Recognized by the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) as a female patriot who submitted a war claim for furnishing supplies to the troops.
-------
From my book, Hannah! published in 2020:
FACTORS MAKING HANNAH UNIQUE
"Hannah Lee Corbin Hall deserves to be remembered".
Rees Watkins in The Virginia Baptist Register, No. 28, 1989
This book about Hannah will, of course, be primarily about her but it is important to examine the factors that made her unique. There are several purposes for this book but mainly it is hoped that the readers and researchers will be stimulated to continue adding to the information found in Hannah! Hopefully, this will have the result of helping her assume a greater place in the stage of historical and memorable figures.
Why did Hannah Lee become so unconventional and march to a different drum? Certainly, when one compares the events in her life that are known, by no stretch of the imagination did this woman follow the usual role of wealthy matrons and widows of her era. The author is grateful to Rees Watkins and the Virginia Baptist Historical Society despite their errors, for their statements such as "Hannah Lee Corbin Hall deserves to be remembered". After alluding to her famous five brothers and even to her sister Alice, this article goes on to state "Hannah simply got lost in the shuffle and has been referred to as "the forgotten Lee". During these times when the accomplishments of women are being given a second look, it seems timely to take this courageous, fearless woman off the forgotten list. She would have been unusual in any era but in her own day she was unique".
She started her life as a wealthy, privileged individual and she certainly had more education than the vast majority of young ladies of her class. This was undoubtedly largely due to her father Thomas Lee who apparently felt deprived of the classic education when compared to his peers. It is known that Thomas Lee spent his later years teaching himself Latin and Greek. His father Richard Lee II known as "the Scholar" was also noted for his erudition. But by contrast, Thomas Lee as the fourth son of "the Scholar" did not have the advantage of the schooling abroad (primarily England) of his three older brothers which will be seen in his section. This is why he took such pains to teach himself Latin and Greek in later life and it is likely that this influenced him to spare no effort to have private tutors in the personages of Reverend David Currie (later rector of a Lancaster County parish) and Reverend William Douglas (who later taught Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe) for his children. There are no references by Hannah, her parents or siblings to the amount of instruction that Hannah had by Reverend Currie and these exposures helped further Hannah's education. Hannah and her sister Alice Lee were indeed fortunate in having a father who saw no problem with the feminine sex having an equal education with the male siblings.
While at Stratford, (and before she left this home after her marriage when she was about eighteen and a half years of age), she copied a "Book of Sermons". This will be discussed more fully in the section discussing her books. What do we know about other familial and other early factors that gave her so much independence and self-confidence?
Her maternal great-grandfather was Philip Ludwell who had the distinction of being expelled twice from the Governor's Council for uproarious behaviour .
The Harrison background also from her mother's side of the family might have contributed to her behavior because her great aunt Sarah Harrison refused to promise obedience to her future husband at their wedding ceremony; it took the pledge of father Harrison for his daughter's obedience for the wedding to continue. So, the first sections will cover the definite influence of her parents, siblings and the added possible influence by her paternal aunt Ann (Lee) Fitzhugh McCarty (1683-1732), the only sister of Thomas Lee. After Ann Lee's marriage to William Fitzhugh and several children , Ann lived at Eagle's Nest (plantation home of the William Fitzhugh branch) in King George County. After she became a widow, she undoubtedly visited her brother Thomas at Stratford where her brother Thomas Lee held sway in Westmoreland County. This plantation was immediately adjacent to the Pope's Creek Plantation of Captain Daniel McCarty (1679-1724) and this proximity probably led to a second marriage for both. Captain Daniel was of some importance in Virginia having been a member of the House of Burgesses since 1705 and Speaker of that body from 1715 to 1718. In fact, her brother Thomas Lee was the direct cause of Captain Daniel McCarty not being chosen Speaker in 1720 as Thomas had apparently won the election of burgess from Westmoreland County for 1720. This dispute will be discussed further in that section.
There is no doubt that Hannah felt close to "Squire" Lee, a Lee cousin, possibly because they both seem to march to a different drum. Letters between them and letters about this apparent close bond are at a minimum but there is no doubt about their closeness and this will be seen in the fact that her two children by Dr. Hall both chose the Squire as their guardian after Hannah's death. This will be discussed more fully in the Squire Lee section.
