Thomas Lee

Who was Thomas Lee?

Thomas Lee was a United States federal judge.

Born in Charleston, South Carolina, Lee read law to enter the bar in 1790. He was in private practice in Charleston from 1790 to 1791. He was an associate judge on the Court of General Sessions and Common Pleas in Charleston from 1791 to 1792. He was a solicitor for the Southern District of South Carolina from 1792 to 1794, and state solicitor general of South Carolina from 1794 to 1798. He served in the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1796 to 1804, and was the Cashier of that body in 1798, and its clerk in 1798, 1800 in 1802. He was the state comptroller of South Carolina from 1804 to 1816. He was in private practice in Charleston, South Carolina from 1817 to 1823, briefly serving again in the South Carolina House of Representatives in 1822. He was a President of the Bank of South Carolina from 1817 to 1839.

On February 7, 1823, Lee was nominated by President James Monroe to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina vacated by John Drayton. Lee was confirmed by the United States Senate on February 17, 1823, and received his commission the same day.