== Early History & Marriage==
William Isaac Lee first appears in the 1880 Mountain, Dade, Georgia census, listed as an orphan at about 14 years of age. He is shown to be living in the home of John G. Gray (1825-1894), Nancy Bradford Gray (1821-1903) and their youngest child Nancy M. Gray (1859-1913) (who later married Francis Marion Hawkins (1858-1925)). William Isaac Lee is shown to be working as a farm laborer, most likely for John G. Gray, as he is listed as a farmer.
Interestingly, a few years before William Isaac Lee was born, Nancy Bradford Gray's brother, Andrew Jackson Bradford, married Nancy Jane Warren, daughter of Lott Worth Warren and his first wife, Sarah Wilson. Nancy Jane Warren was the half sister of William Isaac Lee's future wife, Lydia Magdillon Warren. This could be how William Isaac met his future bride as they married just 9 years after the 1880 census was taken.
== Name Variations ==
Variations of William Isaac's name across the internet are William Isom/Ison, Isaac Leroy, William Leroy, etc. These are incorrect variations due to the use of nicknames, those used by himself and by those who knew him. Isom & Ison were nicknames commonly used for people named both Isaac & Joseph in the late 1800's.
According to documentation, the name Leroy was a self-imposed nickname. The only documentation for any of these variations are...
1:] An article was written by the grandson of Daisy Kellogg for the Walker County Heritage. In it he sits down with Daisy Kellogg & Raymond Watts, who knew and worked with William Isaac for at least 10 years, detail the history of the Estelle Iron Mines. Raymond Watts stated that Ison was a nickname. They also mention Jess Lee, Herman Lee, Jep George, Alec George, James "Jim" Nalley, Richard "Dick" Huffman, and John Huffman...all of who were directly related to William Isaac Lee and/or his immediate family.
2:] William Isaac's headstone incorrectly lists his name as Isaac L. Lee. This is apparently a case of inscribing his name as other knew him rather than his actual legal name. It was placed there by Isaac's eldest son, John Herman Lee, sometime between 1944 and 1966.
All official documentation indicate that his name was legally William Isaac Lee as recalled by his wife of 44 years and the family doctor of at least 10 years, Mr. S. B. Kitchens...
1:] His wife, Lyddie Magdillon Warren signed her name as Mrs. W. I. Lee in multiple documents both before & after his death.
2:] He is listed as Isaac Lee in all but one of the U.S. Federal Censuses he appears in. In one, he appears as Ison...again, a common nickname in the late 1800s.
3:] His death certificate states his name was William Isaac Lee. The death certificate was filled out and signed by his wife. She signed her name "Mrs. W. I. Lee". It was then signed by his physician Mr. S. B. Kitchens.
4:] His name was listed as William Isaac Lee in his wife's and relative's family bibles.
== Date of Death ==
As for his date of death, his headstone is incorrect and was placed there somewhere between 11 and 33 years after his death.
Many sources list William Isaac's date of death as November 4th 1933 or 1934 because his tombstone states November 4th 1933. According to his death certificate, which was filled out by his wife & physician, he actually passed away on November 24th 1933 and was buried on the 25th. His wife of 44 years, Mrs. Liddie Magdillon Warren Lee, also lists his date of death as November 24th 1933 in her family bible.
The DNA Confirmed Parents of William Isaac Lee (1867-1933)
Regarding William Isaac Lee (b. April 1, 1864 Alabama - d. November 24, 1933 Estelle, Walker, Georgia) who married Lydia Magdillon Warren (b. March 8, 1872 Winchester, Franklin, Tennessee - d. August 12, 1957 LaFayette, Walker, Tennessee)...
I am the original source for Capt. William G. Lee (1839-1916) & Margaret Jane Morgan (1839-1925) being listed as William Isaac Lee's parents on so many family trees. In 2014, I added them as his parents only to research the possibility, not realizing that my Ancestry.com tree was publicly listed. This caused the information to spread like wildfire among his many descendants, then to distant kin, on to other researchers and eventually Google, Yahoo, Bing and many genealogical sites. Shortly after, based on William Isaac's recorded year of birth, his age made me determine that he could NOT be the child of William G. Lee and Margaret Jane Morgan.
