Ralph Lee son of Ralph Lee as in IGI or new.familysearch

I received the following comment, at the bottom of the John D. Lee Ancestry blog. It is worth discussing since I have had others email and ask similar questions: ashes said..."Gen 3: Could Ralph Lee b. 1742 d. 1806 and married to Mary b. 1746 potentially be Ralph Lee's b. 1768 parents? I found that info on IGI and am not sure what to do with it...."

If the information for Ralph Lee and Mary in new.family search and the IGI is accurate and in a good location, it could be correct. The ages are good.

The problem is: Are the dates of the parents made up to match Ralph (Jr.'s) age or are they the actual real data? The information needs to be sourced. Even I am guilty of not sourcing in the John D. Lee's Ancestry blog! But I am working on posting why I think the information there is accurate. If you read the rest of the blogs you can see where the information came from and even scans of some of the original documents.

If the Ralph and Mary are the ones I am thinking of, they were found by my grandmother in the late 1960's. She was so excited! But I believe that when my mom and I checked it out Ralph and Mary were a generation older. I don't have good documentation for all of this. My mom was working on the Lees while I was working on the Smiths.

The Ralph Lees that I have in my PAF file from our research are: 1) Ralph Lee b. abt. 1735, died after 1810. I have him as a son of William Lee and Hannah. He was in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. We have children for him. This is info from my mom so I don't have real good sources on it. 2) Ralph Lee b. about 1685, also a son of a William Lee who also had a wife named Hannah! We figured he was not the son of Hannah, but of William's first (unknown) wife. This Ralph had two wives named Mary, the first (possibly Atkinson), the second Mary King, and a third wife named Sybella. I believe this is the one that is erroneously put as Ralph Lee's father. The temple work on this one was done pre 1970, so I think it was my grandmother who submitted it. Many of this Ralph Lee's records are found in Christ Church of Philadelphia records and History of Bucks County, PA. This Ralph is the half brother to the William Lee who is the father of the first Ralph.

There is another Ralph Lee who married a Mary. Again, this could be the one my grandmother discovered. This Ralph's information is based upon a query by Norma Griffith. This Ralph and Mary were supposed to have died in Baltimore in1783, before the end of the Revolutionary War. Ralph was supposed to have a brother whose name was unknown and Norma Griffith was looking for information on this family. This was the only reference we found about this family.

The Ralph and Mary thing needs to be looked into and either verified or discarded. If it is info my grandmother found, she is long since gone (my mom is 91!) and she won't be able to give us the source, although I do have some old letters and cards she sent me while she was searching that might give some clues.

John D. Lee's Ancestry (as we currently have it)

1st Gen: John Doyle Lee birth:. 6 Sept 1812 Kaskaskia, Randolph County, Illinois. (baptism certificate see copy in July blog titled “John D Lee’s Birth and Ralph Lee”)

Death: 23 March 1877 Mountain Meadows, Washington, Utah.

2nd Gen: John Doyle Lee's parents are:

Ralph Lee

birth: 1768 (if he was a carpenter apprentice in Baltimore, MD as JDL said he was. Verified by apprenticeship paper. See copy in July blog titled “John D Lee’s Birth and Ralph Lee” )

m. 26 February 1811 Randolph County, Illinois (Verified by marriage certificate. Copy in July blog titled “Elizabeth Doyle’s marriage to Ralph Lee and children”)

Ralph Lee’s death date and place are unknown
and Elizabeth Doyle (NOT Sarah Elizabeth Doyle. See March blog “Ralph Lee married Elizabeth Doyle Reed.”)

born. abt. 1785 in Randolph County, Illinois. (estimated. Her father was the head of a household before 1783. He came to the area in 1781, so probably married in 1782. Elizabeth’s first child was born in 1806. If she were 20 when she had her first child she was born in 1786. She needs to be born between 1783 and 1790. According to the 1810 census she is born between 1784 and 1794.Elizabeth Doyle married 1) Oliver Reed (church records say Henry Oliver Reed) no marriage date is given and no record has been found of the marriage, but their first known child was born in 4 Aug 1806 (baptism record). Estimated marriage 1805, estimated birth for Elizabeth 1785; If JDL’s info that she married her first husband in 1799 is correct, she needs to be born before 1790!

Previous information for her birthplace has been given as Nashville, Tennessee. The odds are 6/7 that this is not correct. See copy of deposition (in March blog “John Doyle married Chloe Smith”)given by her father, John Doyle, saying that he came to Illinois in 1781 and never left until the fall of 1789. Elizabeth would have to be born in Illinois unless she were born in 1790. The land that John Doyle owned was in Randolph County.

Elizabeth died in November 1815 according to court records in Randolph County. (See copy in July post “John D. Lee’s birth and Ralph Lee.”)

3rd Gen: Ralph Lee's parents are unknown. We are currently trying to get DNA samples from possible relatives to figure where to go next!

Elizabeth Doyle's parents are

John Doyle

b. 20 Sept 1760 Albemarle County, Virginia (History of Albemarle County, Revolutionary War records) (See April blog “John Doyle and John Dyal and Revolutionary Records)

m. abt. 1782 probably in Randolph County, Illinois.

If it were earlier it would have been at Ft. Jefferson or Clarksville, Lincoln County –now Livingston County- Kentucky;

d. October 1819 Randolph County, Illinois

His son-in-law, James Conner said he died about 29 October, (see deposition in March blog “John Doyle of Illinois not married to Evaline”) but I believe he died on the 20th of October. On the 21st of October James Conner is listed in court cases along with John Doyle. Previous to that John Doyle had been listed by himself.

and Chloe Smith

b. abt. 1766; Virginia, probably Bedford County.

