Joseph Lee was born into slavery but died a wealthy Auburndale hotelier - Newton Beacon

Joseph Lee was born into slavery but died a wealthy Auburndale hotelier - Newton Beacon

Joseph Lee was born into slavery in South Carolina in 1847. By 1886, he was one of the wealthiest men in Newton. When he died in 1908, his obituary in the New York Age, said, “Rich men and poor men, black men and white, all knew and respected Joseph Lee as an able man and a true friend.” He’d had a long career as a restaurateur, hotelier, inventor, and member of Boston’s African-American intellectual life. He spent over a decade as a steward for…