Page:Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography volume 4.djvu/488

 368

VIRGINIA BIOGRAPHY

Wills, of Company Eight, Virginia troops. The Wills family is of Scotch descent.

Haker Perkins Lee Jr. was born March 13, 1830, in York county, and died Sep- tember 2. 1901, in Hampton, Virginia. He studied under private tutors in his parents' home, afterward at a preparatory school in Delaware, and in the University of Virginia, where he pursued the regular law course, receiving his degree November 14, 1855. He located at Norfolk in the practice of his profession, which soon grew to be a very lucrative one. He also entered the news- ])aper field, and was editor of a newspaper in that city. At the beginning of the civil war he was among the first to respond to the * call from the state. He enlisted as a private and left Hampton in May, 1861, as lieuten- ant of a company called the "Hampton Grays," which afterward became Company E of the Thirty-second Regiment Virginia Infantry. He did brilliant service from Bull Run to the close of the struggle. He was in the battle of Big Bethel, the fights around Yorktown, and the battle of Williamsburg. Later he was made captain of Company C, and remained in command of the company until the winter of 1862-63, when the Thir- ty-second Regiment was reorganized and he was made major. In the seven days' fight around Richmond his company was con- stantly engaged and fought with great dar- ing at Malvern Hill. His regiment was with General Lee in the first Maryland campaign which ended with the battle of Sharpsburg, in which the Thirty-second Regiment lost a great many of its officers and men. Major Lee was frequently in command of his regi- ment and served with remarkable courage to the end of the war. As soon as peace was restored he went to the eastern shore, and during the dark days of reconstruction gave great service to the state. He was a fluent talker, and his eloquent voice was heard in every village and cross roads in behalf of good government by white men. In 1870 Major Lee was nominated for Con- gress by the Democrats of the second dis- trict, which at that time had a Republican majority of three to one. After. a hotly con- tested compaign, the Republican nominee was elected by a small majority. Following this Major Lee moved to Richmond, where, in conjunction with General James McDon- nell. he founded the "Industrial South," which soon became a verv influential news-

paper of the Old Dominion. He was also for some time editor of the Richmond "En- quirer," the leading Democratic journal of the state at that time, and of the Richmond "Whig." He gained distinction as a liter- ary man, and his services were sought by several monthly magazines. Some of the most clever stories of modern times came from his pen. Returning to the practice of law he located at Hampton and was very successful, his opinions valued and highly respected by people of every station of life. For two successive terms he served the state with credit as railroad commissioner, and in 1888 was appointed by President Cleveland collector of customs for the port of Newport News, and served four years. He was then elected to the Virginia legis- lature and served two terms. He was sev- eral times a candidate for Congress and was frequently mentioned for the nomination for governor, but declined to be a candidate. In 1895 he was appointed judge of the cir- cuit court, including Elizabeth City and Warwick counties, to fill an unexpired term. In the following December he was chosen by the legislature to this seat over several competitors. His administration of the of- fice was an impartial one, and his unselfish disposition and courtesy toward the bar won for him the highest encomiums. In private, as well as public life, Judge Lee was above reproach, in conversation always pleasant and genial, he was an example for emulation. He loved the Confederate sol- dier, and was ever ready to honor any of his former comrades. It is said that he "be- longed to the school of old Virginians, a class that is rapidly passing into history." He was a devout communicant of the Epis- copal church, being a member of Old St. John's Church in Hampton for many years. One of the leading Virginia papers said in his obituary : "Soldier, lawyer, journalist, jurist, orator and statesman. Judge Lee will be first and longest remembered as a man. Llis tender and gentle, though striking per- sonality was always predominant and in whatever public capacity he served his people, that public character was forgotten in the contemplation of his private virtues. He was a courtly, Christian gentleman of the old Virginia type, cultured, scholarly by instinct and education, vuiselfish, lovable, pure of heart and life. He had no enemies and his friends are numbered by thousands.