The reason why this parentage was originally thought impossible was because Capt. William G. Lee was fighting in the Civil War from 1861 until late 1864. William Isaac Lee was purportedly born in April 1864, making this parentage highly improbable, even if out of wedlock. The most compelling argument that originally made this parentage impossible was that "Capt. Bill" met & married Margaret Jane Morgan 14 months AFTER William Isaac's birth. This was the view until DNA provided indisputable proof that William G. Lee and Margaret Jane Morgan ARE the parents of William Isaac Lee.
Why all the confusion? Well, it is well known to family that William Isaac was very secretive about his early life (parentage, family, personal history, place of origin, etc.). Late in life, he finally confided to his wife Lydia that he had stolen a horse at a very young age and ran away from home. He would never elaborate further on this, likely due to the stigma associated with horse theft at that time. It was a hangable offense in nearly every state throughout most of his life with no statute of limitation. With the new DNA evidence, the only possible explanation is that William Isaac had lied about his age and birthdate to both appear older (to obtain work) and to help hide his identity.
The few facts he gave about his early life have all proven to be false or distortions of the truth:
Birth Date of 1864:
The newfound DNA evidence for William Isaac's parentage disproves the birth year of 1864. William & Margaret did not wed until June 16th, 1865 in Monroe county, Tennessee...14 months AFTER William Isaac Lee was purported to have been born. Having a child out of wedlock was exceedingly rare in those days, especially for a prominent person such as Capt. Lee (a local hero after the war). The mother would immediately be labeled a "whore" and the father would almost always deny any claim to the child, or would often simply disappear. None of this happened. William G. & Margaret were both lifelong residents of Tellico Plains, were considered devout Baptists and pillars of their community. A more accurate birth for William Isaac is likely between January and October of 1867, as Margaret Jane had already given birth to children in both 1866 and 1868. Any earlier would be impossible as his parents had not yet met. A birth of 1869 or 1870 is also unlikely because he would have almost certainly appeared in the household in the 1870 census record and would have been too young to pass as a teenager in 1880. This suggested birth date of 1867 also coincides w/ William Isaac's reported age of 14 years in the 1880 census.
Twin Sister:
Late in life, William Isaac also briefly stated that he had a twin sister named Almeedy (or Almeda). William G. Lee & Margaret Jane Morgan did not have a child named Almeda/Almeedy. Their children born between 1865 & 1868 were all male. There are no records of an Almeda or Almeedy Lee (or other spelling variants) in the 1870 & 1880 censuses, family bibles or birth and death records. Nor is there any record of her having been buried at New Providence, the family cemetery or anywhere in Alabama. It appears that Almeedy likely did not exist.
Capt. Bill the Riverboat Captain & Sheriff of Dallas County:
William Isaac also stated that his father was a riverboat captain and the "sheriff of Selma Alabama", which is in Dallas County. No records exist of a riverboat captain having existed in Alabama named William or Bill Lee. Furthermore, no record of a constable, deputy or sheriff named William/Bill Lee exists. The sheriffs of Dallas County during William Isaac's early life were: 1861 - J.B. Harrison, 1865 - S.J. Howard, 1866 - James McDedman, 1868 George P. Rex, 1869 - George H. Craig, 1870 - Marcellus DeKamp, 1874 - C.M. Shelly and 1877 - George R. Mason. No William or Bill Lee before, during or after those dates. Nor was there ever a constable, deputy or sheriff named William/Bill Lee in any of the surrounding counties. This story was too specific in detail to be "misremembered" and was likely a fabrication that grew over time to give his father a (rightly deserved) air of importance, while concealing his parents' identity & his place of origin.
DNA Confirmation of Parentage:
As of this writing, 11 direct descendants of Capt. William G. Lee and Margaret Jane Morgan have taken DNA tests. Seven of these are confirmed descendants of William Isaac Lee; my aunt, a 1st cousin, myself and 4 distant cousins. The remaining 3 test takers are confirmed descendants through other children of William G and Margaret Jane. Each of the 11 tests show the same common ancestors, so the results are indisputable.
The only remaining question that might help us zero in on an exact birth date is why, to date, William Isaac has not been located in any 1870 census record.
- Charles B. Lee Jr.
