William and Priscilla Lee
Commemorated on this tomb are
William Lee and his wife
Priscilla Lee.
William was born in 1702 in Stoneleigh, one of the three sons of Thomas and Ursula Lee; he was baptised there on 18 June. He married, first, Sarah, who died in 1732, perhaps in childbirth, as a daughter, Sarah, was baptised in that year. No record of marriage to Priscilla has been found but their son Thomas (
D 9.4) was born in 1737; there were also two daughters.
William died in 1761 and was buried on 8 July. The register states that he is "from Stareton" and the family continued to farm there for several generations. In his will he made provision for all his children, though in the case of Sarah, who was married to Coventry baker Nathaniel Read, he left legacies to the three eldest children who should attain the age of twenty-one. The inventory of his goods is extensive, coming to a total value of £751. His farm in Stareton was evidently well-stocked with animals and arable crops, but he also left land in Barston and Balsall.
Little is known about
Priscilla except that she died on 24 January 1776 and was buried at Stoneleigh on 28 January, the register stating that she was from Milverton, though "late of Stareton." In her will she made her unmarried daughter Elizabeth her executrix, leaving considerable legacies to her son Thomas and his son William, to her daughter Mary who had married Edward Baker of Milverton, and to two grandchildren, William and Sarah Read, who were the children of her step-daughter Sarah and her husband Nathaniel Read.
