Ferdinando Fairfax (born in 1766 at Shannon Hill, Jefferson County,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

(now

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

); died on 24 September 1820 at Mount Eagle,

Fairfax County Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is part of Northern Virginia and borders both the city of Alexandria and Arlington County and forms part of the suburban ring of Washington, D.C. ...

) was a

landowner and member of the prominent

Fairfax family Members of the Fairfax Family were prominent as Australian media proprietors, especially in the area of newspaper publishing through the company John Fairfax and Sons (later known as Fairfax Media, although the Fairfax family no longe ...

Early life

He was the youngest son of

Bryan Fairfax, 8th Lord Fairfax of Cameron Rev. Bryan Fairfax, 8th Lord Fairfax of Cameron (17361802) was an Anglican clergyman and Scottish peer (the title was created in 1627 before the Union of 1707). He was a lifelong friend of George Washington and became the first American-born Lo ...

(1736–1802) and Elizabeth Cary. His brother was

Thomas Fairfax, 9th Lord Fairfax of Cameron Thomas Fairfax, 9th Lord Fairfax of Cameron (1762–1846), was an American born Scottish peer, who along with his father, on 11 December 1799, was among the last guests at Mount Vernon before Washington died. Early life and family Thomas Fair ...

(1762–1846) and his grandfather was Col. William Fairfax (1691–1757).

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

and

Martha Washington Martha Dandridge Custis Washington (June 21, 1731 — May 22, 1802) 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 served as the inaugural ...

, who traveled to

Towlston Grange Towlston Grange is an 18th-century plantation in Great Falls in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The estate served as a residence for several prominent members of the Fairfax family. Towlston Grange is located at 1213 Towlston Road in Great ...

after his birth, were his godparents."Ferdinando Fairfax"
, author= Barbara Rasumussen Ferdinando was the heir to his uncle,

George William Fairfax George William Fairfax (January 2, 1724April 3, 1787) was a Planter (American South), planter in colonial Virginia who represented then-vast Frederick County, Virginia, Frederick County and later Fairfax County, Virginia, Fairfax County in the Hou ...

(1729–1787), son of

William Fairfax William Fairfax (1691–1757) was a political appointee of the British Crown in several colonies as well as a planter and politician in the Colony of Virginia. Fairfax served as Collector of Customs in Barbados, Chief Justice and governor of the ...

(1691–1757), who was married to Sally Cary (ca. 1730–1811), his mother Elizabeth's sister. George William Fairfax was Washington's close friend.

Career

Fairfax served as a

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

for Jefferson County, Virginia and was, at the same time, the largest slave owner in the County. From the 1770s onward, individuals in France, Britain, and North America developed plans to colonize freed black people as a way of encouraging emancipation. These individuals proposed to form colonies in Africa, in the Caribbean, or in the American West; notable proponents include

Granville Sharp Granville Sharp (10 November 1735 – 6 July 1813) was one of the first British campaigners for the abolition of the slave trade. He also involved himself in trying to correct other social injustices. Sharp formulated the plan to settle black ...

of England,

LaFayette Lafayette or La Fayette may refer to: People * Lafayette (name), a list of people with the surname Lafayette or La Fayette or the given name Lafayette * House of La Fayette, a French noble family ** Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757� ...

of France, and

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

of America. One of the first such plans came from four enslaved black men in New England, who petitioned the colonial government for permission to buy their own freedom and then transport themselves to a colony they wanted to found on the African coast. Fairfax offered his own "practicable scheme" for ending slavery through colonization when he developed his "Plan for Liberating the Negroes within the United States" in 1790. Many of these plans were similar in that they wanted the abolition of slaves to be gradual, they wanted the government to compensate the slave owners for the lost property, they wanted the government to pay to educate and prepare free blacks for life as independent people, and they wanted to colonize the freed slaves in a separate place from the white society. This was because most people at the time believed that the races would not be able to get along if they tried to live together. Fairfax later squandered his inheritance on visionary schemes and squatters lawsuits.

Personal life

Ferdinando married his first cousin Elizabeth Blair Cary, daughter of Wilson Miles Cary and Sarah Blair. The couple had the following children: *George William Fairfax (born November 5, 1797), who married Isabella McNeil *Wilson Miles Cary Fairfax, who married Lucy Griffeth *Farinda Fairfax, who married Perrin Washington, a descendant of

's brother

Samuel Washington Samuel ''Šəmūʾēl'', Tiberian: ''Šămūʾēl''; ar, شموئيل or صموئيل '; el, Σαμουήλ ''Samouḗl''; la, Samūēl is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the bi ...

(1734–1781). *Mary Fairfax who married Rev. Samuel Hagins *Sally Fairfax *Ferdinando Fairfax II, who married Mary Jett *Christiana Fairfax, who married Thomas Ragland *William Henry Fairfax *Thomas Fairfax *Archibald Blair Fairfax

Descendants

The Union officer in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, Donald McNeill Fairfax (1818–1894), was his grandson.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fairfax, Ferdinando 1766 births 1820 deaths 18th-century American Episcopalians 19th-century American Episcopalians American justices of the peace American people of English descent American people of Scottish descent American planters American slave owners British North American Anglicans Cary family of Virginia Episcopalians from Virginia Ferdinando People from Fairfax County, Virginia People from Jefferson County, West Virginia Younger sons of barons