Leander Lee
Leander Lee
was born on November 15, 1908 in the Reservation, the third child of John Henry Lee and Martha Ella Taylor. He was about 12 years old when his family was uprooted from the Reservation and had to relocate.
Leander Lee
Courtesy: The Lee Family
Leander married Dallis Minkins. Together they had two sons, Garland and Junius (Pete), and two daughters, Fredonia and Frances.
Leander and Dallis purchased a home from Sears Roebuck, and family members worked together to erect it on part of the land that Leander's parents, John and Martha, purchased on Penniman Road. Leander's daughter, Fredonia Lee, continues to live in the home today.
Leander and Dallis (Minkins) Lee
Courtesy: The Lee Family
Garland Lee (Leander's son), Wilber Jackson, Mary Smith (Leander's neice), and Junius (Pete) Lee (Leander's son)
Courtesy: The Lee Family
Leander and Dallis Lee's Home on Penniman Road
Courtesy: The Lee Family
Leander pursued a career in the culinary arts and was a noted cook and chef. In 1930, he was working as an Assistant Cook at the College of William & Mary. He later was employed for many years as a chef at Camp Peary. In this oral history excerpt, descendants recall that Leander's oldest son, Garland Lee, followed in his father's footsteps by becoming a chef and was employed at the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station.
Mr. Curtis Lassiter, Mrs. Christine James, and Ms. Mary Lassiter
Source: Oral History conducted by Amy Quark and Molly Robinson, April 24, 2022, The Village Initiative Collection
Leander's displacement from the Reservation was not be his only experience with eminent domain. Leander later lost some of his land and had to move his home when Route 168 (now 143) was built. Descendants explain this experience in this oral history excerpt.
Leander Lee's family remembers how he also ran the general store that his brother, Ezekiel Lee, built in these oral history excerpts.
Mr. Curtis Lassiter, Mrs. Christine James, and Ms. Mary Lassiter
Source: Oral History conducted by Amy Quark and Molly Robinson, April 24, 2022, The Village Initiative Collection
Mr. Curtis Lassiter, Mrs. Christine James, and Ms. Mary Lassiter
Source: Oral History conducted by Amy Quark and Molly Robinson, April 24, 2022, The Village Initiative Collection
Leander Lee with his niece Mary Smith, and sister Yearda (Lee) Smith in front of the family homestead on Penniman Road
Source: The Lee Family
Leander Lee, WWII draft registration card
Courtesy: Bernie Vaughan
Source: Ancestry.com. U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.
Leander is remembered as a quiet man in this oral history excerpt from descendants Curtis Lassiter, Christine James, and Mary Lassiter.
Mr. Curtis Lassiter, Mrs. Christine James, and Ms. Mary Lassiter
Source: Oral History conducted by Amy Quark and Molly Robinson, April 24, 2022, The Village Initiative Collection
Leander Lee passed away on October 21, 1963.
Leander Lee, death certificate
Courtesy: Bernie Vaughan
Source: Ancestry.com. Virginia, U.S., Death Records, 1912-2014 [database
on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.