Joseph Lee became a member of the Massachusetts Masonic Lodge on August 2, 1773.
Four months later, on December 16th, he joined several masonic brothers in throwing East India Company tea into Boston Harbor. Lee was a successful eastern Massachusetts merchant established from Boston’s North Shore as a successful shipbuilder, working in conjunction with his in-laws, the Cabot family. Fellow Boston Tea Party participant John Gammell’s daughter, Sarah Gammell, mentions Lee as having joined her father in a letter written in the 1860s. During the Revolutionary War, Cabot & Lee ships were outfitted as privateers to support the cause. In 1807, Lee moved to Boston. There, he invested in and served as director of several banks and insurance companies.
Joseph Lee died in Boston, Massachusetts, on February 6, 1831. He is buried in Boston’s Granary Burying Ground.
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