William Fairfax

William Fairfax

William Fairfax, builder of Belvoir, arrived in the Virginia colony in the 1730s from Massachusetts, where he had served as Collector of Customs for the Crown. From 1734 to 1741, Fairfax and his wife Deborah lived along the lower Potomac, where William again assumed the position of Collector of Customs and acted as land agent for his cousin, Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron, proprietor of the massive Northern Neck land grant.

During this time, he also assembled the property and constructed the dwelling complex at Belvoir Manor. Fairfax's elegant new home was completed in 1741. Historic documents and archeological remains found at Belvoir Manor both attest to the elegant lifestyle enjoyed by the Fairfax family. The mansion itself, described in a 1774 rental notice, was spacious and well-appointed. Its furnishings consisted of "tables, chairs, and every other necessary article ... very elegant." Ceramics imported from Europe and the Orient graced its tables.

Prominent citizens of the colony, including George Washington, a neighbor and a close friend, visited frequently, and Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron, the only member of the British nobility ever to reside in the colonies, lived at Belvoir before he moved to the Shenandoah Valley.Despite the grandeur of their surroundings and the refinement of their furnishings, planters like the Masons, McCartys, Washingtons, and Fairfaxes did not lead indolent lives. Conscious of their civic duty, they were the political, social, economic, and religious leaders of their immediate neighborhood and of the colony at large.

William Fairfax was a case in point. As President of the Governor's Council in Williamsburg, he held a position equivalent to today's Lieutenant Governor; in this position, he represented the colony at an important conference with the Iroquois Indians in 1753. It was he who introduced the bill that created Fairfax County as a separate political jurisdiction in 1742, and he subsequently served as presiding Justice of the County Court, and as County Lieutenant, the county's chief law-enforcement officer.

At the same time, he managed his own large properties throughout Fairfax County and served as the land agent for his cousin, Lord Fairfax. George William Fairfax, William's son and heir and a close personal friend of George Washington's, continued his father's tradition ofpublic service.


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