George Ludlow Lee Sr.

Last updated
George Ludlow Lee Sr.
BornMarch 25, 1901
DiedAugust 8, 1966
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)chairman of Red Devil, Inc.

George Ludlow Lee Sr. (March 25, 1901 - August 8, 1966) was chairman of the board of Red Devil, Inc. [1]

Contents

Biography

He was born on March 25, 1901. [1] He married Dulcinea Harrison Smith. He had four children, George Ludlow Lee Jr., John Landon Lee, Dulcinea Harrison Lee, and Robert Todd Lee. He became chairman of the board of Red Devil and his son, George Ludlow Lee Jr. took over as president and CEO. [2] He died on August 9, 1966. [1]

George Ludlow Lee Sr. in Bernards Township, New Jersey

Mr. Lee was owner/treasurer of the Red Devil Tool Company of Irvington, New Jersey from 1937 to 1950. He later became chairman of the board, renamed the company Red Devil, Inc.. The company is now based in Tulsa, Oklahoma and is currently run by grandson CEO William (Bill) S. Lee. He is the 4th generation to lead the company. George was also an avid philatelist.

Mr. George L. Lee, Sr., his wife Dulciena Harrison Smith Lee, and his children George L. Lee, Jr., John Landon Lee, Dulcinea Harrison Lee, and Robert Todd Lee were from Maplewood, New Jersey. The family moved into the Cedar Hill Farm estate in Basking Ridge, NJ on the week of June 4, 1940. Mr. Lee served on the Bernards Township Planning Board and was its Vice Chairman in 1944.  He and his wife, Dulcinea Harrison Smith Lee, continued operation of the flourishing fruit farm, where local markets and roadside stands were supplied with the produce.

The Lee's felt that the taxes in Bernards Township were becoming outrageous,[ citation needed ] so in 1946, the Lee's moved to a bigger home called Dunleigh on the Bernardsville Mountain. The home was on Mine Mount Rd. and owned by William Stamps. The Lee's then sold Cedar Hill to the Bissell's in 1946.

Lee had held on to many parcels of land around the Cedar Hill Farm. He chose to break up the land into various sections. In the mid-50s, Lee donated 60 acres of land to Bernards Township Board of Education to build both Cedar Hill School (Opened Oct. 27,1957) and Ridge High School with their associated athletic fields. He also donated the property to the Township where the War Memorial Park stands today.

Ridge High School and the Red Devils

Ridge Red Devils Ridge Red Devils.png
Ridge Red Devils

Locals know the name Lee as the Ridge High School field was named after him as well as the high school mascot, the “Red Devil”. While the Red Devils are named after George Lee's company, the color is green because rival Bernardsville had red uniforms, so they chose green.

The Red Devil Company was originally founded as Smith & Hemenway Company, Inc. While the founder, George Lee Sr.'s father-in-law Landon P. Smith, was on a trip to Sweden he heard a blacksmith remark “those little red devils” after sparks from a forge singed his arm. The name stuck in Smith's mind and upon his return to the States he began to label many of the tools he sold with the RED DEVIL® trade name.

Additional Information

The history of the Astor Estate in Basking Ridge Archived 2019-02-13 at the Wayback Machine

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bedminster, New Jersey</span> Township in Somerset County, New Jersey, US

Bedminster is a township in Somerset County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 8,272, an increase of 107 (+1.3%) from the 2010 census count of 8,165, which in turn reflected a decline of 137 (−1.7%) from the 8,302 counted in the 2000 census. Located within the Raritan Valley region, Bedminster is part of the Somerset Hills of northern Somerset County, bordering both Hunterdon and Morris counties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bernards Township, New Jersey</span> Township in Somerset County, New Jersey, US

Bernards Township is a township in Somerset County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 27,830, an increase of 1,178 (+4.4%) from the 2010 census count of 26,652, reflecting an increase of 2,077 (+8.5%) from the 24,575 counted in the 2000 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bernardsville, New Jersey</span> Borough in Somerset County, New Jersey, US

Bernardsville is the northernmost borough in Somerset County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Situated in the heart of the Raritan Valley region, the borough is part of the Somerset Hills. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 7,893, an increase of 186 (+2.4%) from the 2010 census count of 7,707, which in turn reflected an increase of 362 (+4.9%) from the 7,345 counted in the 2000 census. Bernardsville is often mispronounced as "Ber-NARDS-ville" as opposed to the correct pronunciation "BER-nards-ville".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Far Hills, New Jersey</span> Borough in Somerset County, New Jersey, US

Far Hills is a borough in the Somerset Hills of northern Somerset County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 924, an increase of 5 (+0.5%) from the 2010 census count of 919, which in turn reflected an increase of 60 (+7.0%) from the 859 counted in the 2000 census. The borough is located within the Raritan Valley region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Bissell (industrialist)</span> American oil industry pioneer (1821–1884)

George Henry Bissell was an entrepreneur and industrialist who is often considered the father of the American oil industry. His company, the Pennsylvania Rock Oil, was the first Petroleum company in America. His businesses included oil companies, banks, railroads, and substantial real estate in New York. At his death in 1884, his son Pelham would inherit his fortune, making him among the richest men in the United States.

