LEE - EARLS OF LICHFIELD. (Burkes Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited and Extinct Peerage, 1883)

By Letters Patent, dated 5th June, 1674.
Lineage.
The pedigree is given in Lipscombe's History of Bucks.
The family derived its surname from the lordship of Lee, in Cheshire, where resided in the time of Edward III.,
Sir Walter Lee, Knt., who was father of
Sir John Lee, of Lee Hall, who by Isabelle Dutton, his wife, was father of
John Lee; who m. Isabella, dau. of Thomas Folhurst, and had a son,
Thomas Lee, who m. Alice, dau. and heir of Sir John Aston, Knt., and was father of
John or Thomas Lee, of Lee Hall, m. Margaret, dau. of Sir Ralph Hocknel, and had issue, Thomas, his successor at Lee; John, of Aston; William and Robert, of Aston; and
Benedict Lee, who, in the reign of Edward IV., became seated at Quarendon, co. Bucks. This gentleman m. Elizabeth, dau. and heir of John Wood, Esq., of Warwick, and with other issue had a son,
Richard Lee, of Quarendon, who altered his arms to "Argent; a fess between three crescents, sa," and marrying Elizabeth , dau. and co-heir of William Sanders, Esq., of co. Oxford, had issue,
I. Robert (Sir), of Burston, co. Bucks, who was  father of Sir Anthony, of Quarendon, who was father of
Sir Henry Lee, K.G., temp. Elizabeth.
II. Benedict, of whose line we treat.
III. Roger, of Pickthorn.
IV. John, from whom the Lees of Binfield, co. Berks, derived.
The 2nd son,
Benedict Lee, Esq., of Hulcote, m. for his 2nd wife, Elizabeth, dau. of Robert Cheney, Esq., of Chesham-Boyce, co. Bucks, and was father of
Sir Robert Lee, Knt., of Hulcot, who m. Lucia, dau. of Thomas Pigot, Esq., of Beauchampton, and was father of
Sir Henry Lee, of Quarendon, co. Bucks, who was cousin and heir of the above-named Sir Henry Lee, K.G., and was knighted. In the 9th James I., A.D. 1611, this gentleman was created a Baronet. He m. Eleanor, dau. of Sir Richard Wortley, Knt., of Wortley, co. York, and was s. by his son,
Sir Francis-Henry Lee of Ditchley, co. Oxford and of Quarendon, Bucks. as 2nd baronet. This gentleman m. Anne, eldest dau. of Sir John St. John, of Lidiard-Tregoz, co. Wilts, Bart., and had two sons, Henry and Francis, successive baronets. The elder,
Sir Henry Lee, of Ditchley, co. Oxon, 3rd bart., m. Anne, dau. of Sir John Danvers, Knt. of Cornbury, co. Oxon, and by her who was heiress of the Danvers of Daunsey, in Wilts. had two daus., co-heireses.
I. Eleanor, m. James Bertie, created Earl of Abingdon.
II. Anne, m. Thomas, Marquess of Wharton.  (See that title).
Sir Henry having no male issue was s. by his brother,
Sir Francis-Henry Lee, Knt., of the Temple, London and of Ditchley, co. Qxford, 4th baronet, m. Elizabeth Pope, dau. and co-heir of Thomas, Earl of Downe, in Ireland, and by her,  (who m. 2ndly, Robert, 3rd Earl of Lindsay,) had a son and successor,
Sir Edward-Henry Lee, 5th baronet, colonel of the 1st foot guards, was elevated to the peerage by letters patent, dated 5th June, 1674, as Baron of Spellesbury, co. Oxford, Viscount Quarendon, Bucks, and Earl of Lichfield. His lordship m. Lady Charlotte Fitz-Roy, natural dau. of  King Charles II., by Barbara Villiers, Duchess of Cleveland, and had living issue,
I. Edward-Henry, col. of royal regiment of guards, who d. unm., 1713.
II. James, cap. R.N., m. Sarah, dau. of John Bagshaw, and d. in 1711, s.p.
III. Charles, d. unm., 1708.
IV. George-Henry, who s. his father.
V. Fitzroy-Henry, vice-admiral, R.N. d.s.p. in 1720.
VI. Robert, who inherited as 4th earl.
I. Charlotte, m. to Benedict Calvert, Lord Baltimore.
II. Anne, d. young
III. Elizabeth, m. 1st, to Col. Lee, and 2ndly, to Rev. Dr. Edward Young.
IV. Barbara, m. to Sir Charles Browne, Bart., of Kiddington.
The Earl of Lichfield, who refused to swear allegiance to the new government of the Revolution, d. in 1716, and was s. by his eldest surviving son,
George-Henry Lee, 2nd Earl of Lichfield., who took his seat in the House of Lords soon after his accession to the peerage. His lordship m. Frances, dau. of Sir John Hales, Bart., of St. Stephens, Tunstall, and Woodchurch, in Kent, and had issue,
I. George-Henry, his successor.
II. Edward-Henry, d. in 1742.
III. Charles-Henry. d. in 1740.
I. Charlotte, m. 26 October, 1745, Henry, 11th Viscount Dillon. Lady Charlotte became eventually heiress of her father; and her fortune was inherited by her descendants, the Viscounts Dillon. (See Extant Peerage).
II. Mary, m. to Cosmas-Henry-Joseph Nevill, Esq., of Nevill Holt, co. Leicester.
III. Frances, m. to Viscount Cornbury.
IV. Harriet, m. to John, Lord Bellew.
V. Anne, m. in 1749, to Hugh, 4th Baron Clifford, of Chudleigh.

