas Harington
Porter Goss
1st Director of the C.I.A.
19th and last Dir. of Central Intelligence
12th cousin 8 times removed
via John de Welles
Porter Goss
1st Director of the C.I.A.
19th and last Dir. of Central Intelligence
11th cousin 9 times removed
via Sir Richard Fitzalan
Porter Goss
1st Director of the C.I.A.
19th and last Dir. of Central Intelligence
13th cousin 7 times removed
via Sir Thomas de Beauchamp
Alfred Ely Beach
Co-founder & Editor, Scientific American
17th cousin 3 times removed
via Sir Geoffrey FitzPiers
Alfred Ely Beach
Co-founder & Editor, Scientific American
16th cousin 2 times removed
via Sir Roger de Somery
View entire list of famous kin for Richard Henry Lee
Please note: The family history information on FamousKin.com has been carefully researched and compiled from a wide variety of published and archival sources. Citations are provided so that readers can review and evaluate the evidence for themselves. Every effort is made to ensure accuracy, but as with any compiled genealogy, occasional errors or inherited mistakes from older sources may appear. This website is best used as a reliable secondary resource and a starting point for further research. Whenever possible, users are encouraged to confirm the details here with original records or authoritative publications. Documented corrections or updates from visitors are always welcome.