Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron
Encyclopedia
Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron (October 22, 1693 – December 9, 1781) was the son of Thomas Fairfax, 5th Lord Fairfax of Cameron
Thomas Fairfax, 5th Lord Fairfax of Cameron
Thomas Fairfax, 5th Lord Fairfax of Cameron was the great-grandson of Thomas Fairfax, 1st Lord Fairfax of Cameron. His father was Henry Fairfax, 4th Lord Fairfax of Cameron and his mother was Francis Barwick...

 and of Catherine, daughter of Thomas Culpeper, 2nd Baron Culpeper of Thoresway.

The only resident peer
Peerage of Scotland
The Peerage of Scotland is the division of the British Peerage for those peers created in the Kingdom of Scotland before 1707. With that year's Act of Union, the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England were combined into the Kingdom of Great Britain, and a new Peerage of Great Britain was...

 in late colonial America
Colonial America
The colonial history of the United States covers the history from the start of European settlement and especially the history of the thirteen colonies of Britain until they declared independence in 1776. In the late 16th century, England, France, Spain and the Netherlands launched major...

, Fairfax administered his vast Northern Neck Proprietary — a 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...

 land grant
Land grant
A land grant is a gift of real estate – land or its privileges – made by a government or other authority as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service...

 dating back to 1649 — from his wilderness estate at Greenway Court, Virginia
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...

. Various place names in Northern Virginia
Northern Virginia
Northern Virginia consists of several counties and independent cities in the Commonwealth of Virginia, in a widespread region generally radiating southerly and westward from Washington, D.C...

 and West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...

's Eastern Panhandle are named for him—most notably Fairfax County, Virginia
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...

.

Youth and early adulthood

Born at Leeds Castle
Leeds Castle
Leeds Castle, southeast of Maidstone, Kent, England, dates back to 1119, though a Saxon fort stood on the same site from the 9th century. The castle is built on islands in a lake formed by the River Len to the east of the village of Leeds....

 in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...

, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 — owned by his maternal Culpeper ancestors since the 1630s — Lord Fairfax succeeded to his title in 1709. He was educated at Oriel College, Oxford between 1710 and 1713 and afterward held a commission
Officer (armed forces)
An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...

 in the Royal Regiment of Horse Guards (1721–1733). He was a contributor to the early newspaper Addison's Spectator
The Spectator (1711)
The Spectator was a daily publication of 1711–12, founded by Joseph Addison and Richard Steele in England after they met at Charterhouse School. Eustace Budgell, a cousin of Addison's, also contributed to the publication. Each 'paper', or 'number', was approximately 2,500 words long, and the...

.

In 1719, Fairfax came into possession of the vast Culpeper family estates in Virginia's 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,...

 Proprietary
Proprietary colony
A proprietary colony was a colony in which one or more individuals, usually land owners, remaining subject to their parent state's sanctions, retained rights that are today regarded as the privilege of the state, and in all cases eventually became so....

 between the Rappahannock
Rappahannock River
The Rappahannock River is a river in eastern Virginia, in the United States, approximately in length. It traverses the entire northern part of the state, from the Blue Ridge Mountains in the west, across the Piedmont, to the Chesapeake Bay, south of the Potomac River.An important river in American...

 and Potomac River
Potomac River
The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...

s. These lands included a great portion of the Shenandoah
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...

 and South Branch Potomac valleys, in all consisting of some 5,282,000 acres (21,380 km²). Struggling to keep up an expensive lifestyle and maintain Leeds Castle
Leeds Castle
Leeds Castle, southeast of Maidstone, Kent, England, dates back to 1119, though a Saxon fort stood on the same site from the 9th century. The castle is built on islands in a lake formed by the River Len to the east of the village of Leeds....

, Fairfax relied on the income from his Virginia tract, both from the sale of land and the annual quit rents, paid by planters who settled in the Northern Neck. These rents were collected by his resident land agent, Robert "King" Carter
Robert Carter I
Robert "King" Carter , of Lancaster County, was a colonist in Virginia and became one of the wealthiest men in the colonies....