(cblee1978 at yahoo dot com)
May 8th, 2020
(Revised May 20th, 2023)
William Isaac Lee first appears in the 1880 Mountain, Dade, Georgia census, listed as an orphan at about 14 years of age. He is shown to be living in the home of John G. Gray (1825-1894), Nancy Bradford Gray (1821-1903) and their youngest child Nancy M. Gray (1859-1913) (who later married Francis Marion Hawkins (1858-1925)). William Isaac Lee is shown to be working as a farm laborer, most likely for John G. Gray, as he is listed as a farmer.
Interestingly, a few years before William Isaac Lee was born, Nancy Bradford Gray's brother, Andrew Jackson Bradford, married Nancy Jane Warren, daughter of Lott Worth Warren and his first wife, Sarah Wilson. Nancy Jane Warren was the half sister of William Isaac Lee's future wife, Lydia Magdillon Warren. This could be how William Isaac met his future bride as they married just 9 years after the 1880 census was taken.
== Name Variations ==
Variations of William Isaac's name across the internet are William Isom/Ison, Isaac Leroy, William Leroy, etc. These are incorrect variations due to the use of nicknames, those used by himself and by those who knew him. Isom & Ison were nicknames commonly used for people named both Isaac & Joseph in the late 1800's.
According to documentation, the name Leroy was a self-imposed nickname. The only documentation for any of these variations are...
1:] An article was written by the grandson of Daisy Kellogg for the Walker County Heritage. In it he sits down with Daisy Kellogg & Raymond Watts, who knew and worked with William Isaac for at least 10 years, detail the history of the Estelle Iron Mines. Raymond Watts stated that Ison was a nickname. They also mention Jess Lee, Herman Lee, Jep George, Alec George, James "Jim" Nalley, Richard "Dick" Huffman, and John Huffman...all of who were directly related to William Isaac Lee and/or his immediate family.
2:] William Isaac's headstone incorrectly lists his name as Isaac L. Lee. This is apparently a case of inscribing his name as other knew him rather than his actual legal name. It was placed there by Isaac's eldest son, John Herman Lee, sometime between 1944 and 1966.
All official documentation indicate that his name was legally William Isaac Lee as recalled by his wife of 44 years and the family doctor of at least 10 years, Mr. S. B. Kitchens...
1:] His wife, Lyddie Magdillon Warren signed her name as Mrs. W. I. Lee in multiple documents both before & after his death.
2:] He is listed as Isaac Lee in all but one of the U.S. Federal Censuses he appears in. In one, he appears as Ison...again, a common nickname in the late 1800s.
3:] His death certificate states his name was William Isaac Lee. The death certificate was filled out and signed by his wife. She signed her name "Mrs. W. I. Lee". It was then signed by his physician Mr. S. B. Kitchens.
4:] His name was listed as William Isaac Lee in his wife's and relative's family bibles.
== Date of Death ==
As for his date of death, his headstone is incorrect and was placed there somewhere between 11 and 33 years after his death.
Many sources list William Isaac's date of death as November 4th 1933 or 1934 because his tombstone states November 4th 1933. According to his death certificate, which was filled out by his wife & physician, he actually passed away on November 24th 1933 and was buried on the 25th. His wife of 44 years, Mrs. Liddie Magdillon Warren Lee, also lists his date of death as November 24th 1933 in her family bible.
The DNA Confirmed Parents of William Isaac Lee (1867-1933)
Regarding William Isaac Lee (b. April 1, 1864 Alabama - d. November 24, 1933 Estelle, Walker, Georgia) who married Lydia Magdillon Warren (b. March 8, 1872 Winchester, Franklin, Tennessee - d. August 12, 1957 LaFayette, Walker, Tennessee)...
I am the original source for Capt. William G. Lee (1839-1916) & Margaret Jane Morgan (1839-1925) being listed as William Isaac Lee's parents on so many family trees. In 2014, I added them as his parents only to research the possibility, not realizing that my Ancestry.com tree was publicly listed. This caused the information to spread like wildfire among his many descendants, then to distant kin, on to other researchers and eventually Google, Yahoo, Bing and many genealogical sites. Shortly after, based on William Isaac's recorded year of birth, his age made me determine that he could NOT be the child of William G. Lee and Margaret Jane Morgan.