There appears to have been only two men in Hannah's love life. The first (Gawin Corbin) was in the time frame of Hannah leaving Stratford after her marriage to Gawin Corbin and her only legal husband in her life was Gawin Corbin. There is no reason to believe that Hannah was particularly unhappy in her choice of Gawin as husband and much evidence that she applied herself to the furtherance of her new plantation Peckatone and the upbringing of her only child "Patty" Corbin who was fathered by Gawin. However, when an accident caused a fall from his horse left him with a resultant quadriplegia, his lingering death apparently gave him time to contemplate his estate and dictate his wishes after death. His will stipulated that if Hannah remarried, her life estate would be reduced from being the whole of the estate to only the required legal widow's dower. Knowing this fact, Hannah evidently decided to flaunt propriety and for the rest of her life signed all legal documents as "Hannah Corbin, Widow". This decision will be explored in the section of Hannah's strategy. The overlapping of Hannah's life at Peckatone first with Gawin and then for a few years with Gawin's physician Dr. Hall will appear in their respective sections.
After daughter Patty married George Turberville, there had to be an awkward period of the sharing of Peckatone in Westmoreland County between the Turbervilles and the Hall/Corbin entourage before Hannah resolved it by purchasing the Woodberry plantation complex in the adjoining Richmond County. Again, documents are available which shed light on this aspect of her life of raising her two later children fathered by Dr. Hall and her dexterously handling overseeing a number of plantations some of which were not even in the same county.
One section will explore her romantic streak which extended from her late childhood to her waning years. This romantic bent is confirmed by the books that she ordered from London as well as those which apparently first accompanied her from Stratford to Peckatone and then finally on to her final home at Woodberry as listed in her final inventory.
No previous writer has emphasized the importance of tobacco to Hannah and her immediate family in tidewater Virginia so two sections will be dedicated to her ability in dealing with the tobacco merchants in London as well as the importance of this Virginia "gold" in the life of her family, neighbors and acquaintances. She is unique in so far as I can determine to be the only female who had extensive dealings both as a consumer of English goods bought for her by London tobacco merchants and an exporter of tobacco that her plantations grew to those merchants in tobacco trade; we are fortunate to have much of her correspondence and accounts.
Smaller sections and excurses will be utilized for other influences in molding the uniqueness of this remarkable lady. Hannah was not in the vanguard but certainly was one of the noteworthy converts to the Baptist religion that appeared in the Northern Neck. It is noteworthy that her name appears listed as Hannah Hall in one Baptist document. This document probably was not considered "legal" and thus could not be introduced into court to jeopardize her ploy of being known as "Hannah Corbin, Widow" and thus weaken her entitlement to half of Gawin's legacy. There apparently are no other documents where her name was ever written other than Hannah Corbin or Hannah Corbin, Widow. Some erroneous conclusions of the time of her conversion to the Baptist religion by both Baptist historians and some authors will be discussed in this section. Another section will also be devoted to her attitude towards slavery which Hannah apparently accepted as a bonus of being wealthy and a Lee. There is no evidence that she ever had any pangs of remorse as a slave-owner and there is no indication that she ever thought of freeing any of her slaves at her demise. She lived through the American Revolution but it appears that this momentous event was merely an inconvenience for her and not of the great importance that it was to all of her siblings except her eldest brother Philip Ludwell Lee who died in 1775 and unlike Philip Ludwell who died before having to decide whether to be a patriot or a Tory, Hannah simply took the occurrence of the Revolution in stride though her letters did grumble at the necessity of stratagems needed to ship tobacco and utilize other methods to obtain the items needed to keep her well-ordered life running smoothly.
She certainly was well versed in niceties of the law and used legal means to get around legal barriers. When it seemed necessary to sell the Lancaster County tract of land to satisfy the Gawin Corbin debts to British merchants after his death, Hannah had her brother Richard Henry Lee and others handle the necessary legal requirements. This required removing or "docking the entail" by the Virginia House of Burgesses. Hannah certainly had heavy legal hitters doing this for her since the executors of her husband's estates were Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Ludwell Lee, Francis Lightfoot Lee and her brother in law, Richard Corbin; these all were to be future or were currently Burgesses in Virginia. The legislature also granted these executors permission to sell some of the inherited slaves and the Caroline lands were also released from entail to carry out all the provisions of Gawin's will including funds for the education of her only child by Gawin, a daughter Martha Corbin but known as "Patty" throughout her childhood and even after her marriage.
Her will was written 20 Oct 1781 at the age of 53.
