The early spellings of Lee were Lega, DeLe and Lee. All are in Doomsday Book compiled after the Conquest by the Normans in 1066.

Lancelot Lee, 11th century, was honored by William the Conqueror, and given an estate in Essex. He is the ancestor of Robert E. Lee.

Hugh Lee Sr. B: 1609 England D: 1663 Northumberland Co. Va. M: Hannah Huett B: 1616 D: 1670 or 1672. Hugh Lee Jr. B: 1650 D: 1739. M: 1673 Ann Harrison B: ?. William Lee Sr. B: 1683 D: 1759 buried Brunswick Co., Va. M: Rebecca Burchett B: ?. William Lee Jr. B: 1703 M: Ann Westbrook B: ?. David Lee B: 1740 D: 8-26-1812 Johnson Co., N.C. M: Martha Blackmon D: 1813 (Fought in Revolutionary War from North Carolina). Jesse Lee Sr. B: 3-16-1769 Sampson Co. N.C. D: 11-6-1831. M: 1st Elizabeth Blackmon B: 3-18-1769 D: 12-24-1811. M: 2nd 8-23-1812 Susannah Langston B: ?. Jesse Lee Jr. B: 1805 Sampson Co., N.C. D: 7-27-1863 Bradley Co., Ark. buried Lavillian Cemetery. M: 2-22-1824 Pheraby Bundy B: 1805 N.C. D: 1868 Bradley Co., Ark. buried in Lavillian Cemetery. James Samuel Lee B: 1827 D: 1859. M: 12-26-1846 in Troy, Ala. Naomi Jane Jones B: 1828 in S.C. D: after 1880. Jesse Britton Lee B: 1847 Pike Co., Ala. D: 1875 Bradley Co., Ark. M: 1867 Lydia Ann Grisham B: 1847 in Miss. Lonzo Lawerence Lee B: 9-2-1869 Bradley Co., Ark. D: 3-20-1959 Winn Parish, buried Transport Cemetery. M: 1st 1-11-1892 Drucilla Jordan B: ? D: 1893 Gaar's Mill, La. M: 2nd 6-18-1913 Amanda Jackson Anders B: 1-4-1889 Jackson Parish D: 5-11-1956 Winn Parish, buried Transport Cemetery. Mamie Marie Lee B: 8-18-1916 Dodson, La. Winn Parish. M: 4-3-1942 Glenn Truman Pine B: 6-9-1915 Gansville, La. Winn Parish.

As the Lee ancestors migrated from Virginia to Louisiana, wherever they settled, they became extensive landowners, slave owners, church and community builders. Several were Baptist ministers. In 1851, David and Martha Lee's grandson, Jesse Lee, became the second pastor of First Baptist Church, Shreveport, La. Two years later, for the first time, the church was hostess to the newly formed Louisiana Baptist Convention. His portrait hangs in the church.

Lonzo Lawrence was the oldest of four Lee children. His brothers were: James Josias (Jim) and Chester C. His sister was Melissa. At age six, his father, Jesse Britton, died. Jesse was a teacher in Bradley Co., Ark. at the time of his death. Lonzo's mother remarried and became Lydia Branch. She had these children: George, J. Wright, Alva, Mack L., Pink, Journ, Arthur, Docia (Webb) and Carrie (Lloyd Tugwell). About 1876 the family moved to Gaar's Mill area in Winn Parish.

As a young man growing up, Lonzo said he worked many days helping someone clear land for farming and would earn fifty cents a day. Most of the Lee and Branch children settled in the Gaar's Mill, Dodson and Winnfield areas of Winn Parish. Some settled in Jackson Parish.

Lonzo's first wife died, leaving an infant son, Hylton H.

"Jim" J. Lee married Ida Estelle Emmons and lived in Gaar's Mill. Their children were: Gertie, Jessie, Bernice, Carley and Sherwood. After the death of his first wife he married Lillie Smart.

Chester C. Lee married Nancy Walker. Their children were Culbert, Cyrus, Maggie (Charles Walsworth) and Molly. They lived in Dodson, moving later to Belcher, La.

Melissa Lee married Jim Shows. They had two daughters and lived in Tioga, La.

Lonzo L. married Amanda Anders in 1913 and settled on a farm near Dodson. In later years he became a tree farmer. They had one child, Mamie Marie. She received a B.A. degree from Louisiana College and taught in Atlanta High School from 1937 to 1942. She coached girl's basketball three of those years. Marie married Glenn Truman Pines. Their children are: Don Steven, who has two children and Cynthia Marie (Cindy) Connell, who has three children.

Lonzo was a deacon in the Dodson Baptist Church for many years and was a dedicated servant who worked to make the community a better place in which to live. He was an honest man who valued the worth of the individual. He once served as a character witness for a young man charged with murder. The young man was not convicted and later became a family man and a respectable citizen in the community.

by Marie Lee Pine

"Winn Parish Louisiana 1852-1985", pp. 184-185
published by Winn Parish Historical Society
copyright 1985