The reason why this parentage was originally thought impossible was because Capt. William G. Lee was fighting in the Civil War from 1861 until late 1864. William Isaac Lee was purportedly born in April 1864, making this parentage highly improbable, even if out of wedlock. The most compelling argument that originally made this parentage impossible was that "Capt. Bill" met & married Margaret Jane Morgan 14 months AFTER William Isaac's birth. This was the view until DNA provided indisputable proof that William G. Lee and Margaret Jane Morgan ARE the parents of William Isaac Lee.
Why all the confusion? Well, it is well known to family that William Isaac was very secretive about his early life (parentage, family, personal history, place of origin, etc.). Late in life, he finally confided to his wife Lydia that he had stolen a horse at a very young age and ran away from home. He would never elaborate further on this, likely due to the stigma associated with horse theft at that time. It was a hangable offense in nearly every state throughout most of his life with no statute of limitation. With the new DNA evidence, the only possible explanation is that William Isaac had lied about his age and birthdate to both appear older (to obtain work) and to help hide his identity.
The few facts he gave about his early life have all proven to be false or distortions of the truth:
Birth Date of 1864:
The newfound DNA evidence for William Isaac's parentage disproves the birth year of 1864. William & Margaret did not wed until June 16th, 1865 in Monroe county, Tennessee...14 months AFTER William Isaac Lee was purported to have been born. Having a child out of wedlock was exceedingly rare in those days, especially for a prominent person such as Capt. Lee (a local hero after the war). The mother would immediately be labeled a "whore" and the father would almost always deny any claim to the child, or would often simply disappear. None of this happened. William G. & Margaret were both lifelong residents of Tellico Plains, were considered devout Baptists and pillars of their community. A more accurate birth for William Isaac is likely between January and October of 1867, as Margaret Jane had already given birth to children in both 1866 and 1868. Any earlier would be impossible as his parents had not yet met. A birth of 1869 or 1870 is also unlikely because he would have almost certainly appeared in the household in the 1870 census record and would have been too young to pass as a teenager in 1880. This suggested birth date of 1867 also coincides w/ William Isaac's reported age of 14 years in the 1880 census.
Twin Sister:
Late in life, William Isaac also briefly stated that he had a twin sister named Almeedy (or Almeda). William G. Lee & Margaret Jane Morgan did not have a child named Almeda/Almeedy. Their children born between 1865 & 1868 were all male. There are no records of an Almeda or Almeedy Lee (or other spelling variants) in the 1870 & 1880 censuses, family bibles or birth and death records. Nor is there any record of her having been buried at New Providence, the family cemetery or anywhere in Alabama. It appears that Almeedy likely did not exist.
Capt. Bill the Riverboat Captain & Sheriff of Dallas County:
William Isaac also stated that his father was a riverboat captain and the "sheriff of Selma Alabama", which is in Dallas County. No records exist of a riverboat captain having existed in Alabama named William or Bill Lee. Furthermore, no record of a constable, deputy or sheriff named William/Bill Lee exists. The sheriffs of Dallas County during William Isaac's early life were: 1861 - J.B. Harrison, 1865 - S.J. Howard, 1866 - James McDedman, 1868 George P. Rex, 1869 - George H. Craig, 1870 - Marcellus DeKamp, 1874 - C.M. Shelly and 1877 - George R. Mason. No William or Bill Lee before, during or after those dates. Nor was there ever a constable, deputy or sheriff named William/Bill Lee in any of the surrounding counties. This story was too specific in detail to be "misremembered" and was likely a fabrication that grew over time to give his father a (rightly deserved) air of importance, while concealing his parents' identity & his place of origin.
DNA Confirmation of Parentage:
As of this writing, 11 direct descendants of Capt. William G. Lee and Margaret Jane Morgan have taken DNA tests. Seven of these are confirmed descendants of William Isaac Lee; my aunt, a 1st cousin, myself and 4 distant cousins. The remaining 3 test takers are confirmed descendants through other children of William G and Margaret Jane. Each of the 11 tests show the same common ancestors, so the results are indisputable.
The only remaining question that might help us zero in on an exact birth date is why, to date, William Isaac has not been located in any 1870 census record.
- Charles B. Lee Jr.
