Andrew Lee
The map of West Mount Vernon is from G.M. Hopkins, located in the Office of the Librarian of Congress in Washington.
Andrew Lee, an African American, owned land in West Mount Vernon, Fairfax County. The purpose of the exhibit was to shed light on his life and land ownership through the evidence found.
Tracing Andrew Lee's land ownership was a challenging and complicated process. At the time, there was another Andrew Lee who lived in Dranesville, which caused some confusion. However, with the help of Fairfax County Circuit Court's Historic Records Center and the Virginia Room of Fairfax County, the evidence was traced.
Andrew Lee was found in the 1894 tax record in the colored section, which referred to non-white races at that time. By looking at Andrew Lee in grantee and grantor indexes, pieces of evidence such as deeds were connected to his life, land ownership, and future research.
1892 Fairfax County Tax Record
The earliest available tax record of the property owned by Andrew Lee.
The historical tax records provide valuable insights into property ownership in West Mount Vernon during the late 19th century. In 1892, Andrew Lee owned ten acres of land with a value of twenty dollars per acre, including the building. As a result, the county imposed a tax of eighty dollars on him. The most recent record available, from 1894, still lists Andrew Lee as the owner.
Interestingly, the property was originally part of a chancery case and was acquired by Lovelace and Emily Brown, who subsequently sold it to Andrew Lee. These details shed light on the complex history of land ownership in the area.
It was established by the newspaper and other pieces of evidence that Andrew Lee had resided in West Mount Vernon prior to and after purchasing the property. Among the evidence was the "List of Colored Voters Voting in the Third Magisterial District of Fairfax County" from 1867, which confirmed that he had been a resident of West Mount Vernon.
This opportunity enabled me to examine original historical documents and gain insights of African-American people and their property during that period. Each document contained unique information and had been connected to other documents, allowing for a more comprehensive understanding of the research.
By Haram Kim