George William Fairfax
Encyclopedia
George William Fairfax was a planter
and member of the landed gentry
of late colonial Virginia. He was a contemporary and good friend of George Washington
, and made opportunities for him through his powerful family.
, Massachusetts
. He was the son of Colonel Sir William Fairfax
, who served as an English Customs agent in Barbados
, as well as a justice and governor of the Bahamas. At his son's birth, William was working as the Customs Collector in Marblehead
. His wife was Sarah Walker, whose father Thomas Walker was Chief Justice of the Bahamas. In addition to George, the Fairfaxes had two daughters, Anne and Sarah. The father William was first cousin to Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron
. William's wife Sarah died January 21, 1731.
At Lord Fairfax's request, the senior Fairfax was reassigned to the colony of Virginia as customs agent. There he became a lieutenant of the County of Fairfax
, and member and president of the council in Virginia
(equivalent to lieutenant governor). William Fairfax also worked as a land agent for his cousin Lord Fairfax, managing his extensive holdings in the Northern Neck
of Virginia.
Because of his mixed race ancestry, William Fairfax worried about the reception of his young son by the London Fairfax family when he sent him to England.
After his family moved to Virginia, George William became a friend of George Washington
, who was seven years younger, and remained friends until Fairfaxe's death in 1787. George Williams's sister, Anne, had married George Washington's older half-brother Lawrence
in 1743 when George Washington was an adolescent. Fairfax arranged for Washington to help him to survey the Virginia lands of his cousin, Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron
.
In 1748, George William married Sally Cary Fairfax
, who came from one of Virginia's oldest and wealthiest families.
In 1757 after the death of his father, George William Fairfax inherited the Belvoir
plantation. His cousin Lord Fairfax moved to the Shenandoah Valley
in 1752, fixing his residence at Greenway Court
near White Post in Clarke County, at the suggestion of Thomas Bryan Martin
.
George William was a mentor to the young George Washington and Washington spent considerable time at Belvoir before his marriage to Martha Dandridge Custis
in 1759. From letters that have survived, it seems that George Washington had fallen in love with Sally Fairfax before his own marriage.
George William and his wife Sally Fairfax did not have any children. They returned to England in 1773, prior to the events of the American Revolutionary War
, to take care of a family property matter. Fairfax was a Loyalist
. He directed his friend George Washington to rent Belvoir and sell some of his property, including slaves. The Fairfaxes did not return to Virginia afterward, due to the political difficulties of travel from England to the colonies after the war.
In 1774 Washington wrote to George William Fairfax with an account of actions related to his business and property affairs in Virginia; with political tensions on the rise, he assured Fairfax he was keeping quiet about his friend's plans not to return to the colony. Washington also wrote of the Virginia governor's dissolution of the 1774 House of Burgesses
for passing a resolution critical of his office and the Crown, and news of tensions in the northern colonies. The two men continued to correspond during the buildup to war.
Plantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
and member of the landed gentry
Landed gentry
Landed gentry is a traditional British social class, consisting of land owners who could live entirely off rental income. Often they worked only in an administrative capacity looking after the management of their own lands....
of late colonial Virginia. He was a contemporary and good friend of George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
, and made opportunities for him through his powerful family.
Biography
Fairfax was born in MarbleheadMarblehead, Massachusetts
Marblehead is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 19,808 at the 2010 census. It is home to the Marblehead Neck Wildlife Sanctuary and Devereux Beach...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. He was the son of Colonel Sir William Fairfax
William Fairfax
William Fairfax was a political appointee of the English Crown and a politician: he was Collector of Customs in Barbados, and Chief Justice and governor of the Bahamas; he served as Customs agent in Marblehead, Massachusetts before being reassigned to the Virginia colony. There he was elected to...
, who served as an English Customs agent in Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
, as well as a justice and governor of the Bahamas. At his son's birth, William was working as the Customs Collector in Marblehead
Marblehead, Massachusetts
Marblehead is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 19,808 at the 2010 census. It is home to the Marblehead Neck Wildlife Sanctuary and Devereux Beach...
. His wife was Sarah Walker, whose father Thomas Walker was Chief Justice of the Bahamas. In addition to George, the Fairfaxes had two daughters, Anne and Sarah. The father William was first cousin to Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron
Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron
Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron was the son of Thomas Fairfax, 5th Lord Fairfax of Cameron and of Catherine, daughter of Thomas Culpeper, 2nd Baron Culpeper of Thoresway....
. William's wife Sarah died January 21, 1731.
At Lord Fairfax's request, the senior Fairfax was reassigned to the colony of Virginia as customs agent. There he became a lieutenant of the County of Fairfax
Fairfax County, Virginia
Fairfax County is a county in Virginia, in the United States. Per the 2010 Census, the population of the county is 1,081,726, making it the most populous jurisdiction in the Commonwealth of Virginia, with 13.5% of Virginia's population...
