LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2007 December Civil War Auction #674  / 

72112

MRS. SIDNEY SMITH LEE: PERSONAL 1858 DIARY

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:260.00 USD Estimated At:500.00 - 1,500.00 USD
MRS. SIDNEY SMITH LEE: PERSONAL 1858 DIARY
<B>MRS. SIDNEY SMITH LEE: PERSONAL 1858 POCKET DIARY.</B></I> approximately 370 pages, 4” x 2.75”, inscribed “<I>Presented to Mama by Bobby. Christmas day. Phil. Navy Yard. Dec. 25th 1857.</B></I>” In this case “<I>Mama</B></I>” was Anna Maria Mason Lee (1811 - 1898), wife of Robert E. Lee’s brother, “Smith”, and mother of, among others, Confederate Major-General Fitzhugh Lee. Anna Maria’s own line was equally illustrious in that she was the grand-daughter of Founding Father George Mason. This diary was undoubtedly presented to her by her youngest son, Robert Carter Lee. In 1858, Mrs. Lee’s husband was a highly regarded U.S Navy Captain who had sailed with Commodore Perry’s fleet to Japan. Her eldest son, Fitzhugh, was at the time serving as a cavalry lieutenant in Texas. The diary records the daily concerns of a military wife in peacetime. Given the author’s numerous family connections, however, close examination of the text might yield some pre-war trivia about personalities who would become Confederate luminaries within a few years. Binding somewhat loose, covers worn. Enclosed is a small sampler, 3.75” x 2.25”, reading “<I>To My Mother</B></I>”. <BR><BR><B>Condition:</B></I> Very good overall.<BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Flat Material, Small (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
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