His family migrated to Sydney in 1829, and Lee was educated at The King's School, Parramatta.
On 21 July 1856 he married Sarah Amelia Stephens, with whom he had nine children, 8 daughters and a son.
From 1861 to 1874 he was chairman of the Hunter River New Steam Navigation Company, and he was also a squatter and a police magistrate at Bathurst.
[1] In 1864 he was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for West Maitland, following a bitter campaign between 3 local men with almost identical policies,[1][2] notable for personal attacks,[3][4][5] and fights between supporters at the declaration of the poll.
[6] The Australian Dictionary of Biography described Lee as "normally even-tempered and moderate",[1] however he was involved in the first physical fight in the Legislative Assembly on 27 February 1868.