-------
From my book, Hannah! published in 2020:
FACTORS MAKING HANNAH UNIQUE
"Hannah Lee Corbin Hall deserves to be remembered".
Rees Watkins in The Virginia Baptist Register, No. 28, 1989
This book about Hannah will, of course, be primarily about her but it is important to examine the factors that made her unique. There are several purposes for this book but mainly it is hoped that the readers and researchers will be stimulated to continue adding to the information found in Hannah! Hopefully, this will have the result of helping her assume a greater place in the stage of historical and memorable figures.
Why did Hannah Lee become so unconventional and march to a different drum? Certainly, when one compares the events in her life that are known, by no stretch of the imagination did this woman follow the usual role of wealthy matrons and widows of her era. The author is grateful to Rees Watkins and the Virginia Baptist Historical Society despite their errors, for their statements such as "Hannah Lee Corbin Hall deserves to be remembered". After alluding to her famous five brothers and even to her sister Alice, this article goes on to state "Hannah simply got lost in the shuffle and has been referred to as "the forgotten Lee". During these times when the accomplishments of women are being given a second look, it seems timely to take this courageous, fearless woman off the forgotten list. She would have been unusual in any era but in her own day she was unique".
She started her life as a wealthy, privileged individual and she certainly had more education than the vast majority of young ladies of her class. This was undoubtedly largely due to her father Thomas Lee who apparently felt deprived of the classic education when compared to his peers. It is known that Thomas Lee spent his later years teaching himself Latin and Greek. His father Richard Lee II known as "the Scholar" was also noted for his erudition. But by contrast, Thomas Lee as the fourth son of "the Scholar" did not have the advantage of the schooling abroad (primarily England) of his three older brothers which will be seen in his section. This is why he took such pains to teach himself Latin and Greek in later life and it is likely that this influenced him to spare no effort to have private tutors in the personages of Reverend David Currie (later rector of a Lancaster County parish) and Reverend William Douglas (who later taught Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe) for his children. There are no references by Hannah, her parents or siblings to the amount of instruction that Hannah had by Reverend Currie and these exposures helped further Hannah's education. Hannah and her sister Alice Lee were indeed fortunate in having a father who saw no problem with the feminine sex having an equal education with the male siblings.
While at Stratford, (and before she left this home after her marriage when she was about eighteen and a half years of age), she copied a "Book of Sermons". This will be discussed more fully in the section discussing her books. What do we know about other familial and other early factors that gave her so much independence and self-confidence?
Her maternal great-grandfather was Philip Ludwell who had the distinction of being expelled twice from the Governor's Council for uproarious behaviour .
The Harrison background also from her mother's side of the family might have contributed to her behavior because her great aunt Sarah Harrison refused to promise obedience to her future husband at their wedding ceremony; it took the pledge of father Harrison for his daughter's obedience for the wedding to continue. So, the first sections will cover the definite influence of her parents, siblings and the added possible influence by her paternal aunt Ann (Lee) Fitzhugh McCarty (1683-1732), the only sister of Thomas Lee. After Ann Lee's marriage to William Fitzhugh and several children , Ann lived at Eagle's Nest (plantation home of the William Fitzhugh branch) in King George County. After she became a widow, she undoubtedly visited her brother Thomas at Stratford where her brother Thomas Lee held sway in Westmoreland County. This plantation was immediately adjacent to the Pope's Creek Plantation of Captain Daniel McCarty (1679-1724) and this proximity probably led to a second marriage for both. Captain Daniel was of some importance in Virginia having been a member of the House of Burgesses since 1705 and Speaker of that body from 1715 to 1718. In fact, her brother Thomas Lee was the direct cause of Captain Daniel McCarty not being chosen Speaker in 1720 as Thomas had apparently won the election of burgess from Westmoreland County for 1720. This dispute will be discussed further in that section.
There is no doubt that Hannah felt close to "Squire" Lee, a Lee cousin, possibly because they both seem to march to a different drum. Letters between them and letters about this apparent close bond are at a minimum but there is no doubt about their closeness and this will be seen in the fact that her two children by Dr. Hall both chose the Squire as their guardian after Hannah's death. This will be discussed more fully in the Squire Lee section.
