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Book of Common Prayer Inscribed by Robert E. Lee With direct family provenance connecting the Ritchie, Harrison, Cross, and Lee families of Virginia and Washington, D.C. Title: The Book of Common Prayer, and Administration of the Sacraments and Other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church, according to the use of the Protestant Episcopal Church. Imprint: D. Appleton & Company, New York, 1856. Full embossed leather binding, leather rubbed and worn commensurate with age. Newspaper clipping of Miss Belle Cross to front free paper. Portrait of Robert E Lee opposite free paper with inscriptions. Pages with light sporadic soiling and foxing. Provenance and Inscriptions 1. First inscription, October 31, 1856: "For Dearest Anne Eliza Cross, from her devoted Sister, Isabella H. Harrison. October 31st, 1856." Isabella Harmanson Ritchie Harrison (1809 1898), daughter of Thomas Ritchie (longtime editor of the Richmond Enquirer), and wife of George Evelyn Harrison of Brandon Plantation. Addressed to her sister, Anne Eliza Ritchie Cross (1821 1899), who married William Bradley Beanes Cross in Washington, D.C. in 1849. 2. Second inscription, undated. "I hope you will use it faithfully R E Lee" Together, these inscriptions connect two prominent Virginia families with the Lee household. The Ritchie sisters (Isabella and Anne Eliza) were part of the inner circle of Richmond and Washington society. Surviving Lee Family letters explicitly mention "Mrs. Harrison" and "Mrs. Cross" among their acquaintances. Mary Anna Randolph Custis Lee (Mrs. Robert E. Lee) herself corresponded with Isabella Harrison in 1870, and Robert E. Lee s daughter Agnes sends "love to Mrs. Cross" in an 1862 letter confirming a documented social link. This Book of Common Prayer passed from Anne Eliza Cross into the Lee household, most likely through Mary Anna Randolph Custis Lee (wife of Robert E. Lee). Robert E. Lee then inscribed the volume and presented it to Anne Blaws Barraud Cocke, from whom it has been passed down through the Cocke family. .
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