Collection Summary
Ethel Armes Collection of Lee Family Papers
1671-1936
1671-1936
MSS54304
Armes, Ethel, 1876-1945
500 items
3 containers
1.2 linear feet
English
Collection material in English
Manuscript Division, Library of Congress
Washington, D.C.
Correspondence, architectural plans,
genealogical papers, maps, legal papers, clippings, and other material assembled by
Armes in preparing her book, Stratford Hall: The Great House of
the Lees (1936).
Selected Search Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC
Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and
by occupation and listed alphabetically.
People
Armes, Ethel, 1876-1945.
Carter, Lucy Grymes Lee, 1786-1860. Lucy Grymes Lee Carter papers.
Corbin, Hannah Lee, 1728-1782. Hannah Lee Corbin papers.
Green, Duff, 1791-1875--Correspondence.
Greene Nathanael, 1742-1786--Correspondence.
Hamilton, Alexander, 1757-1804--Correspondence.
Hopkins, Cornelia Lee, 1780-1815. Cornelia Lee Hopkins papers.
Izard, Elizabeth C. (Elizabeth Carter), approximately 1774-1826. Elizabeth C.
Izard papers.
Lee family.
Lee, Ann Hill Carter, 1773-1829. Ann Hill Carter Lee papers.
Lee, Anne Robinson McCarty, 1798-1840. Anne Robinson McCarty Lee papers.
Lee, Charles Carter, 1798-1871. Charles Carter Lee papers.
Lee, Elizabeth Collins, -1858. Elizabeth Collins Lee papers.
Lee, Henry, 1756-1818. Henry Lee papers.
Lee, Henry, 1787-1837. Henry Lee papers.
Lee, Mary Randolph Custis, 1807-1873. Mary Randolph Custis Lee papers.
Lee, Richard Bland, 1761-1827. Richard Bland Lee papers.
Lee, Richard Henry, 1794-1865. Richard Henry Lee papers.
Lee, Robert E. (Robert Edward), 1807-1870. Robert E. Lee papers.
Lee, Thomas, 1690-1750. Thomas Lee papers.
Livingston, Anne Home Shippen, 1763-1841. Anne Home Shippen Livingston
papers.
Madison, James, 1751-1836--Correspondence.
Roosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin Delano), 1882-1945--Correspondence.
Shippen, Alice Lee, 1736-1817. Alice Lee Shippen papers.
Shippen, Thomas Lee, 1765-1798. Thomas Lee Shippen papers.
Shippen, William, Jr., 1736-1808. William Shippen Jr. papers.
Tyler, John, 1790-1862--Correspondence.
Washington, George, 1732-1799--Correspondence.
Subjects
Agriculture--Virginia.
Plantations--Virginia.
Slavery--Virginia.
Places
Shirley Plantation (Va.)
Stratford Hall (Va.)
United States--History--Revolution, 1775-1783.
Virginia--Social life and customs.
Titles
Lee family papers.
Acquisition Information
The Ethel Armes Collection of Lee Family Papers was given to the Library of Congress by
Armes between 1936 and 1939.
Processing History
The Ethel Armes Collection of Lee Family Papers was arranged and described in 1984 by
Jacqueline Goggin. Ciphers used by the Lees, prepared by Edmund Cody Burnett, were
transferred to the Edmund Cody Burnett Papers in 1998. The finding aid was revised in
2008 and additional revisions were made to the finding aid in 2009. The finding aid was
updated in 2023 by Maria Farmer as part of a division-wide remediation project by the
Inclusive Description Working Group.
Copyright Status
The status of copyright in the unpublished writings in the Ethel Armes Collection of Lee
Family Papers is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17,
U.S.C.).
Access and Restrictions
The Ethel Armes Collection of Lee Family Papers are open to research. Researchers are
advised to contact the Manuscript Reading Room prior to visiting. Many collections are
stored off-site and advance notice is needed to retrieve these items for research
use.