There appears to have been only two men in Hannah's love life. The first (Gawin Corbin) was in the time frame of Hannah leaving Stratford after her marriage to Gawin Corbin and her only legal husband in her life was Gawin Corbin. There is no reason to believe that Hannah was particularly unhappy in her choice of Gawin as husband and much evidence that she applied herself to the furtherance of her new plantation Peckatone and the upbringing of her only child "Patty" Corbin who was fathered by Gawin. However, when an accident caused a fall from his horse left him with a resultant quadriplegia, his lingering death apparently gave him time to contemplate his estate and dictate his wishes after death. His will stipulated that if Hannah remarried, her life estate would be reduced from being the whole of the estate to only the required legal widow's dower. Knowing this fact, Hannah evidently decided to flaunt propriety and for the rest of her life signed all legal documents as "Hannah Corbin, Widow". This decision will be explored in the section of Hannah's strategy. The overlapping of Hannah's life at Peckatone first with Gawin and then for a few years with Gawin's physician Dr. Hall will appear in their respective sections.
After daughter Patty married George Turberville, there had to be an awkward period of the sharing of Peckatone in Westmoreland County between the Turbervilles and the Hall/Corbin entourage before Hannah resolved it by purchasing the Woodberry plantation complex in the adjoining Richmond County. Again, documents are available which shed light on this aspect of her life of raising her two later children fathered by Dr. Hall and her dexterously handling overseeing a number of plantations some of which were not even in the same county.
One section will explore her romantic streak which extended from her late childhood to her waning years. This romantic bent is confirmed by the books that she ordered from London as well as those which apparently first accompanied her from Stratford to Peckatone and then finally on to her final home at Woodberry as listed in her final inventory.
No previous writer has emphasized the importance of tobacco to Hannah and her immediate family in tidewater Virginia so two sections will be dedicated to her ability in dealing with the tobacco merchants in London as well as the importance of this Virginia "gold" in the life of her family, neighbors and acquaintances. She is unique in so far as I can determine to be the only female who had extensive dealings both as a consumer of English goods bought for her by London tobacco merchants and an exporter of tobacco that her plantations grew to those merchants in tobacco trade; we are fortunate to have much of her correspondence and accounts.
Smaller sections and excurses will be utilized for other influences in molding the uniqueness of this remarkable lady. Hannah was not in the vanguard but certainly was one of the noteworthy converts to the Baptist religion that appeared in the Northern Neck. It is noteworthy that her name appears listed as Hannah Hall in one Baptist document. This document probably was not considered "legal" and thus could not be introduced into court to jeopardize her ploy of being known as "Hannah Corbin, Widow" and thus weaken her entitlement to half of Gawin's legacy. There apparently are no other documents where her name was ever written other than Hannah Corbin or Hannah Corbin, Widow. Some erroneous conclusions of the time of her conversion to the Baptist religion by both Baptist historians and some authors will be discussed in this section. Another section will also be devoted to her attitude towards slavery which Hannah apparently accepted as a bonus of being wealthy and a Lee. There is no evidence that she ever had any pangs of remorse as a slave-owner and there is no indication that she ever thought of freeing any of her slaves at her demise. She lived through the American Revolution but it appears that this momentous event was merely an inconvenience for her and not of the great importance that it was to all of her siblings except her eldest brother Philip Ludwell Lee who died in 1775 and unlike Philip Ludwell who died before having to decide whether to be a patriot or a Tory, Hannah simply took the occurrence of the Revolution in stride though her letters did grumble at the necessity of stratagems needed to ship tobacco and utilize other methods to obtain the items needed to keep her well-ordered life running smoothly.
She certainly was well versed in niceties of the law and used legal means to get around legal barriers. When it seemed necessary to sell the Lancaster County tract of land to satisfy the Gawin Corbin debts to British merchants after his death, Hannah had her brother Richard Henry Lee and others handle the necessary legal requirements. This required removing or "docking the entail" by the Virginia House of Burgesses. Hannah certainly had heavy legal hitters doing this for her since the executors of her husband's estates were Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Ludwell Lee, Francis Lightfoot Lee and her brother in law, Richard Corbin; these all were to be future or were currently Burgesses in Virginia. The legislature also granted these executors permission to sell some of the inherited slaves and the Caroline lands were also released from entail to carry out all the provisions of Gawin's will including funds for the education of her only child by Gawin, a daughter Martha Corbin but known as "Patty" throughout her childhood and even after her marriage.
Her will was written 20 Oct 1781 at the age of 53.
Recognized by the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) as a female patriot who submitted a war claim for furnishing supplies to the troops.
-------
From my book, Hannah! published in 2020:
FACTORS MAKING HANNAH UNIQUE
"Hannah Lee Corbin Hall deserves to be remembered".
