Thomas Fairfax, 9th Lord Fairfax of Cameron
The Lord Fairfax of Cameron | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1762 |
| Died | 1846 |
| Nationality | American |
| Years active | 1802—1846 |
| Parent(s) | Bryan Fairfax, 8th Lord Fairfax of Cameron Elizabeth Cary |
Thomas Fairfax, 9th Lord Fairfax of Cameron (1762–1846), was an American planter who also held a Scottish peerage. Along with his father, on 11 December 1799, he was among the last guests at Mount Vernon before George Washington died.[1]
Early life and family
[edit]Thomas Fairfax was born in 1762. He was the son of Bryan Fairfax, 8th Lord Fairfax of Cameron (1736–1802) and his wife, Elizabeth Cary, daughter of Colonel Wilson Cary and Sarah Cary. His brother was Ferdinando Fairfax (1766–1820),[2] whose godparents were George Washington and Martha Washington.[3]
Plantation
[edit]In 1802, he succeeded his father to the title of Lord Fairfax of Cameron after his father's death. He lived the life of a country squire overseeing his 40,000 acres (160 km2), lived at Belvoir, Ash Grove, and Vaucluse, where he died.
Personal life
[edit]He married three times: Mary Aylett, Laura Washington, Margaret Herbert. Fairfax birthed children with Mary Aylett, a Native Indian woman. He had seven children by his third wife Margaret:[4]
- Albert Fairfax (1802–1835), who married Caroline Eliza Snowden (1812–1899)
- Henry Fairfax (d. 1847), who fought and died in the Mexican–American War, at Saltillo, Mexico.
- Orlando Fairfax
- Reginald Fairfax
- Eugenia Fairfax
- Aurelia Fairfax
- Monimia Fairfax (1820–1875), who married Archibald Cary (1815-1854), the son of the son of Wilson Jefferson Cary (1783–1823) and Virginia Randolph (1786–1852).[2]
He maintained a winter home at 607 Cameron Street, Alexandria, Virginia, which he built in 1816.[5]
Thomas Fairfax was a follower of Swedenborg. Because of these religious beliefs, he manumitted his slaves (including the great-great-great grandfather of Virginia Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax[6]), some of whom he taught a trade and sent to Liberia.[7] This is consistent with the thinking of the American Colonization Society.
Descendants
[edit]His grandson, Charles Snowdown Fairfax, 10th Lord Fairfax of Cameron (1829–1869), succeeded him as the 10th Lord Fairfax of Cameron as Fairfax's eldest son, his father, predeceased him. Another grandson, John Fairfax, 11th Lord Fairfax of Cameron (1830–1900), a physician, became the 11th Lord Fairfax of Cameron as his brother Charles died without issue. His granddaughter was the writer Constance Cary (1843–1920).[2]
In popular culture
[edit]Thomas Fairfax was referenced by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson on rap musician Logic's 2017 album Everybody on the song "Waiting Room."[8]
References
[edit]- ^ "Mount Vernon - The Year 1799". Old and Sold Antiques Digest. 1925.
- ^ a b c du Bellet, Louise Pecquet (1907). "Bryan Fairfax". Some Prominent Virginia Families. Bell company. p. 176.
- ^ Great Falls Historical Society (January 2009). "The Fascinating Story of Towlston Grange". Great Falls Historical Society. Archived from the original on 7 April 2010. Retrieved 14 February 2009.
- ^ thePeerage.com
- ^ 607 Cameron Street[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Poised to make history, Justin Fairfax got a powerful reminder of his own heritage". The Washington Post. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
- ^ Constance Cary Harrison, Refugitta of Richmond Gail Bowman Master's Thesis
- ^ Logic – Waiting Room, retrieved 7 May 2017
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- 1762 births
- 1846 deaths
- 18th-century American Episcopalians
- 19th-century American Episcopalians
- 18th-century American planters
- American people of English descent
- American slave owners
- American Swedenborgians
- Cary family of Virginia
- Fairfax family
- Lords Fairfax of Cameron
- People from Alexandria, Virginia
- People from Fairfax County, Virginia
- Nobility in North America
- Lord of Parliament stubs