| James Ervill Lee was
born in Newton County Georgia on April 4, 1832, son to John &
Caroline Lee who prior to his birth lived in North Carolina.
Sometime ca. 1855 James had settled in the small town of Dawson
in Terrell County Georgia. Here James met and married a young lady
by the name of Sarah Cynthia and after their marriage they continued to
reside in Dawson where they would raise a family of their own.
Known children to this union in marriage were:
By 1860 James had found a job in Dawson where he worked as a "mechanic", believed to have been employed in the local railroads working on the trains. This provided James a mean to support his ever growing family, however war was on the minds of all southerners at the time. At the outbreak of the Civil War James enlisted for services with the Confederate States Army and in fact traveled all the way to Richmond, Virginia before being mustered with a company. On July 28, 1861 while in Richmond, Virginia James E. Lee was mustered into service with Company H of the 13th Georgia Volunteers. During his Confederate services James was wounded on two separate occasions and in two separate battles. On September 17, 1862 while engaged at the Battle of Antietam, James was wounded in the foot by an exploding shell, only causing slight wounds. After recovering from his slight wounds James returned to the battlefield. His second wound, a bit more serious, occurred while the company was engaged in the Battle of Spotsylvania on May 12, 1864. Some how during this engagement James was wounded in the face, which resulted in a broken jaw. Full details of his second wound are unknown. After giving his loyal and full service to the Confederacy, James was discharged on April 25, 1865 at Augusta, Georgia where he had been working at the arsenal as a "shot and shell inspector" After being discharged from his service James returned to his family back in Dawson. By 1870 James had accepted his old job back at the train yard, however he was hired back this time as a "plainer in the car shop". In this position James was likely hard at work building new train cars, which at that time were made completely of wood. By 1880 James had worked his way into a new position and was working as a "mill attendant", which was likely a boss like position. Here James learned many carpentry skills that he would later use in his life. According to James' own writing, the following year, on "November 5, 1881," James and the Lee Family moved farther south to Pasco County Florida where they arrived by covered wagon to settle in a new town. Upon arriving to Pasco County James settled on 160 acres of property where he built a home and cultivated the land in preparation for making a homestead application. By June 17, 1889 James E. Lee had received title and deed to his 160 acre homestead, which is further described as being located in section 10, township 25, range 21, just south of Dade City. Upon moving to Dade City James Lee became one of the areas leading carpenters using many of those skills that he had learned working in the train yard for many years. James E. Lee is one of the many forgotten pioneer carpenters who were responsible for much of the early construction of the original wooden structures in and around Dade City, many of which no longer stand. In 1889 the Pasco County Board of County Commissioner's decided upon James Lee as the carpenter to construct their new county courthouse. According to County Clerk J.A. Hendley, "The county commissioners let the contract to James Lee and H. C. Griffin to build it [the courthouse] for sum of seven thousand dollars; but the San Antonio boys would have none of it, and they proceeded to obtain an injunction against the county commissioners and Griffin and Lee." The injunction against Lee didn't hold and the contract was carried through with the construction of the new Pasco County Courthouse in Dade City. (click here to see the Courthouse constructed by James Lee) It was also later that same year, in 1889, that James E. Lee was also given the contract for the construction of the first Methodist Church, which was to be located on Church Street in Dade City. According to East Pasco Heritage, "The first church building was erected in 1889 by James E. Lee, pioneer from Dawson, Ga., who had arrived with his family in a covered wagon in October, 1881. The first wedding held in the new church building was that of his daughter, Annie Elizabeth Lee, who became the bride of Simeon F. Huckabay in October, 1889." (click here to see the Methodist Church constructed by James E. Lee) While not yet confirmed its believed that James Lee also had part in the construction of many of the early schools in and around the Dade City area. On March 31, 1897, at the age of 60, Sarah Cynthia Lee succumbed to death and passed away leaving James a widower. Shortly after and sometime at the turn of the century, at the age of 68, James became a member in good standing with the Confederate Veteran Camp No. 57 in Dade City. Here James was among loyal friends who had served with the Confederacy in the Civil War. The Veterans of Confederate Camp No. 57 were dedicated to their community and were proud to be Confederate Civil War Veterans. On August 13, 1917, ten years after his wife died, James Lee passed away while at his home in Dade City. James was interred in the Dade City Cemetery along side of his wife, here his family erected a headstone to his memory; which still stands today. James E. Lee should certainly be remembered as one of Dade City's and Pasco County's pioneer carpenters and for building many of our early structures. (Research by Jeff Cannon- Copyright © 2008) |