Rees Watkins in The Virginia Baptist Register, No. 28, 1989
This book about Hannah will, of course, be primarily about her but it is important to examine the factors that made her unique. There are several purposes for this book but mainly it is hoped that the readers and researchers will be stimulated to continue adding to the information found in Hannah! Hopefully, this will have the result of helping her assume a greater place in the stage of historical and memorable figures.
Why did Hannah Lee become so unconventional and march to a different drum? Certainly, when one compares the events in her life that are known, by no stretch of the imagination did this woman follow the usual role of wealthy matrons and widows of her era. The author is grateful to Rees Watkins and the Virginia Baptist Historical Society despite their errors, for their statements such as "Hannah Lee Corbin Hall deserves to be remembered". After alluding to her famous five brothers and even to her sister Alice, this article goes on to state "Hannah simply got lost in the shuffle and has been referred to as "the forgotten Lee". During these times when the accomplishments of women are being given a second look, it seems timely to take this courageous, fearless woman off the forgotten list. She would have been unusual in any era but in her own day she was unique".
She started her life as a wealthy, privileged individual and she certainly had more education than the vast majority of young ladies of her class. This was undoubtedly largely due to her father Thomas Lee who apparently felt deprived of the classic education when compared to his peers. It is known that Thomas Lee spent his later years teaching himself Latin and Greek. His father Richard Lee II known as "the Scholar" was also noted for his erudition. But by contrast, Thomas Lee as the fourth son of "the Scholar" did not have the advantage of the schooling abroad (primarily England) of his three older brothers which will be seen in his section. This is why he took such pains to teach himself Latin and Greek in later life and it is likely that this influenced him to spare no effort to have private tutors in the personages of Reverend David Currie (later rector of a Lancaster County parish) and Reverend William Douglas (who later taught Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe) for his children. There are no references by Hannah, her parents or siblings to the amount of instruction that Hannah had by Reverend Currie and these exposures helped further Hannah's education. Hannah and her sister Alice Lee were indeed fortunate in having a father who saw no problem with the feminine sex having an equal education with the male siblings.
While at Stratford, (and before she left this home after her marriage when she was about eighteen and a half years of age), she copied a "Book of Sermons". This will be discussed more fully in the section discussing her books. What do we know about other familial and other early factors that gave her so much independence and self-confidence?
Her maternal great-grandfather was Philip Ludwell who had the distinction of being expelled twice from the Governor's Council for uproarious behaviour .
The Harrison background also from her mother's side of the family might have contributed to her behavior because her great aunt Sarah Harrison refused to promise obedience to her future husband at their wedding ceremony; it took the pledge of father Harrison for his daughter's obedience for the wedding to continue. So, the first sections will cover the definite influence of her parents, siblings and the added possible influence by her paternal aunt Ann (Lee) Fitzhugh McCarty (1683-1732), the only sister of Thomas Lee. After Ann Lee's marriage to William Fitzhugh and several children , Ann lived at Eagle's Nest (plantation home of the William Fitzhugh branch) in King George County. After she became a widow, she undoubtedly visited her brother Thomas at Stratford where her brother Thomas Lee held sway in Westmoreland County. This plantation was immediately adjacent to the Pope's Creek Plantation of Captain Daniel McCarty (1679-1724) and this proximity probably led to a second marriage for both. Captain Daniel was of some importance in Virginia having been a member of the House of Burgesses since 1705 and Speaker of that body from 1715 to 1718. In fact, her brother Thomas Lee was the direct cause of Captain Daniel McCarty not being chosen Speaker in 1720 as Thomas had apparently won the election of burgess from Westmoreland County for 1720. This dispute will be discussed further in that section.
There is no doubt that Hannah felt close to "Squire" Lee, a Lee cousin, possibly because they both seem to march to a different drum. Letters between them and letters about this apparent close bond are at a minimum but there is no doubt about their closeness and this will be seen in the fact that her two children by Dr. Hall both chose the Squire as their guardian after Hannah's death. This will be discussed more fully in the Squire Lee section.
