Caswell County Heritage, family 437, says his father is William Lea of King and Queen County, VA.

According to his great grandson, Lorenzo Lea, James Lea came from England apparently with his parents.

Letter from Gabriel M. Lea to Edwin Holmes Lea, 1 June 1897:

My great grandfather James Lea came from England & located two miles West of Leasburg, N. C. now in Caswell Co, a village named after the Lea family & he had five children: Polly (Lea), William (Lea), Gabriel (Lea), James (Lea) & Phoebe (Lea). He had a brother William Lea who settled 3 miles East of Leasburg, was a dry goods merchant & died in Leasburg. He had 3 children: George (Lea), Annis (Lea) and Nicey (Lea). It was about 1750 when the 2 brothers settled in Leasburg, which was then in Orange Co N. C. My grandfather, Gabriel Lea lived 1 mile West of Leasburg, was at one time a member of the Legislature. He was born 1758, died 1834. His wife Elizabeth Ashburn died a few years later, 83 years old. They had 9 children, viz: Vincent (Lea), Phebe (Lea), William (Lea), Gabriel (Lea), James (Lea), Elizabeth (Lea), Polly (Lea), Sally (Lea), & Barbara (Lea). My father Gabriel B. Lea was born in Leasburg 1783, died in 1871, 87 years old, was for some years a dry goods merchant in Leasburg then moved to Pleasant Grove, Orange Co. where he married my mother Mary A. McCauley, only dau of Andrew McCauley who came over from Londonderry Ireland & died in 1840 about 100 yrs old. My father had 6 children: Maria Louisa (Lea), Martha Ann (Lea), William Andres (Lea), Gabriel McCauley (Lea), James Washington (Lea) and Addison Lea. I was born in Orange Co., now Alamance Co, N. C. in 1825. Affectionately, Gabriel M. Lea.

Source: Amite County, Mississippi 1699-1890 (Volume #3): The Environs, Albert Eugene Casey (1957) at 553.


This is from (RRLF pp. 125-126):
James Lea of Kilgores Branch was the same person as James Lea of Spotsylvania Co, VA, the orphan son of John Lea of King & Queen Co dec'd, and therefore was the brother of Capt. William Lea of South Hico. My reasons for this conclusion are: (1) This James Lea witnessed a deed in Spotsylvania Co, VA, in 1754, two years after James Lea of Country Line was settled in Orange Co, NC. The deed which James Lea witnessed in Spotsylvania Co, VA, in 1754 was for a portion of the land which William Lea, James' brother, received in the settlement of their father's estate and which, before leaving Spotsylvania Co, VA, William had sold to Thomas White. The deed (to the church wardens for a churchyard) which James Lea witnessed was signed by Thomas White and his wife, Betty, who was probably the sister of James and William Lea. (2) Rev. Lorenzo Lea was quite certain that James Lea of Kilgores Branch was the brother of Capt. William Lea of South Hico, and he was in a position to know. Born in 1806 in Leasburg, Rev. Lorenzo Lea knew personally his grandfather, Gabriel Lea, son of James Lea of Kilgores Branch. From his grandfather, Gabriel, and from his father, William, Lorenzo had ample opportunity to learn family facts and relationships. It would not be wise to set aside his testimony without clear proof to the contrary. (3) An entry in a Rose Family Bible says "Jas. Lea, brother of Capt. William . . . departed this life at his son W . . . at Caswell Court House . . . April 1792." The will of James Lea of Country Line was proved in court in March 1792, so this Bible entry could not have referred to him. Although the NC Legislature established the town of Leasburg in 1788, that community was referred to by the local people as "Caswell Court House" until well into the 1790s. Even the Caswell Court itself used that term instead of the term "Leasburg" as late as July 1791 when the court granted to John McNeill a license to have an ordinary in his store at "Caswell Court House". Other records show that John McNeill's store was at Leasburg. The Bible entry says that James Lea died "at his son W...", and we know that James Lea of Kilgores Branch had a son named William who lived at Caswell Court House and was known as "William Lea Senr of Leasburg". Although Person County was separated from Caswell County in January 1792, the location of the new courthouse for Caswell county (later to be named Yanceyville) was not chosen until September 1792 and the new courthouse was put in an area where no community had previously existed. The new courthouse building was not occupied until July 1793. It appears, therefore, that the Bible entry could not have referred to James Lea of Country Line but had to refer to James Lea of Kilgores Branch.

This is taken from HHCC, article 437:
According to Lorenzo Lea, James' great grandson, James came from England apparently with his parents. He mentions that he had a brother William who settled close by and had a store in Leasburg. The latter remark is probably to William Lea, son of James, who was a merchant in Leasburg. A brother William may be the William who died in 1762. Since James Lea gave his power of attorney after death of William Lea and John Lea in 1781---he may have been the last of his family in the locale.

This is taken from HHCC, article 440:
It was in ancient Cheshire, Wales, in 1718 that James Lea was born. Lea Hall, the ancestral home of the Lea family is located in Hamerhill, north of Shrewsbury in modern Salop, England.
This reference says he died on 2 Jun 1788.

In 1740 they brought their family, along with James' younger brothers, William and John, to America. They settled in eastern Virginia. They may have resided in Orange Co, VA, before their entry into Orange, later Caswell County, NC. By 1749-1750 they moved on to North Carolina, although James and Anne did not sell their land in St. George Parish, Spotsylvania, VA, until March 5, 1753. The Leas moved to North Carolina to a point afterwards called for them, Leasburg, in Orange County. They settled in the part of the county which was to become Caswell County. There they established and built an English church. They later converted to the Baptist faith. These three brothers' names appear in the North Carolina Achives as petitioners for the divison of Orange County. Several of their sons' names also appear there.

G356 (David_grawrock@sprynet.com) says they married about 1746 in King and Queen County, VA.