The earl d. 13 February, 1742, and was s. by his eldest son.
George-Henry Lee, 3rd earl. This nobleman was chancellor of the university of Oxford, captain of the band of gentlemen pensioners, and custos-brevium in the Common Pleas. His lordship m. Dinah, dau. and co-heiress of Sir Thomas Frankland, 3rd baronet, of Thirkelby, co. York; but as he d.s.p. in 1772, the honours reverted to his uncle,
Robert Lee, as 4th earl, who had previously represented the city of Oxford for some time in parliament. He m. Katherine, dau. of Sir John Stonhouse, Bart., of Radley, Berks, but had no issue. His lordship d. 4 November, 1776. when the Earldom of Lichfield and minor honours became EXTINCT.

Arms – Arg., a fesse, between three crescents, sa.

Lee of Cheshire
There follows a version of the origins of the name Lee of Cheshire, with some additions and modifications, taken mainly from Lodge's Peerage;
The Lee family has its roots in the Lordship of Lee in the Parish of Wibonbury, in the county of Cheshire in England, from Sir Walter at Lee, Knight, who lived at the close of the reign of King Edward III, (who died in 1377).
His son, Sir John Lee of Lee Hall married Isabelle Dutton, and was father of
John Lee who married Isabella, dau of Thomas Folhurst, and had a son,
Thomas, who married Alice, dau and heir of Sir John Aston, Knight, and had two sons;
1. John or Thomas, who succeeded to Lee Hall, and from whom descends the family of Lee of Lee, and of Darnhall. He married Margaret, dau of Ralph Hocknel, and had Thomas, his successor at Lee, John of Aston, William and Robert, of Aston; and
2. Benedict, who in the reign of King Edward IV moved to Quarendon in the county of Bucks, changed his arms to Argent, a Fess between three crescents sable, and married Elizabeth, daughter and heir to John Wood in county Warwick, Esq., and had a son Richard.
Richard, his heir, married Elizabeth daughter of Robert Hall, and their eldest son was Sir Richard Lee (1513 - 1575) of Quarendon, Buckinghamshire, England, ancestor of the extinct Earls of Litchfield. He was knighted in 1544, and was intermittently employed as an engineer on fortifications in Scotland, particularly Berwick. He received the domain of St Albans monastery from Henry VIII. On 2 November, 1573, the Earl of Essex requested that he might go to Ireland to construct a fort near Belfast, presumably Carrickfergus. He died in 1575, and there is no indication that he had been in Ireland. He left two daughters, Anne, who married Edward Sadlier of Temple Dinsley, Herts, and Mary or Maud.
Richard and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of William Saunders of county Oxford, Esq., had three sons, Robert, Bennett, and Roger.
Sir Robert of Burton had a son Sir Anthony, whose son Sir Henry, was created Knight of the Garter (KG) by Queen Elizabeth I.
Bennett, or Benedict whose will was dated 1 July 1547, had two children, his son and heir Robert, and Mary. Robert was knighted, and his son, Henry of Quarendon, who became heir to his cousin, Sir Henry Lee, KG, was first knighted, and on 29 June 1611, was created a baronet.
Roger of Pickthorn in Bucks.
John, from whom the Lee family of Binfield county Berkshire, derived.

Sir Anthony Lee (d. 1550) of Burston and Quarendon, brother of Sir Henry Lee had the following sons;
The eldest, Sir Henry Lee or Leigh 1531/1533 - 1610/1611, was in the service of Henry VIII in 1545, was Knighted in 1553, and elected an MP for Bucks in 1558. He was a personal champion to Queen Elizabeth from 1559 to 1590. She visited him at his country house in 1592. He was Master of the Ordnance, and was made Knight of the Garter in 1597. He was a great sheep farmer and builder. When he died, his property was inherited by his cousin, Henry Lee, who was created a baronet in 1611, and who was ancestor of Sir Edward Henry Lee, First Earl of Litchfield. The family of Dillon-Lee, with a presence in co Mayo, descends from George Henry Lee, 3rd Earl of Litchfield, 1718 - 1772, chancellor of Oxford University, a descendant of Sir Henry Lee.
Another son of Sir Anthony, Henry's brother, Cromwell Lee, who died in 1601/1602, compiled the first Italian-English dictionary, which was used in manuscript form, and which still exists, and he was grandfather of Henry Lee, who settled at Craig Castle, Tipperary, in Ireland.