There appears to have been only two men in Hannah's love life. The first (Gawin Corbin) was in the time frame of Hannah leaving Stratford after her marriage to Gawin Corbin and her only legal husband in her life was Gawin Corbin. There is no reason to believe that Hannah was particularly unhappy in her choice of Gawin as husband and much evidence that she applied herself to the furtherance of her new plantation Peckatone and the upbringing of her only child "Patty" Corbin who was fathered by Gawin. However, when an accident caused a fall from his horse left him with a resultant quadriplegia, his lingering death apparently gave him time to contemplate his estate and dictate his wishes after death. His will stipulated that if Hannah remarried, her life estate would be reduced from being the whole of the estate to only the required legal widow's dower. Knowing this fact, Hannah evidently decided to flaunt propriety and for the rest of her life signed all legal documents as "Hannah Corbin, Widow". This decision will be explored in the section of Hannah's strategy. The overlapping of Hannah's life at Peckatone first with Gawin and then for a few years with Gawin's physician Dr. Hall will appear in their respective sections.
After daughter Patty married George Turberville, there had to be an awkward period of the sharing of Peckatone in Westmoreland County between the Turbervilles and the Hall/Corbin entourage before Hannah resolved it by purchasing the Woodberry plantation complex in the adjoining Richmond County. Again, documents are available which shed light on this aspect of her life of raising her two later children fathered by Dr. Hall and her dexterously handling overseeing a number of plantations some of which were not even in the same county.
One section will explore her romantic streak which extended from her late childhood to her waning years. This romantic bent is confirmed by the books that she ordered from London as well as those which apparently first accompanied her from Stratford to Peckatone and then finally on to her final home at Woodberry as listed in her final inventory.
No previous writer has emphasized the importance of tobacco to Hannah and her immediate family in tidewater Virginia so two sections will be dedicated to her ability in dealing with the tobacco merchants in London as well as the importance of this Virginia "gold" in the life of her family, neighbors and acquaintances. She is unique in so far as I can determine to be the only female who had extensive dealings both as a consumer of English goods bought for her by London tobacco merchants and an exporter of tobacco that her plantations grew to those merchants in tobacco trade; we are fortunate to have much of her correspondence and accounts.
Smaller sections and excurses will be utilized for other influences in molding the uniqueness of this remarkable lady. Hannah was not in the vanguard but certainly was one of the noteworthy converts to the Baptist religion that appeared in the Northern Neck. It is noteworthy that her name appears listed as Hannah Hall in one Baptist document. This document probably was not considered "legal" and thus could not be introduced into court to jeopardize her ploy of being known as "Hannah Corbin, Widow" and thus weaken her entitlement to half of Gawin's legacy. There apparently are no other documents where her name was ever written other than Hannah Corbin or Hannah Corbin, Widow. Some erroneous conclusions of the time of her conversion to the Baptist religion by both Baptist historians and some authors will be discussed in this section. Another section will also be devoted to her attitude towards slavery which Hannah apparently accepted as a bonus of being wealthy and a Lee. There is no evidence that she ever had any pangs of remorse as a slave-owner and there is no indication that she ever thought of freeing any of her slaves at her demise. She lived through the American Revolution but it appears that this momentous event was merely an inconvenience for her and not of the great importance that it was to all of her siblings except her eldest brother Philip Ludwell Lee who died in 1775 and unlike Philip Ludwell who died before having to decide whether to be a patriot or a Tory, Hannah simply took the occurrence of the Revolution in stride though her letters did grumble at the necessity of stratagems needed to ship tobacco and utilize other methods to obtain the items needed to keep her well-ordered life running smoothly.
She certainly was well versed in niceties of the law and used legal means to get around legal barriers. When it seemed necessary to sell the Lancaster County tract of land to satisfy the Gawin Corbin debts to British merchants after his death, Hannah had her brother Richard Henry Lee and others handle the necessary legal requirements. This required removing or "docking the entail" by the Virginia House of Burgesses. Hannah certainly had heavy legal hitters doing this for her since the executors of her husband's estates were Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Ludwell Lee, Francis Lightfoot Lee and her brother in law, Richard Corbin; these all were to be future or were currently Burgesses in Virginia. The legislature also granted these executors permission to sell some of the inherited slaves and the Caroline lands were also released from entail to carry out all the provisions of Gawin's will including funds for the education of her only child by Gawin, a daughter Martha Corbin but known as "Patty" throughout her childhood and even after her marriage.
Her will was written 20 Oct 1781 at the age of 53.
-------
From my book, Hannah! published in 2020:
FACTORS MAKING HANNAH UNIQUE
"Hannah Lee Corbin Hall deserves to be remembered".
