Mr. Alexander Lee was born on December 10, 1914 in The Reservation, a community in York County. His parents, John Henry Lee and Martha Taylor Lee, had owned land in The Reservation community since shortly after the Civil War and had made a living oystering and farming. However, when the U.S. Navy took over this land following World War I to build the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station, the Lee family was among the first families moved off the land. They relocated to what is now Oak Drive in James City County.

Mr. Lee attended the James City County Training School in Williamsburg, graduating in 1933. Following his education, Mr. Lee worked as a Supervisor at the Naval Weapons Station. He married Laurestine Travers Lee, whose father, Mr. E.H. Travers, operated a garage for many years at the corner of Richmond Road and Church Street.

Family History

Mr. Lee's grandfather's family was enslaved. His grandfather, Mr. James Monroe Lee, was a carpenter who built coffins for children and those who could not afford factory-made coffins. The Lee Family's history records recall that "James Monroe Lee married Emily Byrd Minkins of upper James City County (Croaker-Toano area). Emily's first husband was traded for a grinding organ and was carried down into the deep south. It was said that he was a very big and strong man with a high temperament and was traded becuase he beat the task master." His grandfather's brother, Mr. David Lee, was a boatbuilder. During the Civil War, Mr. David Lee was taken to Boston by Union soldiers and served in the Union Army. Mr. James Monroe Lee was too young to be taken. Upon his return to York County, Mr. David Lee purchased the property in The Reservation in York County and began oystering.

Source: Bradshaw, Nancy Smith (ed.). 1993. Tales from James City County, Virginia: Oral Histories. The James City County Historical Commission, pg. 74.