The Sunday telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1914-1927, 1915-08-22
Mother Of General Lee
Slept IN Family DnuH
Long before His Birth
WarfieId / ee or CaHettsburg,
Tells Story of Strange
Event.

General Robert Z. Lee the mill
tary hero and leader of the South,
was born fifteen months after his
mother was Iaidsto rest In her cas-
lset IN the family vault on Arlington
Heights. s
This sounds like q strange phe-
nomenon Of nature. but It Is true,
nevertheless History, 30 far as 1t
touches the life Of this great mill
tary genius, fails to mention this
incident.
Warfield Lee. Of Catlettsburg, IS
familiar with the story Of the Incl
cent and occasionally relates it to-
his acauaintances. And the catletts-
burg man Is in position to know for
he is grand nephew of General Lee.
The grand distin guished military
leader was brother to Warffeld
Lees father. Samuel Lee.
Lees Story.
He tells the story as follows:
Light Horse" Harry Lees wife was
in very i'll health In 1900. The
family physician had pronounced
that his skill and knowledge OF med
ical science could not save her life.
Her condition grew steadily more
precarlous until one day four physic-
ians about her bedside pronounced
her dead. She lay in state In the
great Lee mansion on Arlington
Heights for four days. On the NTH
day, she was placed in casket: On
the sixth day she was removed to
the family mausoleum
On the seventh day the sexton went
into the mausoleum to lay flowers
on the casket and sweep the floor,
for the day before had been quite
rainy and the shoes of those follow
ing the distinguished woman to her
final rest dropped considerable n1ua.
While sweeping the ord sexton
heard a weak, far on sounding voice
call Help. help. help. Inc sex,
ton could not account for the voice
unless 1t were from the dead. ana
he soon was without the walls of the
mausoleum Arguing to himself rhe
voice had been entirely in his mag
nation, he finally took courage ana
returned to his sweeping.
Finishing his sweeping he walked
to the casket to strew the flowers
over the lid. Again he heard that
weak far off voice calling Help.
help" He was standing directly
over the glass of the lid and looking
into the face of the supposedly dead
woman he saw her lips qu1yer. Inc
lid was hurrfedIy removed by MIN
before he summoned assistance. MIS-
Lee was taken from the mSusoleum
to the house where she soon recov-
cred and lived to a ripe old age.
Son Is Born.
Fifteen months after the incident
Robert E. Lee was born.
The Catlettsburg man is also
descendant of the woman VINO Was
laid away for dead His father was
Lunsfield Lee, who had an estate In
ROCKINGHAM county, Va, at the out
break OF the Civil war. The son en-
listed at the age of twelve years ana
eight months in the Eighth Virginia
cavalry, to be transferred at the END
of the first battle of Bull Run to
the Sixth Virginia cavalry. Although
belonging to the latter outfit, he
spent a little time with it as he was
assigned to detached service as a
scout.
That he had some thrilling and
narrow escapes during the war Is at
once seen in the bullet holes that
scar his body. The ugliest scar ne
carries is on the throat. received
when a cavalryman almost severed
his iuglar vein with saber. Seven
bullet scars can be seen on his body
To save his life from a bullet wound
once. a part of silver half dollar
was placed in his head to patch UP
a hole caused by the removal OF
part of the skull.
Mr.. Lee has been resident OF cat"
1ettsburg for thirty-nine years. In
his sixty.seventh year. he enjoys ex-
cellent health which he attributes to
a physique acquired through the
hardshfps he underwent In the four
years of war.