Born circa 1750, Lee was purchased on May 3, 1768, when he was just a teenager, by George Washington, as described in Washington's account book as Mulatto Will, from the estate of the late Colonel John Lee of Westmoreland County, Virginia for sixty-one pounds and fifteen shillings.
Washington was a frequent fox hunter, and Lee became his huntsman (the person in charge of the hounds or dogs), a role that required expert horsemanship.