Lee (Joseph E.) is born in Boston.

The son of Henry Lee Jr. and Elizabeth (Cabot) Lee, Joseph Lee graduates from Harvard College and Harvard Law School, marries Margaret Cabot, and, after her death, marries Marion Snow in 1930. He becomes a supporter of restrictive immigration laws, as well as progressive social causes and philanthropy. Lee moves to 48 Chestnut Street (48 Beacon Street) in 1899. He champions passage of the Playground Law of 1908, which requires the state’s cities and towns to establish playgrounds and is elected president of the National Playground and Recreation Association of America in 1919. Lee dies in Cohasset in 1937, and is buried in Walnut Hills Cemetery in Brookline.