Rees Watkins in The Virginia Baptist Register, No. 28, 1989
This book about Hannah will, of course, be primarily about her but it is important to examine the factors that made her unique. There are several purposes for this book but mainly it is hoped that the readers and researchers will be stimulated to continue adding to the information found in Hannah! Hopefully, this will have the result of helping her assume a greater place in the stage of historical and memorable figures.
Why did Hannah Lee become so unconventional and march to a different drum? Certainly, when one compares the events in her life that are known, by no stretch of the imagination did this woman follow the usual role of wealthy matrons and widows of her era. The author is grateful to Rees Watkins and the Virginia Baptist Historical Society despite their errors, for their statements such as "Hannah Lee Corbin Hall deserves to be remembered". After alluding to her famous five brothers and even to her sister Alice, this article goes on to state "Hannah simply got lost in the shuffle and has been referred to as "the forgotten Lee". During these times when the accomplishments of women are being given a second look, it seems timely to take this courageous, fearless woman off the forgotten list. She would have been unusual in any era but in her own day she was unique".
She started her life as a wealthy, privileged individual and she certainly had more education than the vast majority of young ladies of her class. This was undoubtedly largely due to her father Thomas Lee who apparently felt deprived of the classic education when compared to his peers. It is known that Thomas Lee spent his later years teaching himself Latin and Greek. His father Richard Lee II known as "the Scholar" was also noted for his erudition. But by contrast, Thomas Lee as the fourth son of "the Scholar" did not have the advantage of the schooling abroad (primarily England) of his three older brothers which will be seen in his section. This is why he took such pains to teach himself Latin and Greek in later life and it is likely that this influenced him to spare no effort to have private tutors in the personages of Reverend David Currie (later rector of a Lancaster County parish) and Reverend William Douglas (who later taught Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe) for his children. There are no references by Hannah, her parents or siblings to the amount of instruction that Hannah had by Reverend Currie and these exposures helped further Hannah's education. Hannah and her sister Alice Lee were indeed fortunate in having a father who saw no problem with the feminine sex having an equal education with the male siblings.
While at Stratford, (and before she left this home after her marriage when she was about eighteen and a half years of age), she copied a "Book of Sermons". This will be discussed more fully in the section discussing her books. What do we know about other familial and other early factors that gave her so much independence and self-confidence?
Her maternal great-grandfather was Philip Ludwell who had the distinction of being expelled twice from the Governor's Council for uproarious behaviour .
The Harrison background also from her mother's side of the family might have contributed to her behavior because her great aunt Sarah Harrison refused to promise obedience to her future husband at their wedding ceremony; it took the pledge of father Harrison for his daughter's obedience for the wedding to continue. So, the first sections will cover the definite influence of her parents, siblings and the added possible influence by her paternal aunt Ann (Lee) Fitzhugh McCarty (1683-1732), the only sister of Thomas Lee. After Ann Lee's marriage to William Fitzhugh and several children , Ann lived at Eagle's Nest (plantation home of the William Fitzhugh branch) in King George County. After she became a widow, she undoubtedly visited her brother Thomas at Stratford where her brother Thomas Lee held sway in Westmoreland County. This plantation was immediately adjacent to the Pope's Creek Plantation of Captain Daniel McCarty (1679-1724) and this proximity probably led to a second marriage for both. Captain Daniel was of some importance in Virginia having been a member of the House of Burgesses since 1705 and Speaker of that body from 1715 to 1718. In fact, her brother Thomas Lee was the direct cause of Captain Daniel McCarty not being chosen Speaker in 1720 as Thomas had apparently won the election of burgess from Westmoreland County for 1720. This dispute will be discussed further in that section.
There is no doubt that Hannah felt close to "Squire" Lee, a Lee cousin, possibly because they both seem to march to a different drum. Letters between them and letters about this apparent close bond are at a minimum but there is no doubt about their closeness and this will be seen in the fact that her two children by Dr. Hall both chose the Squire as their guardian after Hannah's death. This will be discussed more fully in the Squire Lee section.