(NOT Evaline. See March blog “John Doyle of Illinois not married to Evaline”)

The reason I have her born in 1766: In her father’s will, although she is listed as being married, she is listed with the younger unmmarried daughter, receiving like inheritance rather than with the two other daughters who are also married. Her parents were married in 1761. With children two years apart the earliest she could be born is 1766 if she is the third child. At that rate she would be 16 when she got married.

Bedford County is where her father owned land at the time.

Death after 1794 place unknown. Her daughter, Charlotte, was probably born about 1794. If Chloe died between 1789 and 1796 she didn’t die in Illinois. Charlotte said she was born near Nashville, Kentucky, so that could be where she died. No proof has been found of the Doyle family going to Davidson County, Tennessee.

Censuses showing when Charlotte was born:

CENSUS: 1810 Illinois, Randolph, John Doyle head of household 2 females 16-26 (Elizabeth and Charlotte) b. between 1784-1794

CENSUS: 1820 Illinois, Randolph, Williamsburg township, James Conner is head of household. Charlotte is 26-45, (born between 1775 and 1794.)

CENSUS: 1840 Illinois, Randolph p. 213 James Conner head of household Charlotte age 40-50. (born between 1790 and 1800)

CENSUS: 1850 Census: Illinois, Randolph, Prarie du Rocher. Page 100 line 24. dwelling #7 - family #17, Charlotte Connor age 55, female, born in Illinois. 1850 United States Federal Census. Living with daughter, Minerva Lynch and children.

Estimated birth year: abt 1795

Charlotte may have fudged on her age in her later years. She had a daughter that became 10 years younger between the first census she was on and the last census she was on!

4th Gen: John Doyle's parents are

Dennis Doyle, Jr.

b. 1732, (tombstone) (See April blog “John Doyle Ancestry”) place unknown, but between Massachusetts and Virginia;

d. 30 June 1795 (tombstone) (See April blog “John Doyle Ancestry”)

buried in Stafford County, Virginia.

and Katherine last name unknown

b. abt. 1732; (tombstone) (See April blog “John Doyle Ancestry”)

d. 25 October 1794. (tombstone) (See April blog “John Doyle Ancestry”)

Chloe Smith's parents are

Henry Smith

b. between 1734 and 1736; Virginia

In April of 1755 Henry is NOT 21. His step-father is joint in court cases until this time.

1734 BIRTH: Virginia. Henry sells land in December 1755.

1736 BIRTH: Virginia. Henry was born in 1736 according to his testimony given at court in Kaskaskia. He said he was 45 in 1781.

I put 1734. He may have forgotten or wanted to be a little younger in the court case. He was 15 to 20 years older than the rest of the people concerned in the case.

m. 26 May 1761 Bedford County Virginia; (marriage certificate) (See copy in May blog “Henry Smith’s marriages: 1) Mary Burks/Birks, 2) Margaret widow of Gideon Garrett”)

d. between 19 August 1789 and 15 Sept 1789. Killed by Indians place unknown. Will probated in Lincoln County, Kentucky.

and Mary Burks b. abt 1740 Amherst County,Virginia;

She did not need consent when she got married in 1761.

d. 1781. (See Mary’s death segment in May blog “Henry Smith’s marriages: 1) Mary Burks/Birks, 2) Margaret widow of Gideon Garrett”)

5th Gen: Dennis Doyle, Jr's parents are

Dennis Doyle, Sr

b. abt 1700 in Ireland;

m. 9 December 1731 Boston,, Massachusetts;

d. abt 1760 Albemarle County, Virginia

and Elizabeth Cunningham.

This information is from the late Stella Shamo of Hurricane, UT. Her presentation at our family reunion is included in my April blogs “John Doyle and John Dyal and Revolutionary Records” and “John Doyle Ancestry.”

Katherine's parents are unknown but she and her husband are buried in the Brent Catholic Cemetery, a small family cemetery in Stafford Co., VA.

Henry Smith's parents are

Edmond Smith

b. abt. 1710; place unknown (estimated from Henry’s birth)

m. abt. 1733; place unknown (estimated from Henry’s birth)

d. May 1746 Lunenburg County, Virginia (probate court records)

and Anne

b. abt 1714. (estimated)

Anne married William Hays/Hayes after Edmond's death and before September 1747. (Court records)

Mary Burks parents are probably

Samuel Burks, Jr.

b. abt 1704;

m. abt. 1725;

d. 1753 Albemarle County, Virginia (probate records)

and Elizabeth last name unknown

b. abt. 1709.

Mary and her sister Elizabeth’s guardian was John Peartree Burks, brother of Samuel Burks, Jr.

6th Gen: Dennis Doyle's parents in Ireland are unknown.

Elizabeth Cunningham's father is John Kunningham. (Information from Stella Shamo – see above.)

Edmond and Anne Smith's parents are unknown.

Samuel Burks, Jr.'s parents are

Samuel Burks, Sr.

b. abt. 1680;

m. abt. 1703;

d. bef. 12 Feb1756 Saint Anne's Parish, Albemarle, Virginia, (probate records)

and Mary Davis

b. abt. 1685; d. 1770.

7th Gen: * The parents of Mary Davis are
Nathaniel Davis
b. abt 1650;
m. abt 1680
and Elizabeth Hughes
b. abt 1654.

8th Gen: The parents of Nathaniel Davis were
an unknown son of 9th Gen: William Davis and Elizabeth Jonathan.

The parents of Elizabeth Hughes were
a "trader" Hughes, possibly Rice or Rees
m. abt 1650
and an Indian maiden, Nicketti.

9th Gen: There is controversy as to who Nicketti's father was, but Davises say that he was a Cayuga Chieftan and
her mother was Cleopatra (her Anglicized name), half sister of Pocahontas.

* The lineage from Mary Davis (7th Gen) back has not been proven. The information is from the Davis family tradition.