(cblee1978 at yahoo dot com)
May 8th, 2020
(Revised May 20th, 2023)
== Early History & Marriage==
William Isaac Lee first appears in the 1880 Mountain, Dade, Georgia census, listed as an orphan at about 14 years of age. He is shown to be living in the home of John G. Gray (1825-1894), Nancy Bradford Gray (1821-1903) and their youngest child Nancy M. Gray (1859-1913) (who later married Francis Marion Hawkins (1858-1925)). William Isaac Lee is shown to be working as a farm laborer, most likely for John G. Gray, as he is listed as a farmer.
Interestingly, a few years before William Isaac Lee was born, Nancy Bradford Gray's brother, Andrew Jackson Bradford, married Nancy Jane Warren, daughter of Lott Worth Warren and his first wife, Sarah Wilson. Nancy Jane Warren was the half sister of William Isaac Lee's future wife, Lydia Magdillon Warren. This could be how William Isaac met his future bride as they married just 9 years after the 1880 census was taken.
== Name Variations ==
Variations of William Isaac's name across the internet are William Isom/Ison, Isaac Leroy, William Leroy, etc. These are incorrect variations due to the use of nicknames, those used by himself and by those who knew him. Isom & Ison were nicknames commonly used for people named both Isaac & Joseph in the late 1800's.
According to documentation, the name Leroy was a self-imposed nickname. The only documentation for any of these variations are...
1:] An article was written by the grandson of Daisy Kellogg for the Walker County Heritage. In it he sits down with Daisy Kellogg & Raymond Watts, who knew and worked with William Isaac for at least 10 years, detail the history of the Estelle Iron Mines. Raymond Watts stated that Ison was a nickname. They also mention Jess Lee, Herman Lee, Jep George, Alec George, James "Jim" Nalley, Richard "Dick" Huffman, and John Huffman...all of who were directly related to William Isaac Lee and/or his immediate family.
2:] William Isaac's headstone incorrectly lists his name as Isaac L. Lee. This is apparently a case of inscribing his name as other knew him rather than his actual legal name. It was placed there by Isaac's eldest son, John Herman Lee, sometime between 1944 and 1966.
All official documentation indicate that his name was legally William Isaac Lee as recalled by his wife of 44 years and the family doctor of at least 10 years, Mr. S. B. Kitchens...
1:] His wife, Lyddie Magdillon Warren signed her name as Mrs. W. I. Lee in multiple documents both before & after his death.
2:] He is listed as Isaac Lee in all but one of the U.S. Federal Censuses he appears in. In one, he appears as Ison...again, a common nickname in the late 1800s.
3:] His death certificate states his name was William Isaac Lee. The death certificate was filled out and signed by his wife. She signed her name "Mrs. W. I. Lee". It was then signed by his physician Mr. S. B. Kitchens.
4:] His name was listed as William Isaac Lee in his wife's and relative's family bibles.
== Date of Death ==
As for his date of death, his headstone is incorrect and was placed there somewhere between 11 and 33 years after his death.
Many sources list William Isaac's date of death as November 4th 1933 or 1934 because his tombstone states November 4th 1933. According to his death certificate, which was filled out by his wife & physician, he actually passed away on November 24th 1933 and was buried on the 25th. His wife of 44 years, Mrs. Liddie Magdillon Warren Lee, also lists his date of death as November 24th 1933 in her family bible.
The DNA Confirmed Parents of William Isaac Lee (1867-1933)
Regarding William Isaac Lee (b. April 1, 1864 Alabama - d. November 24, 1933 Estelle, Walker, Georgia) who married Lydia Magdillon Warren (b. March 8, 1872 Winchester, Franklin, Tennessee - d. August 12, 1957 LaFayette, Walker, Tennessee)...
I am the original source for Capt. William G. Lee (1839-1916) & Margaret Jane Morgan (1839-1925) being listed as William Isaac Lee's parents on so many family trees. In 2014, I added them as his parents only to research the possibility, not realizing that my Ancestry.com tree was publicly listed. This caused the information to spread like wildfire among his many descendants, then to distant kin, on to other researchers and eventually Google, Yahoo, Bing and many genealogical sites. Shortly after, based on William Isaac's recorded year of birth, his age made me determine that he could NOT be the child of William G. Lee and Margaret Jane Morgan.
