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Obituary · primary-source record

Major-General Charles Lee

1731 – 2 October 1782

Died 2 October 1782 at Philadelphia — Major-General formerly of the army of the United States, with a contemporary 1782 newspaper death notice

Editorially verified

At-a-glance facts

Record type

Obituary

Date of death

2 October 1782

Date of birth

1731

Place of death

Pennsylvania, United States

The obituary

Inscription transcription

Charles Lee was born in Dernhall, Cheshire, England, in 1731. He died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2 October, 1782. He was the youngest son of General John Lee, of Dernhall, and Isabella, daughter of Sir Henry Bunbury, of Stanney.

[Newspaper clipping]

AMERICA.

NEW YORK, Sept. 30. His Excellency the Commander in Chief has been pleased to appoint the Hon. Lieut. Col. Henry E. Fox, of the 58th regiment, and Lieut. Col. William Martin, of the Royal Artillery, to act as Brigadier Generals.

PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 5. Wednesday evening last departed this life, after a short illness, the Hon. Cha. Lee, Major-General in the Polish service, and formerly a Major-General in the army of the United States. He was eminently distinguished, both in Europe and America, for his extensive literary and military abilities.

By the UNITED STATES in CONGRESS assembled, October 1, 1782 [...]

The first paragraph is our archive's own death-record summary; the remainder is transcribed from the photographed newspaper clipping. The clipping is printed in eighteenth-century long-s type, transcribed here with modern 's'. Its bottom line ("By the UNITED STATES in CONGRESS assembled...") is cut off by the edge of the clipping. The clipping's Oct. 5 dateline reporting a death "Wednesday evening last" is consistent with the summary's stated death date of 2 October 1782, which fell on a Wednesday. The clipping's opening New York item on brigadier-general appointments is unrelated news retained as part of the same clipping.

People named in this record

  • Major-General Charles LeeSubject
  • General John LeeParent
  • IsabellaParent
  • Sir Henry BunburyMentioned
  • Lieut. Col. Henry E. FoxMentioned
  • Lieut. Col. William MartinMentioned

Record submitted by

From the Ancestors at Rest archive

Source & citation

Source type
Photograph & transcription
Provenance
From the Ancestors at Rest archive — founded 2004 by Brian and substantially built out across two decades by Lorine McGinnis Schulze of Olive Tree Genealogy.
Transcribed by
Ancestors at Rest archive — original contributor not recorded.
Last verified
2026-07-06
Permalink
/records/obituaries/lee-charles-1782/
Image vs transcription
The record pairs our archive's death-record summary with a photographed October 1782 newspaper clipping carrying the Philadelphia death notice; the clipping is transcribed below and its bottom line is cut off

Citation: Death record and contemporary newspaper death notice of the Hon. Charles Lee (1731–1782), Major-General formerly of the army of the United States, who died at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2 October 1782; the notice appeared under a Philadelphia, October 5 dateline. Preserved in the Ancestors at Rest archive. (https://ancestorsatrest.com/records/obituaries/lee-charles-1782/ : accessed [your access date]).

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