LEE, FRANCIS LIGHTFOOT, a signer of the declaration of independence, was born in Virginia, in 1734. He inherited a large fortune, and in 1765, became a member of the house of burgesses of his native state, and continued in that body till 1775, when he was chosen a member of the continental congress. He remained in this assembly till 1779, when he entered the legislature of his native state. He died in 1797.
LEE, RICHARD HENRY, an eminent patriot, and signer of the declarationof independence, was born in Virginia, in 1732, and received his education in England. He returned to his native country when in his nineteenth year, and devoted himself to the general study of history, politics, law, and polite literature, without engaging in any particular profession. In his twenty-fifth year, he was chosen a delegate to the house of burgesses, where he soon distinguished himself by his powers in debate. In 1764, he was appointed to draught an address to the king, and a memorial to the house of lords, which are among the best state papers of the period. His efforts in resisting the various encroachments of the British government were indefatigable, and in 1774, he attended the first general congress at Philadelphia, as a delegate from Virginia. He was a member of most of the important committees of this body, and labored with unceasing vigilance and energy. The memorial of congress to the people of British America, and the second address of congress to the people of Great Britain, were both from his pen. In June, 1776, he introduced the measure that declared the colonies free and independent states, and supported it by a speech of the most brilliant eloquence. He continued to hold a seat in congress till June, 1777, when he solicited leave of absence, on account of the delicate state of his health. In August of the next year, he was again elected to congress, and continued in that body till 1780, when he declined a re-election till 1784. In that year he was chosen president of congress, but retired at the close of it, and in 1786, was again chosen a member of the Virginia assembly. He was a member of the convention which adopted the present constitution of the United States, and one of the first senators under it. In 1792, he again retired from public life, and died in 1794.
LEWIS, MERIWETHER, a celebrated explorer, was born in Virginia, in 1774, and, after receiving a good school education, engaged in agriculture. When general Washington called out a body of militia in consequence of the discontent produced by the excise taxes, young Lewis entered as a volunteer, and from that situation was removed to the regular service. In 1803, he was sent by president Jefferson on an exploring expedition to the north-western part of our continent; and of this expedition, which was completed in about three years, and in which he was accompanied by Mr. Clarke, a highly interesting account was afterwards published. Lewis was subsequently appointed governor of the Louisiana territory. He put an end to his own life in 1809. He was a man of energy, perseverance, and of a sound understanding.
LINCOLN, BENJAMIN, a major-general in the revolutionary army, was born in Hingham, Massachusetts, in 1733, and until the age of forty years was engaged in the pursuits of agriculture. At the commencement of the revolution, he was elected a member of the provincial congress, in 1776, received the commission of major-general, and employed himself vigorously to improve the discipline of the militia. He was second in command in the army which compelled the surrender of Burgoyne. On the day after the battle of Stillwater, he received a dangerous wound in his leg, and was confined for several months by its effects. In the following year, he was appointed to the command of the southern department, and while in this post he attempted the defence of Charleston, but was compelled to capitulate in May, 1780. He was exchanged in November, and in the spring following joined the army on the North river. At the siege of Yorktown he commanded a central division, and shared largely in thedangers and honors of the day. In 1781, he was appointed secretary of the war department, and afterwards on several occasions commissioner to treat with the Indians. On the establishment of peace, he returned to his native state, and in 1787, was appointed to command the troops employed in the suppression of the insurgents in Massachusetts. In 1788, he was chosen lieutenant governor, and in the following year he was a member of the convention which ratified the constitution of the United States. He died in 1810. He was the author of several published letters and essays; a member of the American Academy of the Arts and Sciences; and president of the society of Cincinnati of Massachusetts.
LIVINGSTON, ROBERT R., a celebrated statesman and lawyer, was born in New York, and was educated at King’s college. He engaged in the profession of the law, and was elected to the first general congress of the colonies, where he was one of the committee appointed to prepare the declaration of independence. In 1780, he was appointed secretary of foreign affairs, and at the adoption of the constitution at New York, chancellor of that state. This last office he held till 1801, when he was sent minister plenipotentiary to France. It was in Paris that he formed a personal friendship with Robert Fulton, whom he materially assisted. In 1805, he returned to the United States, and devoted the remainder of his life to the promotion of agriculture and the arts. He died in 1813.
LOWELL, JOHN, an eminent lawyer, was born at Newbury, in 1744, and was educated at Harvard college. He studied law, and rising to reputation, in 1761, he removed to Boston, and soon distinguished himself by his political knowledge and eloquence. In 1781, he was elected a member of congress, and on the establishment of the federal government, was appointed a judge of the circuit court of the United States. In these situations he was much respected for his legal knowledge and dignity. He died in 1802.
LOWNDES, WILLIAM, a celebrated statesman, was a native of South Carolina, and was for many years a distinguished member of congress. His mind was vigorous, comprehensive, and logical; and his disposition eminently kind, frank, and generous. He was in a high degree ardent and patriotic. He entered congress in 1812, and retained his seat for about ten years, when ill health compelled him to resign. In 1818, he was chairman of the committee of ways and means. He died at sea, in October, 1822, at the age of forty-two. It was said of him in the house, by Mr. Taylor of New York, that ‘the highest and best hopes of the country looked to William Lowndes for their fulfilment. The most honorable office in the civilized world, the chief magistracy of this free people, would have been illustrated by his virtues and talents.’
M’KEAN, THOMAS, an eminent judge, and a signer of the declaration of independence, was born in Pennsylvania, in 1734, and, after a course of academic and professional studies, was admitted to the bar at the age of twenty-one years. His political career commenced in 1762, when he was returned a member of the assembly from the county of Newcastle. He was a member of the congress which assembled in New York, in 1765, to obtain relief of the British government for the grievances under which the colonies were suffering. In this body he behaved with much decision and energy. In 1774, he was appointed to the general congress, a delegate from the lower counties in Delaware, and was the only man who, withoutintermission, was a member during the whole period. Of this body he was president in 1781. In 1777, he was appointed chief justice of Pennsylvania, and discharged the duties of this office with impartiality and dignity, for twenty-two years. In 1799, he was elected governor of the state of Pennsylvania, and his administration continued for nine years. In 1808, he retired from public life, and died, much respected and honored, in 1817.
MARION, FRANCIS, a distinguished officer of the revolutionary army, was born in South Carolina, in 1732, and first served in 1761, as a lieutenant against the Cherokees. Soon after the commencement of the revolution, he received a major’s commission, and in 1780, he obtained that of brigadier-general. He continually surprised and captured parties of the British and the royalists, by the secrecy and rapidity of his movements. On the evacuation of Charleston, he retired to his plantation, where he died in 1795. He was bold, generous, and severe in his discipline.
MASON, GEORGE, a statesman, was a member of the general convention, which, in 1787, framed the constitution of the United States, but refused to sign his name as one of that body to the instrument which they had produced. In the following year, he was a member of the Virginia convention, to consider the proposed plan of federal government. In union with Henry, he opposed its adoption with great energy, and is the author of one of the articles inserted among the amendments of that instrument. So averse was he to the section which allowed the slave-trade for twenty years, that he declared his vote should be cast against the admission of the southern states into the Union, unless they would agree to discontinue the traffic. He died at his seat in Virginia, in the autumn of 1792, at the age of sixty-seven.