The reason why this parentage was originally thought impossible was because Capt. William G. Lee was fighting in the Civil War from 1861 until late 1864. William Isaac Lee was purportedly born in April 1864, making this parentage highly improbable, even if out of wedlock. The most compelling argument that originally made this parentage impossible was that "Capt. Bill" met & married Margaret Jane Morgan 14 months AFTER William Isaac's birth. This was the view until DNA provided indisputable proof that William G. Lee and Margaret Jane Morgan ARE the parents of William Isaac Lee.
Why all the confusion? Well, it is well known to family that William Isaac was very secretive about his early life (parentage, family, personal history, place of origin, etc.). Late in life, he finally confided to his wife Lydia that he had stolen a horse at a very young age and ran away from home. He would never elaborate further on this, likely due to the stigma associated with horse theft at that time. It was a hangable offense in nearly every state throughout most of his life with no statute of limitation. With the new DNA evidence, the only possible explanation is that William Isaac had lied about his age and birthdate to both appear older (to obtain work) and to help hide his identity.
The few facts he gave about his early life have all proven to be false or distortions of the truth:
Birth Date of 1864:
The newfound DNA evidence for William Isaac's parentage disproves the birth year of 1864. William & Margaret did not wed until June 16th, 1865 in Monroe county, Tennessee...14 months AFTER William Isaac Lee was purported to have been born. Having a child out of wedlock was exceedingly rare in those days, especially for a prominent person such as Capt. Lee (a local hero after the war). The mother would immediately be labeled a "whore" and the father would almost always deny any claim to the child, or would often simply disappear. None of this happened. William G. & Margaret were both lifelong residents of Tellico Plains, were considered devout Baptists and pillars of their community. A more accurate birth for William Isaac is likely between January and October of 1867, as Margaret Jane had already given birth to children in both 1866 and 1868. Any earlier would be impossible as his parents had not yet met. A birth of 1869 or 1870 is also unlikely because he would have almost certainly appeared in the household in the 1870 census record and would have been too young to pass as a teenager in 1880. This suggested birth date of 1867 also coincides w/ William Isaac's reported age of 14 years in the 1880 census.
Twin Sister:
Late in life, William Isaac also briefly stated that he had a twin sister named Almeedy (or Almeda). William G. Lee & Margaret Jane Morgan did not have a child named Almeda/Almeedy. Their children born between 1865 & 1868 were all male. There are no records of an Almeda or Almeedy Lee (or other spelling variants) in the 1870 & 1880 censuses, family bibles or birth and death records. Nor is there any record of her having been buried at New Providence, the family cemetery or anywhere in Alabama. It appears that Almeedy likely did not exist.
Capt. Bill the Riverboat Captain & Sheriff of Dallas County:
William Isaac also stated that his father was a riverboat captain and the "sheriff of Selma Alabama", which is in Dallas County. No records exist of a riverboat captain having existed in Alabama named William or Bill Lee. Furthermore, no record of a constable, deputy or sheriff named William/Bill Lee exists. The sheriffs of Dallas County during William Isaac's early life were: 1861 - J.B. Harrison, 1865 - S.J. Howard, 1866 - James McDedman, 1868 George P. Rex, 1869 - George H. Craig, 1870 - Marcellus DeKamp, 1874 - C.M. Shelly and 1877 - George R. Mason. No William or Bill Lee before, during or after those dates. Nor was there ever a constable, deputy or sheriff named William/Bill Lee in any of the surrounding counties. This story was too specific in detail to be "misremembered" and was likely a fabrication that grew over time to give his father a (rightly deserved) air of importance, while concealing his parents' identity & his place of origin.
DNA Confirmation of Parentage:
As of this writing, 11 direct descendants of Capt. William G. Lee and Margaret Jane Morgan have taken DNA tests. Seven of these are confirmed descendants of William Isaac Lee; my aunt, a 1st cousin, myself and 4 distant cousins. The remaining 3 test takers are confirmed descendants through other children of William G and Margaret Jane. Each of the 11 tests show the same common ancestors, so the results are indisputable.
The only remaining question that might help us zero in on an exact birth date is why, to date, William Isaac has not been located in any 1870 census record.
- Charles B. Lee Jr.
