Levi N. Lee, born April 23, 1843, in Coosa County, Alabama, was a prominent farmer and lumber manufacturer in Wooster, East Fork Township, Faulkner County, Arkansas. The seventh of eleven children of Isaiah and DeMaris (Donovan) Lee, Levi was educated in Coosa County and Fish Pond Academy. After farming successfully in Alabama, he moved to Faulkner County in 1882, purchasing and cultivating sixty acres of land. He established a mill and cotton gin, becoming a key local figure. A Civil War veteran, Lee was married twice: first to Sarah E. Richardson in 1862, with whom he had nine children, and later to M. J. Simmons in 1889. Active in politics and the Baptist Church, Lee contributed significantly to the community’s development.
Levi N. Lee, one of the leading farmers and an extensive manufacturer of all kinds of lumber at Wooster, East Fork Township, Faulkner County, was born in Coosa County, Ala., on April 23, 1843, and was the seventh child of eleven born to Isaiah and DeMaris (Donovan) Lee, natives of Columbia District, S.C., and Alabama, respectively. The father was first married in South Carolina but lost his wife soon after. He met and married his second wife in Alabama and resided in that state until his death in 1878. The elder Lee was an extensive planter and a well-known citizen of Alabama, in which state his mother still resides.
Levi N. was reared on his father’s farm and instructed in the various duties of agricultural life, receiving his education in the schools of Coosa County and the Fish Pond Academy. After finishing his studies, he commenced farming for himself and purchased an improved plantation of 420 acres in his native county. He remained there and continued at that occupation with success until 1882, when he moved to Faulkner County, Ark., and settled at Wooster. He purchased sixty acres of very fertile land at this place, and has placed it all under cultivation. The following year after his arrival, he erected a mill plant and a cotton gin, his various interests now making him one of the busiest men in that section. He is active in politics and also advocates the Union Labor ticket.
Mr. Lee was married in Coosa County, Ala., in 1862, to Miss Sarah E. Richardson, of Georgia, a daughter of George W. and Nancy (Hall) Richardson, who were among the early settlers of Alabama. The father died in 1866, but the mother is still residing in Coosa County, Ala. Mr. and Mrs. Lee were the parents of the following children: James L. (who resides in Union Township), Sarah V. (now Mrs. Adams, residing in Texas), J. H., Adaline (now Mrs. Dickens, of Greenbriar, Ark.), Anna, John, O. H., L. L., and Ola G. Mr. Lee lost his excellent wife in 1888, and in 1889 was married to Miss M. J. Simmons, of Faulkner County, a daughter of Harrison and Missouri (Lyon) Simmons, natives of Indiana who came to Arkansas in 1861, and settled in what is now Faulkner County, where the father became an extensive farmer. Harrison Simmons died in 1884, but his wife still survives him.
During the Civil War, Mr. Lee enlisted in Capt. Wright’s company for one year and was assigned to the Eighth Cavalry Regiment. At the expiration of his term, he re-enlisted in the same company for three years and took part in the battles of Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, Antietam, and Marietta, Ga. At the latter place, he was severely wounded by a gunshot in the hip, which confined him for some time in the hospital at Atlanta. After his recovery, he rejoined his regiment and fought in a number of battles before the surrender. In 1865 he was paroled at Montgomery, Ala., and returned to Coosa County.
Mr. and Mrs. Lee are both members of the Baptist Church and liberal contributors to religious and educational matters. Mr. Lee has watched with interest the growth and progress of Faulkner County since his residence in that place and notes with pleasure that a vast change has taken place not only in the agricultural, commercial, and industrial affairs of the county but from a moral standpoint as well.