"This match was considered a brilliant one for Lieutenant Lee, his wife being looked upon as a great heiress, possessed of a large landed estate and a multitude of slaves. Yet she has often been heard to declare that the advantage of the wedding was largely on her side, since her husband's management of her estate was so skilful [sic] and judicious as to make it more valuable and remunerative than she could possibly have done. His profession, however, obliged him to be nearly always absent from home, which was probably the main reason for her father's objection to the marriage."
Memoirs of Robert E. Lee, , A. L. Long, The Blue and Gray Press, 1983, p. 33