(cblee1978 at yahoo dot com)
May 8th, 2020
(Revised May 20th, 2023)
William Isaac Lee first appears in the 1880 Mountain, Dade, Georgia census, listed as an orphan at about 14 years of age. He is shown to be living in the home of John G. Gray (1825-1894), Nancy Bradford Gray (1821-1903) and their youngest child Nancy M. Gray (1859-1913) (who later married Francis Marion Hawkins (1858-1925)). William Isaac Lee is shown to be working as a farm laborer, most likely for John G. Gray, as he is listed as a farmer.
Interestingly, a few years before William Isaac Lee was born, Nancy Bradford Gray's brother, Andrew Jackson Bradford, married Nancy Jane Warren, daughter of Lott Worth Warren and his first wife, Sarah Wilson. Nancy Jane Warren was the half sister of William Isaac Lee's future wife, Lydia Magdillon Warren. This could be how William Isaac met his future bride as they married just 9 years after the 1880 census was taken.
== Name Variations ==
Variations of William Isaac's name across the internet are William Isom/Ison, Isaac Leroy, William Leroy, etc. These are incorrect variations due to the use of nicknames, those used by himself and by those who knew him. Isom & Ison were nicknames commonly used for people named both Isaac & Joseph in the late 1800's.
According to documentation, the name Leroy was a self-imposed nickname. The only documentation for any of these variations are...
1:] An article was written by the grandson of Daisy Kellogg for the Walker County Heritage. In it he sits down with Daisy Kellogg & Raymond Watts, who knew and worked with William Isaac for at least 10 years, detail the history of the Estelle Iron Mines. Raymond Watts stated that Ison was a nickname. They also mention Jess Lee, Herman Lee, Jep George, Alec George, James "Jim" Nalley, Richard "Dick" Huffman, and John Huffman...all of who were directly related to William Isaac Lee and/or his immediate family.
2:] William Isaac's headstone incorrectly lists his name as Isaac L. Lee. This is apparently a case of inscribing his name as other knew him rather than his actual legal name. It was placed there by Isaac's eldest son, John Herman Lee, sometime between 1944 and 1966.
All official documentation indicate that his name was legally William Isaac Lee as recalled by his wife of 44 years and the family doctor of at least 10 years, Mr. S. B. Kitchens...
1:] His wife, Lyddie Magdillon Warren signed her name as Mrs. W. I. Lee in multiple documents both before & after his death.
2:] He is listed as Isaac Lee in all but one of the U.S. Federal Censuses he appears in. In one, he appears as Ison...again, a common nickname in the late 1800s.
3:] His death certificate states his name was William Isaac Lee. The death certificate was filled out and signed by his wife. She signed her name "Mrs. W. I. Lee". It was then signed by his physician Mr. S. B. Kitchens.
4:] His name was listed as William Isaac Lee in his wife's and relative's family bibles.
== Date of Death ==
As for his date of death, his headstone is incorrect and was placed there somewhere between 11 and 33 years after his death.
Many sources list William Isaac's date of death as November 4th 1933 or 1934 because his tombstone states November 4th 1933. According to his death certificate, which was filled out by his wife & physician, he actually passed away on November 24th 1933 and was buried on the 25th. His wife of 44 years, Mrs. Liddie Magdillon Warren Lee, also lists his date of death as November 24th 1933 in her family bible.
The DNA Confirmed Parents of William Isaac Lee (1867-1933)
Regarding William Isaac Lee (b. April 1, 1864 Alabama - d. November 24, 1933 Estelle, Walker, Georgia) who married Lydia Magdillon Warren (b. March 8, 1872 Winchester, Franklin, Tennessee - d. August 12, 1957 LaFayette, Walker, Tennessee)...
I am the original source for Capt. William G. Lee (1839-1916) & Margaret Jane Morgan (1839-1925) being listed as William Isaac Lee's parents on so many family trees. In 2014, I added them as his parents only to research the possibility, not realizing that my Ancestry.com tree was publicly listed. This caused the information to spread like wildfire among his many descendants, then to distant kin, on to other researchers and eventually Google, Yahoo, Bing and many genealogical sites. Shortly after, based on William Isaac's recorded year of birth, his age made me determine that he could NOT be the child of William G. Lee and Margaret Jane Morgan.