There appears to have been only two men in Hannah's love life. The first (Gawin Corbin) was in the time frame of Hannah leaving Stratford after her marriage to Gawin Corbin and her only legal husband in her life was Gawin Corbin. There is no reason to believe that Hannah was particularly unhappy in her choice of Gawin as husband and much evidence that she applied herself to the furtherance of her new plantation Peckatone and the upbringing of her only child "Patty" Corbin who was fathered by Gawin. However, when an accident caused a fall from his horse left him with a resultant quadriplegia, his lingering death apparently gave him time to contemplate his estate and dictate his wishes after death. His will stipulated that if Hannah remarried, her life estate would be reduced from being the whole of the estate to only the required legal widow's dower. Knowing this fact, Hannah evidently decided to flaunt propriety and for the rest of her life signed all legal documents as "Hannah Corbin, Widow". This decision will be explored in the section of Hannah's strategy. The overlapping of Hannah's life at Peckatone first with Gawin and then for a few years with Gawin's physician Dr. Hall will appear in their respective sections.
After daughter Patty married George Turberville, there had to be an awkward period of the sharing of Peckatone in Westmoreland County between the Turbervilles and the Hall/Corbin entourage before Hannah resolved it by purchasing the Woodberry plantation complex in the adjoining Richmond County. Again, documents are available which shed light on this aspect of her life of raising her two later children fathered by Dr. Hall and her dexterously handling overseeing a number of plantations some of which were not even in the same county.
One section will explore her romantic streak which extended from her late childhood to her waning years. This romantic bent is confirmed by the books that she ordered from London as well as those which apparently first accompanied her from Stratford to Peckatone and then finally on to her final home at Woodberry as listed in her final inventory.
No previous writer has emphasized the importance of tobacco to Hannah and her immediate family in tidewater Virginia so two sections will be dedicated to her ability in dealing with the tobacco merchants in London as well as the importance of this Virginia "gold" in the life of her family, neighbors and acquaintances. She is unique in so far as I can determine to be the only female who had extensive dealings both as a consumer of English goods bought for her by London tobacco merchants and an exporter of tobacco that her plantations grew to those merchants in tobacco trade; we are fortunate to have much of her correspondence and accounts.
Smaller sections and excurses will be utilized for other influences in molding the uniqueness of this remarkable lady. Hannah was not in the vanguard but certainly was one of the noteworthy converts to the Baptist religion that appeared in the Northern Neck. It is noteworthy that her name appears listed as Hannah Hall in one Baptist document. This document probably was not considered "legal" and thus could not be introduced into court to jeopardize her ploy of being known as "Hannah Corbin, Widow" and thus weaken her entitlement to half of Gawin's legacy. There apparently are no other documents where her name was ever written other than Hannah Corbin or Hannah Corbin, Widow. Some erroneous conclusions of the time of her conversion to the Baptist religion by both Baptist historians and some authors will be discussed in this section. Another section will also be devoted to her attitude towards slavery which Hannah apparently accepted as a bonus of being wealthy and a Lee. There is no evidence that she ever had any pangs of remorse as a slave-owner and there is no indication that she ever thought of freeing any of her slaves at her demise. She lived through the American Revolution but it appears that this momentous event was merely an inconvenience for her and not of the great importance that it was to all of her siblings except her eldest brother Philip Ludwell Lee who died in 1775 and unlike Philip Ludwell who died before having to decide whether to be a patriot or a Tory, Hannah simply took the occurrence of the Revolution in stride though her letters did grumble at the necessity of stratagems needed to ship tobacco and utilize other methods to obtain the items needed to keep her well-ordered life running smoothly.
She certainly was well versed in niceties of the law and used legal means to get around legal barriers. When it seemed necessary to sell the Lancaster County tract of land to satisfy the Gawin Corbin debts to British merchants after his death, Hannah had her brother Richard Henry Lee and others handle the necessary legal requirements. This required removing or "docking the entail" by the Virginia House of Burgesses. Hannah certainly had heavy legal hitters doing this for her since the executors of her husband's estates were Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Ludwell Lee, Francis Lightfoot Lee and her brother in law, Richard Corbin; these all were to be future or were currently Burgesses in Virginia. The legislature also granted these executors permission to sell some of the inherited slaves and the Caroline lands were also released from entail to carry out all the provisions of Gawin's will including funds for the education of her only child by Gawin, a daughter Martha Corbin but known as "Patty" throughout her childhood and even after her marriage.
Her will was written 20 Oct 1781 at the age of 53.
Family Members
Spouse
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See more Corbin-Hall or Lee memorials in:
- Woodberry Fam Cemetery Corbin-Hall or Lee
- Warsaw Corbin-Hall or Lee
- Richmond County Corbin-Hall or Lee
- Virginia Corbin-Hall or Lee
- USA Corbin-Hall or Lee
- Find a Grave Corbin-Hall or Lee
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