Background
His mother, Eleanor Lee, was the daughter of Philip Lee, Senior (1681–1744) of Blenheim. She was born in 1708 and married her cousin Benjamin Fendall on November 18, 1729.
His mother, Eleanor Lee, was the daughter of Philip Lee, Senior (1681–1744) of Blenheim. She was born in 1708 and married her cousin Benjamin Fendall on November 18, 1729.
Fendall constructed the Lee-Fendall House on the corner of Washington and Oronoco Streets as a lasting home for his family. Born on November 24, 1734 in Charles County, Maryland, Philip Richard Fendall had a profound influence on the socioeconomic and political structure of Alexandria, Virginia society. As a banker, lawyer, and merchant, he was active in the financial and mercantile interplay of a thriving seaport community.
Her husband, Benjamin Fendall (b 1705) was also a Maryland Lee, and his Fendall progenitors had held important offices in the Maryland colony.
Little is known about Philip Fendall"s early childhood. He probably grew up at Batten Cliffs, his father"s 550 acre estate overlooking the Potomac River in Charles County, Maryland.
In 1764, Fendall succeeded his father as Clerk of the Court of Charles County. As clerk, Fendall worked at the county seat at Portuguese Tobacco, Maryland and was responsible for the oversight of the judicial records.
Elizabeth brought significant land holdings to the marriage, including the 6,595 acres at Stratford Hall.
In that year, Fendall bought a half-acre lot at the corner of Washington and Oronoco Streets in Alexandria, Virginia from Light Horse Harry for ₤300. He constructed the Lee-Fendall House, a large family home on the lot in 1785. By 1787, Fendall"s wife Elizabeth had contracted a cancer-like disease.
Two years later, in 1791, Fendall married a third Lee lady, Mary Lee, daughter of Henry and Lucy Grimes Lee of Leesylvania plantation, sister of Light Horse Harry Lee, and thirty years younger than Fendall.
Mary and Philip Fendall had two children, Lucy Eleanor and Philip Richard Fendall World War II
As the town of Alexandria flourished, Philip Fendall pursued a wide spectrum of commercial and financial ventures. With a group of leading Alexandria and Georgetown merchants, including George Washington, he became involved in the formation and development of the Potomac Canal Company, one of the greatest engineering feats of its day.
As a director of the Bank of the United States in the 1790s, the citizenry of Alexandria drew upon his financial expertise to establish the first bank south of the Potomac in 1792. In 1793, Fendall was elected its first President.
As a man of diverse interests, he invested heavily in real estate.
Many of these investments failed and Fendall was swept away by the maelstrom of economic inflation and depression. Like many prominent civic, business and social leaders in the South, Fendall became a victim of an erratic and uncontrolled national economy and declared bankruptcy in 1803. The final years of Fendall"s life were not pleasant.
From 1800-1805, Fendall found himself besieged with debts and he became emotionally and financially overwhelmed.
Philip Fendall died in 1805.
He was a member of the Lee family and a friend and business partner to George Washington. Fendall was a member of the Maryland branch of the Lee family.
