American planter
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
[
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]
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
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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 km
2
), lived at
Belvoir
,
Ash Grove
, and
Vaucluse
, where he died.
Personal life
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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
[
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]
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
[
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]
Thomas Fairfax was referenced by astrophysicist
Neil deGrasse Tyson
on rap musician
Logic
's 2017 album
Everybody
on the song "Waiting Room."
[8]
References
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]
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