James Lee (abt. 1887 - 1915)

Born about 7 Feb 1887 in Raceland, Lafourche, Louisiana, United States

Ancestors

Died 22 Apr 1915 at about age 28 in Raceland, Lafourche, Louisiana, United States

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Biography

Jimmy Lee is Notable.

James "Jimmy" Lee was an African-American jockey who made history in 1907 when he won all six races on his card at Churchill Downs, Kentucky, the first jockey to achieve this feat on American soil. ^[1]

James was born about 1887 in Raceland, Louisiana, the son of Augusta Hadley.^[2] Although no records have been found yet that name his father, it seems likely that his mother's husband Major Lee, who she married in 1882, was his father. By 1900, Augusta and Major had separated and Jimmy was living with Augusta in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana.^[3]

Jimmy started working with horses around the age of 14, in 1901. ^[4] On June 5, 1907, he made racing history when he won all six races on a six-race card at Churchill Downs, Kentucky.^[5] Though he was the third jockey in the world to win all the races on his card, he was the first jockey to accomplish this record on American soil.^[6] In 1907, his winning streak included the Clipsetta, the Latonia Derby and the Latonia Oaks at Latonia Racetrack, Latonia (Covington), Kentucky.^[7] On June 8, 1907 he also won the Kentucky Oaks on a horse named "Wing Ting" at Churchill Downs.^[8][9]

Jimmy went on to win six stakes races in 1908, including the famous Travers Stakes at the Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York, on "Dorante," a horse trained by African-American trainer Raleigh Colston, Jr.^[10] According to Ed Hotaling in They're Off! Horse Racing at Saratoga, "no African American jockey followed [Jimmy Lee] to glory" after his 1908 win at Saratoga; "they had all but vanished."^[7]

Jimmy died in his hometown area of Raceland, Louisiana in 1915. According to a newspaper report out of San Francisco, California "Lee was penniless when he died, although he had won a small fortune during his career on the turf." ^[11]

The location of James Lee's grave is believed to be in the Young Ladies Benevolent Society Cemetery (also known as Morristown Cemetery) in Raceland, Lafourche Parish, Louisiana. This stone reads: James Lee, Birth: 7 Feb 1887, Death: 22 April 1915.^[12]

Research Notes

• Date of Birth: Jimmy's birth year of 1887 appears to be well established in racing sources and other written accounts. However, the 1900 Federal Census for his family lists a James Lee, son of the same Augusta Lee, (widow) as born in 1891 - age 9 .^[3]
• Find a Grave accepted suggested edits submitted and updated the birth and death dates to match headstone photo, verified 1 Sept 2022.

Sources

1. ↑ “Lee, James (jockey),” Notable Kentucky African Americans Database, accessed August 13, 2022, https://nkaa.uky.edu/nkaa/items/show/2000.
2. ↑ 1910 Census: "United States Census, 1910"
   citing enumeration district (ED) ED 39, sheet 29B, family 398, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 517; FHL microfilm 1,374,530.
   FamilySearch Record: MPY7-3VG (accessed 12 August 2022)
   FamilySearch Image: 33SQ-GRVW-XPN Image number 00415
   James Lee (23), single stepson, in household of Pleas Mason (50) in Police Jury Ward 3, Lafourche, Louisiana, United States. Born in Louisiana.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} 1900 Census: "United States Census, 1900"
   citing enumeration district (ED) 33, sheet 25B, family 508, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1972.); FHL microfilm 1,240,567.
   FamilySearch Record: MS5Z-C6S (accessed 12 August 2022)
   FamilySearch Image: S3HT-6SQS-587
   James Lee (9), single son, in household of Augusta Lee (26) in Ward 7, Lafourche, Louisiana, United States.
4. ↑ James Robert Saunders, Monica Renae Saunders, Black Winning Jockeys in the Kentucky Derby, (McFarland & Co., 2003) p. 99.(https://books.google.com/books?id=2q6zCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA99&lpg=PA99&dq=%22Jockey+%2B+%22James+Lee%22+%2B+travers&source=bl&ots=oFpz6ZXBcc&sig=ACfU3U2PFRnndlJ5xY57HAp0EWNfS6bzrw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjB1vDWksD5AhVtGVkFHathB8YQ6AF6BAgcEAM#v=onepage&q=%22Jockey%20%2B%20%22James%20Lee%22%20%2B%20travers&f=false)
5. ↑ "Wonderful Record Made by Jockey Lee," and "Jockey J. Lee, the 'Black Demon' of the Turf," The Courier-Journal, Louisville, Kentucky, 6 Jun 1907, p. 8 (https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107640501/james-jimmy-lee)
6. ↑ Carly Silver, "The Sad History of Racism in American Racing," thoroughbredracing.com, 7 Sept. 2020 (https://www.thoroughbredracing.com/articles/4735/shocking-history-racism-american-racing)
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} Ed Hotaling, They're Off! Horse Racing at Saratoga, (1995) p. 190. (https://books.google.com/books?id=m5f72G7RpDsC&pg=PA190&lpg=PA190&dq=%22James+Lee%22+%2B+jockey+%2B+%22the+black+demon%22&source=bl&ots=dHvy7LSQfW&sig=ACfU3U19lfjPDB_QsKLUANia75dURg2H1Q&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiQyrXRisD5AhXDM1kFHeWKBgIQ6AF6BAgLEAM#v=onepage&q=%22James%20Lee%22%20%2B%20jockey%20%2B%20%22the%20black%20demon%22&f=false)
8. ↑ "Wing Ting Wins Oaks in a Drive," The Courier-Journal, Louisville, Kentucky, 9 Jun 1907, p. 29. (https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107642271/jockey-james-lee).
9. ↑ "Kentucky Oaks," List of Winners, Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kentucky_Oaks)
10. ↑ "Travers Stakes," List of Winners, Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travers_Stakes#:~:text=First%20held%20in%201864%2C%20it,1900%2C%201911%2C%20and%201912.)
11. ↑ "Jimmy Lee, Famous Old Jockey, Dies," San Francisco Call, CA, Vol. 97, 125, 24 May 1915. California Digital Newspaper Collection, UCR, Center for Bibliographical Studies and Research (https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=SFC19150524.2.168&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN--------1)
12. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/169182534/james-lee: accessed 14 August 2022), memorial page for James Lee (7 Feb 1887–22 Apr 1916), Find A Grave: Memorial #169182534, citing Young Ladies Benevolent Society Cemetery, Raceland, Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, USA; Maintained by Joy (contributor 19533032).

Photo

• Primary Photo: John C. Hemment, “Jimmy Lee,” The Keeneland Library, accessed August 12, 2022, https://keenelandlibrary.omeka.net/items/show/251.

• Photo: John C. Hemment, “At Belmont,” The Keeneland Library, accessed August 23, 2022, https://keenelandlibrary.omeka.net/items/show/597.

• Photo with Notation: "This Kentucky Distillery Is Honoring the Black Jockeys Who Changed the Derby Forever," travelandleisure.com, (https://www.travelandleisure.com/food-drink/cocktails-spirits/woodford-reserve-honoring-kentucky-derby-black-jockeys).