. In the fall of 1732, Fairfax read Carter's obituary in the London monthly The Gentleman's Magazine
The Gentleman's Magazine
The Gentleman's Magazine was founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1922. It was the first to use the term "magazine" for a periodical...

and was astonished to read of the vast personal wealth Carter had accumulated, which included 10,000 Pounds in cash: this at a time when the Governor of Virginia was paid an annual salary of 200 pounds. Rather than appoint another Virginian to the position, Lord Fairfax arranged to have his cousin Colonel 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...

 move in 1734 from 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...

 to 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...

 to serve as his resident land agent.

In North America

Lord Fairfax travelled to Virginia for the first time between 1735 and 1737 to inspect and protect his lands. In 1738, about thirty farms were established as part of his 9000 acres (36.4 km²) Patterson Creek Manor
Patterson Creek Manor
Patterson Creek Manor was a 9,000 acre land grant held by Lord Fairfax near present day Burlington, West Virginia. Starting in 1738 about 30 farms were established here.-External links:*...

 near present day Burlington
Burlington, West Virginia
Burlington is an unincorporated census-designated place in Mineral County, West Virginia located along U.S. Route 50 where it crosses Pattersons Creek. As of the 2010 census, its population was 182. It is part of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area...

, West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...

. The northwestern boundary of his Northern Neck Proprietary, which had been contested by the English Privy Council, was marked in 1746 by the "Fairfax Stone
Fairfax Stone
Fairfax Stone Historical Monument State Park is a West Virginia state park commemorating the Fairfax Stone, a surveyor's marker and boundary stone at the source of the North Branch of the Potomac River in West Virginia...

" at the headwaters of the North Branch Potomac River. Returning to America in 1747, he first settled at 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...

 (present-day Fort Belvoir
Fort Belvoir
Fort Belvoir is a United States Army installation and a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Originally, it was the site of the Belvoir plantation. Today, Fort Belvoir is home to a number of important United States military organizations...

), an estate
Estate (house)
An estate comprises the houses and outbuildings and supporting farmland and woods that surround the gardens and grounds of a very large property, such as a country house or mansion. It is the modern term for a manor, but lacks the latter's now abolished jurisdictional authority...

 which had been completed by Col. Fairfax six years earlier. He then became active in developing his lands and collecting ground rents.

Fairfax was the only resident peer
Peerage of Scotland
The Peerage of Scotland is the division of the British Peerage for those peers created in the Kingdom of Scotland before 1707. With that year's Act of Union, the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England were combined into the Kingdom of Great Britain, and a new Peerage of Great Britain was...

 in North America
Thirteen Colonies
The Thirteen Colonies were English and later British colonies established on the Atlantic coast of North America between 1607 and 1733. They declared their independence in the American Revolution and formed the United States of America...

 — William Alexander's claim to be the Earl of Stirling
Earl of Stirling
Earl of Stirling was a title in the Peerage of Scotland created on 14 June 1633, along with the titles Viscount Canada and Lord Alexander of Tullibody, for William Alexander, 1st Viscount Stirling. He had already been created Viscount of Stirling and Lord Alexander of Tullibody on 4 September 1630...

 was never fully successful and other peers held offices in the Colonies, but returned to Britain afterwards. In 1748, he made the acquaintance 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...

, a distant relative of the Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...

 Fairfax family who was then a youth of 16. Impressed with Washington's energy and talents, Lord Fairfax employed him (his first job ever) to survey
Surveying
See Also: Public Land Survey SystemSurveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional position of points and the distances and angles between them...

 his lands lying west of the Blue Ridge
Blue Ridge Mountains
The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. This province consists of northern and southern physiographic regions, which divide near the Roanoke River gap. The mountain range is located in the eastern United States, starting at its southern-most...

.

Fairfax, a life-long bachelor, moved out 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. At the suggestion of his nephew 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...

, he fixed his residence at a hunting lodge 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
White Post, Virginia
White Post is an unincorporated town in Clarke County, Virginia, USA. White Post is located at the crossroads of White Post and Berrys Ferry Roads off Lord Fairfax Highway White Post is an unincorporated town in Clarke County, Virginia, USA. White Post is located at the crossroads of White Post and...

, Clarke County
Clarke County, Virginia
Clarke County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2010, the population was 14,034. Its county seat is Berryville.-History:Clarke County was established in 1836 by Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron who built a home, Greenway Court, on part of his 5 million acre property,...