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information:
Container number, Ethel Armes Collection of Lee Family Papers, Manuscript Division,
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Scope and Content Note
The Ethel Armes Collection of Lee Family Papers consists principally of photocopies and
transcripts of documents found in other repositories. Armes collected and assembled
these in preparation for her book,
Stratford Hall: The Great House of the Lees
(1936). Materials date from 1671 to 1936 and include family correspondence of
the Lee and Shippen families pertaining mainly to life during the Revolutionary War
period. The bulk of the correspondence is that of Henry "Lighthorse Harry" Lee,
Revolutionary War general and father of Robert E. Lee, and Major Henry Lee, brother of
Robert E. Lee. Subjects detailed in the correspondence include military activities
during the Revolutionary War, politics and political appointments, financial affairs in
the colonies, agriculture, planting, and slavery in Virginia, and family life on Shirley
Plantation. Among other family members represented in the collection are Charles Carter
Lee, Richard Bland Lee, Mary Randolph Custis and Robert E. Lee, Alice Lee Shippen,
Thomas Lee Shippen, and William Shippen. One noteworthy item in the collection is a copy
of a letter from a formerly enslaved woman, Eleanor Barry to Elizabeth Collins Lee, her
previous enslaver. Duff Green, Nathanael Greene, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John
Tyler, and George Washington are among the more prominent correspondents in the
collection.
Copies of architectural plans and drawings of various Lee family estates, family
genealogies, legal papers, maps, and newspaper clippings are included in the collection.
The few original documents in the Ethel Armes Collection of Lee Family Papers consist
mainly of research notes and correspondence of Armes and pertain to her book. Of
particular interest is a letter of Franklin D. Roosevelt to Armes; Roosevelt wrote the
foreword to her book.
Arrangement of the Papers
This collection is arranged alphabetically by type of material or name of person.
Catalog Record: [https://lccn.loc.gov/mm82054304]
Container List
Container
Contents
1
Correspondence
1
Armes, Ethel (b. 1876), 1932-1936,
undated
1932-1936,
undated
1
Carter, Lucy Grymes Lee (1786-1860),
1798-1813
1798-1813
1
Corbin, Hannah Lee (1728-1782),
1759-1760
1759-1760
1
Izard, Elizabeth Byrd Carter Shippen,
1799-1824, undated
1799-1824,
undated
1
Lee, Ann Hill Carter (1773-1829),
1805-1816
1805-1816
1
Lee, Anne Robinson McCarty, 1828-1837,
undated
1828-1837,
undated
1
Lee, Charles Carter (1798-1871),
1817-1868
1817-1868
1
Lee, Cornelia (Cornelia Lee Hopkins)
(1780-1815), 1801-1808, undated
1801-1808,
undated
1
Lee, Elizabeth Collins (1747-1858), 1792,
undated
1792,
undated
1
Lee, Elizabeth Collins, 1925-1927,
undated
1925-1927,
undated
1
Lee, Henry (1756-1818)
1
1779-1816
1779-1816
1
Undated
Undated
2
Lee, Henry (1787-1837)
2
1816-1830
1816-1830
2
1831-1836
1831-1836
2
Lee, Mary Randolph Custis (1806-1873),
1834-1871, undated
1834-1871,
undated
2
Lee, Richard Bland (1761-1827),
1811-1812
1811-1812
2
Lee, Richard Henry (1794-1865),
1840
1840
2
Lee, Robert E. (1807-1870),
1840-1865
1840-1865
1
Lee, Thomas (1690-1750), 1720-1750,
undated
1720-1750,
undated
2
Shippen, Alice Lee (1736-1817), 1778,
undated
1778,
undated
2
Shippen, Nancy Lee (Anne Home Shippen
Livingston) (1763-1841), undated
undated
2
Shippen, Thomas Lee, 1783-1809
1783-1809
2
Shippen, William, 1814
1814
2
Other family correspondence, 1807-1825
1807-1825
2
General correspondence, 1753-1827,
undated
1753-1827,
undated
2
Armes, Ethel, research notes, circa
1930s
circa
1930s
2
Original documents, 1809-1895
1809-1895
2
Maps, 1671, 1775
1671, 1775
3
Architectural plans and drawings of Lee family
estates
3
Copies of title pages from books in Lee family
library
3
Lee family genealogies
3
Lee, Charles Carter, writings
3
Legal papers
3
Newspaper clippings, 1870, undated
1870,
undated
3
Transcripts of letters, 1750-1891,
undated
1750-1891,
undated