The reason why this parentage was originally thought impossible was because Capt. William G. Lee was fighting in the Civil War from 1861 until late 1864. William Isaac Lee was purportedly born in April 1864, making this parentage highly improbable, even if out of wedlock. The most compelling argument that originally made this parentage impossible was that "Capt. Bill" met & married Margaret Jane Morgan 14 months AFTER William Isaac's birth. This was the view until DNA provided indisputable proof that William G. Lee and Margaret Jane Morgan ARE the parents of William Isaac Lee.
Why all the confusion? Well, it is well known to family that William Isaac was very secretive about his early life (parentage, family, personal history, place of origin, etc.). Late in life, he finally confided to his wife Lydia that he had stolen a horse at a very young age and ran away from home. He would never elaborate further on this, likely due to the stigma associated with horse theft at that time. It was a hangable offense in nearly every state throughout most of his life with no statute of limitation. With the new DNA evidence, the only possible explanation is that William Isaac had lied about his age and birthdate to both appear older (to obtain work) and to help hide his identity.
The few facts he gave about his early life have all proven to be false or distortions of the truth:
Birth Date of 1864:
The newfound DNA evidence for William Isaac's parentage disproves the birth year of 1864. William & Margaret did not wed until June 16th, 1865 in Monroe county, Tennessee...14 months AFTER William Isaac Lee was purported to have been born. Having a child out of wedlock was exceedingly rare in those days, especially for a prominent person such as Capt. Lee (a local hero after the war). The mother would immediately be labeled a "whore" and the father would almost always deny any claim to the child, or would often simply disappear. None of this happened. William G. & Margaret were both lifelong residents of Tellico Plains, were considered devout Baptists and pillars of their community. A more accurate birth for William Isaac is likely between January and October of 1867, as Margaret Jane had already given birth to children in both 1866 and 1868. Any earlier would be impossible as his parents had not yet met. A birth of 1869 or 1870 is also unlikely because he would have almost certainly appeared in the household in the 1870 census record and would have been too young to pass as a teenager in 1880. This suggested birth date of 1867 also coincides w/ William Isaac's reported age of 14 years in the 1880 census.
Twin Sister:
Late in life, William Isaac also briefly stated that he had a twin sister named Almeedy (or Almeda). William G. Lee & Margaret Jane Morgan did not have a child named Almeda/Almeedy. Their children born between 1865 & 1868 were all male. There are no records of an Almeda or Almeedy Lee (or other spelling variants) in the 1870 & 1880 censuses, family bibles or birth and death records. Nor is there any record of her having been buried at New Providence, the family cemetery or anywhere in Alabama. It appears that Almeedy likely did not exist.
Capt. Bill the Riverboat Captain & Sheriff of Dallas County:
William Isaac also stated that his father was a riverboat captain and the "sheriff of Selma Alabama", which is in Dallas County. No records exist of a riverboat captain having existed in Alabama named William or Bill Lee. Furthermore, no record of a constable, deputy or sheriff named William/Bill Lee exists. The sheriffs of Dallas County during William Isaac's early life were: 1861 - J.B. Harrison, 1865 - S.J. Howard, 1866 - James McDedman, 1868 George P. Rex, 1869 - George H. Craig, 1870 - Marcellus DeKamp, 1874 - C.M. Shelly and 1877 - George R. Mason. No William or Bill Lee before, during or after those dates. Nor was there ever a constable, deputy or sheriff named William/Bill Lee in any of the surrounding counties. This story was too specific in detail to be "misremembered" and was likely a fabrication that grew over time to give his father a (rightly deserved) air of importance, while concealing his parents' identity & his place of origin.
DNA Confirmation of Parentage:
As of this writing, 11 direct descendants of Capt. William G. Lee and Margaret Jane Morgan have taken DNA tests. Seven of these are confirmed descendants of William Isaac Lee; my aunt, a 1st cousin, myself and 4 distant cousins. The remaining 3 test takers are confirmed descendants through other children of William G and Margaret Jane. Each of the 11 tests show the same common ancestors, so the results are indisputable.
The only remaining question that might help us zero in on an exact birth date is why, to date, William Isaac has not been located in any 1870 census record.
- Charles B. Lee Jr.
(cblee1978 at yahoo dot com)
May 8th, 2020
(Revised May 20th, 2023)
Bio by: Charles B. Lee Jr.
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