.
Here he and Martin lived together in a style of liberal hospitality, frequently indulging in the diversion of the chase
Fox hunting
Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase, and sometimes killing of a fox, traditionally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds, and a group of followers led by a master of foxhounds, who follow the hounds on foot or on horseback.Fox hunting originated in its current...

. He served as county lieutenant and as justice of the peace
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...

 for Frederick County
Frederick County, Virginia
Frederick County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is included in the Winchester, Virginia-West Virginia Metropolitan Statistical Area. It was formed in 1743 by the splitting of Orange County. For ten years it was the home of George Washington. As of 2010, the population was...

 which then included Clarke.

The Revolution

Though a frank and avowed 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...

, Fairfax was never insulted or molested by the Whigs
Patriot (American Revolution)
Patriots is a name often used to describe the colonists of the British Thirteen United Colonies who rebelled against British control during the American Revolution. It was their leading figures who, in July 1776, declared the United States of America an independent nation...

. His domain, however, was confiscated during the hostilities by the Virginia Act of 1779. Less than two months after the 1781 defeat of Cornwallis at Yorktown
Siege of Yorktown
The Siege of Yorktown, Battle of Yorktown, or Surrender of Yorktown in 1781 was a decisive victory by a combined assault of American forces led by General George Washington and French forces led by the Comte de Rochambeau over a British Army commanded by Lieutenant General Lord Cornwallis...

, the 88 year old Fairfax died at his seat 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...

. He was buried on the east side of Christ Church (Episcopal) in Winchester, Virginia
Winchester, Virginia
Winchester is an independent city located in the northwestern portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the USA. The city's population was 26,203 according to the 2010 Census...

.

Legacy

  • Lord Fairfax's title descended to his only surviving brother, Robert Fairfax, 7th Lord Fairfax of Cameron
    Robert Fairfax, 7th Lord Fairfax of Cameron
    Robert Fairfax , 7th Lord Fairfax of Cameron , died at Leeds Castle, England, which he inherited from his mother Catharine, daughter of Thomas Culpeper, 2nd Baron Culpeper of Thoresway....

    , who died at Leeds Castle
    Leeds Castle
    Leeds Castle, southeast of Maidstone, Kent, England, dates back to 1119, though a Saxon fort stood on the same site from the 9th century. The castle is built on islands in a lake formed by the River Len to the east of the village of Leeds....

     in 1793. Since, but for the war, his immense domain should also have passed to Robert Fairfax, the latter was awarded 13,758 in 1792, by Act of Parliament for the relief of American Loyalists. A portion of this estate, devised to nephew Denny Martin Fairfax, was later the subject of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court
    Supreme Court of the United States
    The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...

     case Martin v. Hunter's Lessee
    Martin v. Hunter's Lessee
    Martin v. Hunter's Lessee, , was a landmark United States Supreme Court case decided on March 20, 1816. It was the first case to assert ultimate Supreme Court authority over state courts in matters of federal law.-Background:...

    (1816).
  • Fairfax County, Virginia
    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...

     is named for Lord Fairfax.
  • Fairfax, West Virginia
    Fairfax, West Virginia
    Fairfax is an unincorporated community in Grant County, West Virginia, USA....

     is named for Lord Fairfax.
  • The Fairfax Line
    Fairfax Line
    The Fairfax Line was a surveyor's line run in 1746 to establish the limits of the "Northern Neck land grant" in colonial Virginia....

     and Fairfax Stone
    Fairfax Stone
    Fairfax Stone Historical Monument State Park is a West Virginia state park commemorating the Fairfax Stone, a surveyor's marker and boundary stone at the source of the North Branch of the Potomac River in West Virginia...

     both bear Lord Fairfax's name.
  • Lord Fairfax Community College bears his name.
  • The Swan Pond Manor Historic District
    Swan Pond Manor Historic District
    Swan Pond Manor Historic District is a national historic district located near Martinsburg, Berkeley County, West Virginia. It encompasses 21 contributing buildings, one site, and one structure, over 2,465 acres...

     encompasses land Lord Fairfax set aside in 1747 for his personal use.




External links

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