, and member and president of the council in Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
(equivalent to lieutenant governor). William Fairfax also worked as a land agent for his cousin Lord Fairfax, managing his extensive holdings in the Northern Neck
Northern Neck
The Northern Neck is the northernmost of three peninsulas on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay in the Commonwealth of Virginia. This peninsula is bounded by the Potomac River on the north and the Rappahannock River on the south. It encompasses the following Virginia counties: Lancaster,...
of Virginia.
Because of his mixed race ancestry, William Fairfax worried about the reception of his young son by the London Fairfax family when he sent him to England.
"Col. Gale has indeed kindly offered to take the care of safe conducting my eldest son George, upwards of seven years old but I judged it too forward to send him before I had your's or some one of his Uncles' or Aunts' invitation, altho' I have no reason to doubt any of their indulgences to a poor West India"West India" was a term used synonymously with Creole or mixed race, and although Sarah Walker's family was prominent in the Bahamas, documents of the time suggest that her mother was of African or part-African ancestry.Creole- Languages :A Creole language is a stable, full-fledged language that originated from a pidgin or combination of other languages.Creole languages subgroups may include:* Arabic-based creole languages* Dutch-based creole languages...
boy especially as he has the marks in his visage that will always testify his parentage."
After his family moved to Virginia, George William became a friend of George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
, who was seven years younger, and remained friends until Fairfaxe's death in 1787. George Williams's sister, Anne, had married George Washington's older half-brother Lawrence
Lawrence Washington (1718-1752)
Lawrence Washington was a soldier and prominent landowner in colonial Virginia. As a founding member of the Ohio Company of Virginia, and a member of the colonial legislature representing Fairfax County, he was chiefly responsible for securing the establishment of the town of Alexandria, Virginia...
in 1743 when George Washington was an adolescent. Fairfax arranged for Washington to help him to survey the Virginia lands of his cousin, Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron
Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron
Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron was the son of Thomas Fairfax, 5th Lord Fairfax of Cameron and of Catherine, daughter of Thomas Culpeper, 2nd Baron Culpeper of Thoresway....
.
In 1748, George William married Sally Cary Fairfax
Sally Fairfax
Sally Cary Fairfax was the wife of George William Fairfax , a prominent member of the landed gentry of late colonial Virginia. As such, she was mistress of the Virginia plantation and estate of Belvoir...
, who came from one of Virginia's oldest and wealthiest families.
In 1757 after the death of his father, George William Fairfax inherited the Belvoir
Belvoir (plantation)
Belvoir was the historic plantation and estate of colonial Virginia's prominent William Fairfax family. It was situated on the west bank of the Potomac River in Fairfax County, Virginia at the present site of Fort Belvoir. The main house — called Belvoir Manor or Belvoir Mansion — burnt in 1783...
plantation. His cousin Lord Fairfax moved to the Shenandoah Valley
Shenandoah Valley
The Shenandoah Valley is both a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians , to the north by the Potomac River...
in 1752, fixing his residence at Greenway Court
Greenway Court, Virginia
Greenway Court was the estate and hunting lodge of Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron in what is now Clarke County, Virginia, United States...
near White Post in Clarke County, at the suggestion of Thomas Bryan Martin
Thomas Bryan Martin
Colonel Thomas Bryan Martin was an early American jurist, legislator, and prominent landowner.-Biography:Martin was born in England to Denny Martin and his wife, Frances Fairfax , sister of Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron , and arrived in Virginia from England in 1751...
.
George William was a mentor to the young George Washington and Washington spent considerable time at Belvoir before his marriage to Martha Dandridge Custis
Martha Washington
Martha Dandridge Custis Washington was the wife of George Washington, the first president of the United States. Although the title was not coined until after her death, Martha Washington is considered to be the first First Lady of the United States...
in 1759. From letters that have survived, it seems that George Washington had fallen in love with Sally Fairfax before his own marriage.
George William and his wife Sally Fairfax did not have any children. They returned to England in 1773, prior to the events of the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
, to take care of a family property matter. Fairfax was a Loyalist
Loyalist (American Revolution)
Loyalists were American colonists who remained loyal to the Kingdom of Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. At the time they were often called Tories, Royalists, or King's Men. They were opposed by the Patriots, those who supported the revolution...
. He directed his friend George Washington to rent Belvoir and sell some of his property, including slaves. The Fairfaxes did not return to Virginia afterward, due to the political difficulties of travel from England to the colonies after the war.
In 1774 Washington wrote to George William Fairfax with an account of actions related to his business and property affairs in Virginia; with political tensions on the rise, he assured Fairfax he was keeping quiet about his friend's plans not to return to the colony. Washington also wrote of the Virginia governor's dissolution of the 1774 House of Burgesses
House of Burgesses
The House of Burgesses was the first assembly of elected representatives of English colonists in North America. The House was established by the Virginia Company, who created the body as part of an effort to encourage English craftsmen to settle in North America...
for passing a resolution critical of his office and the Crown, and news of tensions in the northern colonies. The two men continued to correspond during the buildup to war.
External links
- "Letter from George Washington to George William Fairfax, May 31, 1775", American Memory, Library of Congress