Samuel Jones Lee

Lee was born in Abbeville District, South Carolina, on the plantation belonging to Samuel J. McGowan. His mother was a free black woman and Lee asserted that his father was Samuel J. Lee of Charleston, although no documentation has been found to prove this - some historians have argued that McGowan was his father.[1]

Even after his retirement from politics he remained active in the Republican Party, regularly speaking at party events. In 1891 he was appointed a general in the state's "colored militia", a position in which he continued to serve until his death.[1]

On 1 April 1895 Lee died in Charleston. At the news of his death the United States Circuit Court adjourned. He was buried with military honors at Friendly Union Cemetery, Charleston, in a funeral attended by six thousand people.[1]

Lee was the first African-American Speaker of the South Carolina House of Representatives. Despite this achievement, he is described by University of South Carolina academic Lewis W. Burke as having "left a trail of scandal in the wake of his political career." In 1875, while serving as an Aiken County commissioner, Lee was convicted of issuing fraudulent checks and in 1877 he was indicted on various counts of public corruption; however, he was granted immunity from prosecution in exchange for his testimony against Francis Cardozo. Once again, Lee was charged with corruption in 1879, although these charges were dropped.[1]