I22466: HUGH de BIGOD 3rd Earl of Norfolk (ABT 1178

Notes

"Tall, thin and aristocratic in appearance, Richard Henry Lee was a born orator. He used his hand, always wrapped in black silk due to a hunting accident, to emphasize the cadences in his remarkably musical voice. His oratory was legend - "That fine polish of language which that gentleman united with that harmonious voice so as to make me sometimes fancy that I was listening to some being inspired with more than mortal powers of embellishment" was how one observer described him. Confrontational by nature, Richard Henry possessed a fiery, rebellious spirit. These same qualities brought him fame as a leading patriot of the day and incited the wrath of his enemies. At one point, he was "outlawed" by a proclamation of English Governor Dunmore.

As a member of Virginia's House of Burgesses, Richard Henry's first bill boldly proposed "to lay so heavy a duty on the importation of slaves as to put an end to that iniquitous and disgraceful traffic within the colony of Virginia." Africans, he wrote, were "equally entitled to liberty and freedom by the great law of nature." Such words, coming as they did in 1759, have been called "the most extreme anti-slavery statements made before the nineteenth century."

"In 1765, enforcement of the Stamp Act began. In response, the Lee brothers, led by Richard Henry, rallied 115 men of Westmoreland County at Leedstown on the Rappahannock River, a few miles south of Stratford. All signed the Westmoreland Resolves, co-authored by Richard Henry. The document threatened "danger and disgrace" to anyone who paid the tax. Among the signers were Richard Henry, Thomas, Francis Lightfoot, and William Lee and the four brothers of George Washington. The signing of the Westmoreland Resolves was one of the first deliberate acts of sedition against the Crown and one that placed both Richard Henry and the state of Virginia at the vanguard of the coming revolution.

In 1768, Richard Henry proposed the systematic interchange of information between the colonies. As a result, the Committees of Correspondence were formed and became a major force uniting the Americans in their desire for independence. Receiving first-hand information on the decisions of the King and Parliament from his brothers, Arthur and William, now in London, he served as a communications commander for the colonies.

By 1774, the flames of the Revolution, so faithfully fanned by the Lees, ignited the reluctant southern colonies. The call for an inter-colonial congress was made, and Richard Henry was chosen as one of the seven-man Virginia delegation to the first Continental Congress in Philadelphia. Once there, he was able to bridge the gap between the vastly different worlds of New England and the South. At the house of his sister, Alice Lee Shippen, he strengthened the bond with John and Samuel Adams and created a long-lasting friendship that transcended divisive regionalism and helped to unite the colonies as one nation.

In the spring of 1776, Richard Henry, now joined by his brother Francis Lightfoot, took his seat in the second Continental Congress. Sensing what lay ahead, he wrote confidently to his brother William, "There never appeared more perfect unanimity among any sett of men, than among the delegates."

In three months as delegate, Richard Henry served on 18 different committees - none as important as his appointment to frame the Declaration of Rights of the Colonies, which led directly to the writing of the Declaration of Independence. On June 7, 1776, Richard Henry was accorded the well-deserved honor of introducing the bill before Congress:

...That these united Colonies are, and ought to be, fee and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance from the British crown, and than all political connection between America and State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved...
The bill was adopted on July 2 - the formal act that dissolved the ties with England. Two days later, on July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was ratified - the American Revolution became a reality."

LEE, Richard Henry, 1732-1794; Years of Service: 1789-1792 Party: Anti-Administration; LEE, Richard Henry, (brother of Arthur Lee and Francis Lightfoot Lee, and great-grandfather of Blair Lee), a Delegate and a Senator from Virginia; born at ‘Stratford,’ in Westmoreland County, Va., January 20, 1732; after a course of private instruction attended Wakefield Academy, England; returned in 1751; justice of the peace for Westmoreland County 1757; member, house of burgesses 1758-1775; Member of the Continental Congress 1774-1779; sponsor of the independence resolution; a signer of the Declaration of Independence; author of the first national Thanksgiving Day proclamation issued by Congress at York, Pa., October 31, 1777; member, State house of delegates 1777, 1780, 1785; served as colonel of the Westmoreland Militia; again a Member of the Continental Congress 1784-1785 and 1787 and served as President of the Congress in 1784; member of the Virginia convention which ratified the Federal Constitution in 1788; elected to the United States Senate and served from March 4, 1789, until his resignation October 8, 1792; served as President pro tempore during the Second Congress; retired from public life; died at his home, ‘Chantilly,’ Westmoreland County, Va., June 19, 1794; interment in the old family burying ground at ‘Mount Pleasant,’ near Hague, Westmoreland County, Va.

Bibliography: Dictionary of American Biography; Lee, Richard Henry. The Letters of Richard Henry Lee. Edited by James Ballagh. 1911-1914. Reprint. New York: Da Capo Press, 1970; Chitwood, Oliver. Richard Henry Lee, Statesman of the Revolution. Morgantown: University Library, 1967.

Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography, Volume II, I--Fathers of the Revolution: Richard Henry Lee fifth son of Thomas Lee, president of the Colonial council, and Hannah Ludwell, his wife, was born in Westmoreland county, January 26, 1732. He was schooled at Wakefield Academy, Yorkshire, England, and returning to America in his nineteenth year studied independently until 1755, when he headed a company of volunteers for service against the French and Indians, but was rebuffed by Braddock. In 1757 he was appointed a justice of the peace for Westmoreland county, and in 1758 was chosen to the house of burgesses, of which he continued a member till its expiration in 1775. In the house of burgesses he proposed "to lay so heavy a tax upon slave importation as to end that iniquitous and disgraceful traffic within the colony." In November, 1764, he served on a committee to draft an address to the King, a memorial to the house of lords and a remonstrance to the commons, and prepared the first and second of these papers. In February, 1766, he organized the Westmoreland Association, and wrote its resolutions in opposition to the Stamp Act. In 1768 he suggested in a private letter the establishment of intercolonial committees, and was one of the caucus, in 1773, that caused the adoption of the plan by the general assembly. He was elected to the first Continental Congress, 1774, and prepared its memorial to the people of British America, and wrote the address of the next Congress to the people of Great Britain. As chairman of the committee, he drew up the instructions to Washington on his assuming command of the Continental army. He was a member of the Virginia conventions of 1774, 1775 and 1776, and on June 7, 1776, in accordance with the instructions from the last convention he introduced in Congress the famous resolution: "That these United Colonies are. and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved." He received word of the serious illness of his wife, and left Philadelphia to visit her. He did not return until the Declaration had been passed and signed, and he then added his signature to that immortal instrument. He served in the Continental Congress from 1774 to 1780, and from 1784 to 1787, and was a signer of the articles of confederation in 1778. He is said to have served on nearly one hundred committees during the session of 1776-1777. When not serving in Congress, he served in the state house of delegates. He opposed the adoption of the constitution of 1787, deeming the powers granted to the Federal government as too extensive. After its ratification he served as senator, mainly for the purpose of urging certain amendments, and many of which he was instrumental in securing. After serving as senator, 1789-92, he resigned in the latter year. He was president pro tem. of the senate, April to November, 1782. He married (first) Anne Aylett, and (second) Mrs. Anne (Gaskins) Pinckard. As an orator he was only excelled by Patrick Henry, and as a leader in the revolutionary movement he stands among the first. His memoirs, political correspondence and political pamphlets were published by his grandson, Richard Henry Lee, in 1825. He died at his residence, "Chantilly," in Westmoreland county, June 19, 1794."

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Notes

David settled in Abbeville Dist. Cokesbury, SC in the 1830s and became Justice of the Peace. He then removed to AR in 1861, before the Civil War, taking all the children except dau, Caroline who had married.

David's son, Wm H. A.'s, in his ltr of 1925 stated, "All of the family are dead now but myself. neither of my brothers had any children and I am the only McCants in this state that I know of. I had four brothers in the CSA, one was killed in the battle of Antietam, the other three lived thru the war.

Two of my sisters raised families, I have three nieces and one nephew living here and near here. they are all married and have from two to five children each. My oldest sister was married when we left SC and she remained there and raised eight children. She married Mr. L. D. Connor. We lived in Cokesbury, Abbeville District."

He married Felitha A. Moore in 1830 and had seven sons and four daughters. Two daughters died in infancy, one dau, the youngest, raised a family near Lewisville, AR. the oldest dau Caroline m. Leonidas D. Conner in 1852. The seven sons d. childless.

has original letter from David W. to his brother in law Arnold, he mentions his sister Belisant. David was living in AR - he stated that his wife had died and that he had remarried.
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Maybe kin?

Household: 1880 Census
Name Relation Marital Status Gender Race Age Birthplace Occupation Father's Birthplace Mother's Birthplace
Malvina MAHONEY Self S Female W 24 AR Cook TN TN
David MCCANTS Other S Male W 18 AR Laborer TN TN
Richard DAVIS Other S Male MU 19 AR Laborer --- ---

Source Information: Census Place Spring, Jefferson, Arkansas
Family History Library Film 1254048 NA Film Number T9-0048 Page 19B

Household Record 1880 United States Census
Name Relation Marital Status Gender Race Age Birthplace Occupation Father's Birthplace Mother's Birthplace
Wooddle ROBERT Self S Male W 24 AR Farmer NC NC
Thomas MCCANTS Other S Male W 21 AR Farmer NC NC

Source Information: Census Place Spring, Jefferson, Arkansas
Family History Library Film 1254048 NA Film Number T9-0048 Page 18D

Date: Thu, 21 Aug 1997 22:31:50 -0500
To: Josephine Bass
From: [email protected]
Subject: McCants

Becky, After running thru all your McCants...I have not found my relatives. Have you any info on a William P. McCants b. ca. 1815/1821 in either SC or NC, died in AR. He married a Cynthia. They had a daughter, Minerva D. McCants b. 5 Aug 1846 in York Dist, SC . She died on 22 Aug 1915, in Jacksonville, AR. She married a Thomas Martin Adkins.

Thank you.
Nancy Parks
Phoenix, AZ

^[S11] ^[S446] ^[S1887]

My Southern Family

HUGH de BIGOD 3rd Earl of Norfolk

ABT 1178 - ABT Feb 1224

ID Number: I22466

Notes

Sources

Col. Richard Henry LEE of Chantilly

20 Jan 1732 - 19 Jun 1794

ID Number: I28721

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David Whitfield MCCANTS

6 Sep 1812 - 21 Jul 1882

ID Number: I7935

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Thomas J ROTH MINNIS

3 Dec 1846 - 3 Apr 1930

ID Number: I68899

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Linda MOORE

Virginia PITTMAN

ABT 1885 - ____

ID Number: I61162

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Georgannia Hite RANSOM

ABT 1822 - 3 Dec 1860

ID Number: I53925

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Ann ROGERS

21 Oct 1728 - Apr 1799

ID Number: I89304

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John TAYLOR

ABT 1670 - ____

ID Number: I66529

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Elizabeth WARD

ABT 1759 - BEF 1840

ID Number: I94991

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Anna WRIGHT

ABT 1750 - ____

ID Number: I76700

Sources