Henry Southard was a United States Representative from the state of New Jersey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Basking Ridge, New Jersey</span> Populated place in Somerset County, New Jersey, US

Basking Ridge is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Bernards Township in the Somerset Hills region of Somerset County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Carter I</span> American businessman and politician

Colonel Robert Carter I was a planter, merchant, and government official and administrator who served as Acting Governor of Virginia, Speaker of the Virginia House of Burgesses, and President of the Virginia Governor’s Council. An agent for the Northern Neck Proprietary, Carter emerged as the wealthiest Virginia colonist and received the sobriquet “King” from his contemporaries connoting his autocratic approach and political influence. Involved in the founding of the College of William and Mary, he acquired at least 300,000 acres and engaged one thousand enslaved laborers on fifty plantations. Carter was the largest land owner in Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ridge High School</span> High school in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States

Ridge High School is a four-year comprehensive community public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades from Bernards Township in Somerset County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as the lone secondary school of the Bernards Township School District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Somerset Hills</span>

The Somerset Hills is known as the northern region of Somerset County located in the U.S. state of New Jersey and includes the municipalities of Bedminster, Bernardsville, Bernards Township, Far Hills, and Peapack-Gladstone. The southwestern Morris County municipalities of the Chesters and the Mendhams are periodically recognized as part of the Somerset Hills.

George Lee may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen Pagliuca</span> American businessman (born 1955)

Stephen Gerard Pagliuca is an American private equity investor, co-chairman of Bain Capital, and co-owner of the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and Atalanta of Italian Serie A association football league.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brick Academy</span> United States historic place

Brick Academy is the nickname for a Federal-style brick building built in 1809 to meet the growing needs of the Basking Ridge Classical School located in the Basking Ridge section of Bernards Township, Somerset County, New Jersey. That school existed prior to 1799, at least 10 years before the construction of this building in 1809. The brick building was constructed for the elementary school run by local Presbyterian pastor, Rev. Robert Finley. This was about halfway through Rev. Finley's time at Basking Ridge. During the time he ran the school, attendance grew from fewer than 12 to an average near 25 students, and sometimes as high as 40 students. Students came from near & far, mostly from prominent families. The school was a high end preparatory school for boys who generally continued on to the College of New Jersey, later, known as Princeton University. In 1817, Rev. Finley quit Basking Ridge to briefly become president of the University of Georgia in Athens, GA. By 1828, the "Brick Academy" corporation was formed and the building continued use as a private, then public school in 1853, before being used for other purposes.

Jeffrey McDonald Chandor, better known as J. C. Chandor, is an Academy nominee American filmmaker, best known for writing and directing the films Margin Call (2011), All Is Lost (2013), A Most Violent Year (2014), Triple Frontier (2019) and Kraven the Hunter (2024).

Red Devil is a manufacturer of caulking, glazing, sealants and related surface preparation tools for glaziers, painters and masons. They are a privately owned family business with manufacturing facilities in Pryor, Oklahoma. The company is currently headquartered in Pryor, Oklahoma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Jersey legislative districts, 2011 apportionment</span>

The members of the New Jersey Legislature are chosen from 40 electoral districts. Each district elects one senator and two assemblymen.

Historical Society Somerset Hills (THSSH) is a historical organization in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. It was founded in 1928 as the Historical Society of Basking Ridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Perry Scott</span> American football player and coach (1917–1988)

Leonard Perry Scott Jr. was an American football player and coach. He played college football for Muhlenberg from 1937 to 1940 and professional football for the Detroit Lions in 1942 and the Bethlehem Bulldogs from 1947 to 1949. After his playing career ended, he coached high school football in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Franklin Corners, New Jersey</span> Populated place in Somerset County, New Jersey, US

Franklin Corners is an unincorporated community located along the Passaic River at the intersection of County Route 613 and U.S. Route 202 in Bernards Township of Somerset County, New Jersey. In the 19th century, it had a grist mill, saw mill, general store, school, and several houses. The Franklin Corners Historic District, featuring Van Dorn's Mill, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "George Ludlow Lee Dead; Headed Red Devil Company". New York Times . August 10, 1966. Retrieved 2010-11-24.
  2. "George Ludlow Lee Jr". New York Times . October 7, 1998. Retrieved 2010-11-27.