The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-03-23
LORD FAIRFAX
TILTED BY HIS LADY LOVE HE
 MADE HIMSELF AN EXILE.
Built Palace in the valley-At Bel voir He Dispensed a Splendid
 Hospitality to the Gentry " of the Time.

voir He Dispensed Splenolu
 Hospitality to the Gentry
 " of the Time.
 Winchester Special to Richmond Times.
 One hundred and twenty years ago. March F, 17s2-there passed away man who was one of the most conspicuous figures in that history-making period-a man who knew and who was known by all the grs at men of this section of the then struggling colonies. but whose mem ory. 1t seems, has fallen like an autumn leaf. How many of this generation are acquainted with the life of Thomas. Ba- ron of Cameron, the sixth lord or the House of Fairfax other than occasionally hearing him referred to as "old Lord Fairfax of Greenway Court"' Some know that such per son once existed, but 1t Is not probable that more than a few of the people of this day are aware of the fact that his was one of the most romantic lives ever spent on Virginia soil. In his career were incidents which would cause many a man to grab the bare bodkin" or any other ready method by which he could make his quietus. Yet this old English lord lived here for many years after his heart had been crushed.
 About seventy-two years ago. while re- pairs were being made at Leeds Castle. an old broken chest was carried away by a poor shoemaker, who found in it. among some Dutch titles. a number of parchments and letters, and. not being able to appreciate their value. cut some of them up into measuring strips. Many of the letters were given to Maidstone milliners as winders for their thread. student of history, however, discovered what remained of some of the papers and compiled several volumes of Fair fax Correspondence" which formed q valuable compendium of the Civil War. in which the Fairfaxes played important parts It was Charles who created the title of Lord Fairfax. Baron of Cam eron." in TIPS. after Sir Thomas of Dem ton had refused title from King James. to whom he had been sent by Queen Eliz- abeth to arrange a negotiation.
 The name Fairfax being of Saxon ori- gin, Is said to have been derived from an ancestor who had fair hair, but whether flair fax mean light hair or not in the Saxon language Is not essentially import ant. However. the Yorkshire chronicles have long regarded them as an ancient Saxon family.
 The fifth Lord Fairfax was handsome and extravagant and was a colonel in ''The Kings Own.' as we'll as a member of Parliament from York. He married the fair and accomplished Catherine Cole peper, daughter of Lord Colepeper. and this marriage was the beginning of the disintegration of the Fairfax fortunes. The fair Catherine inherited not only Leeds Castle and estates In Kent and elsewhere, but rights in the Northern Neck of Virginia, comprising 5000, 900 acres of the finest land on the globe. Lord Fairfax. the Fifth, died in Hl0. 1saving bis family in a bad financial State. Thomas was tha eldest Of three brothers
 He was born in 1892 Ss Denton, York shire, England, and in ITO he graduated at Oriel College. oxford. He became in- timate with such writers as Steele and Addison and wrote for The Spectator un- der My Lords pen. Young Thomas. then sixth lord. was imposed upon by his mother, whose extravagance led her to sell Denton and her youngest sons inheritance in Yorkshire. Finding her Kentish estate involved, she compelled the young lord to acquiesce in the sale through a threat from his grandmother, l Lady Colepepper, of being deprived of his Northern Neck estates.
 He never forgave the wrongs done him by his mother and grandmother. Not withstanding, after his Oxford career he made his debut into London society. and | in addition to all his other blessings was. | according to an ancient writer. "a vastly pretty fellow" His name. his position 1 and fortune brought around him hordes | of fiatterers, who idolixed him. Another old chronicler. whose works are quite scarce, in telling of such a combination | of fortunes smiles being concentrated upon the young man, relates the story of how he became entangled in the meshes so often thrown by slsillful matchmaking | matrons and says:
 'In this case. however, 1t was not a l catch simply of the lady who charmed him. She had secured lover true and devoted: she had aroused in her admirer a feeling that lasted unto death. love | that could compromise with nothing short | of it's first object. To lose that first love was to shut forever from his heart any other. And. alas. for poor Fairfax, he whom We of Virginia only know as the stern old Lord of Greenway Court. the | proprietor of also countless acres of this beautiful valley land. the patron of that l illustrious man who gave us freedom and l an independent country; this splendid l young Fairfax. with a line of soldier lords stretching backward five hundred l years. was tilted by the faithless fair one upon whom he had lavshed all the af- | lection of his honorable nature: the en- | gage ment peremptorily broken, after all
  | and jewels and trousseaux ordered, con-
 tracts signed and guests invited-because
 the fact had come to the Knowledge of 1 the lady that her affianced had lost a
 portion of his domains!
 Who the false and calculating one was | is not now known. at least to the world. l for Lord Fairfax carefully and witf
 the consideration worthy of an honorable l gentleman. effaced the signature Of the
 lady from the marriage contract only
 leaving his own, apparently to attest the | loyalty of his devotion
 Many years ago there was found in an l old deserted Virginia house musty parchment. with the writing faded almost
 beyond recognition, yet discernable to | careful eye. It was the marriage con
 tract, and 1t is held by one of the Fair | fax descendants of Virginia. This cpl
 sode drove Lord Fairfax to the wilds of | the Old Dominion Ha investigated his | estates here and returned to his old home | in order to arrang, his affairs that he
 could forever turn his back upon the land
 so dear to him yet so full of bitter mem- l ories. Returning to America in 1739, he lived for awhile at "Belvoir," on the Po-
 tomqc. with his cousin and agent, Will liam Fairfax. The elegance and comfort
 of "Belvoir' exceeded anything of the
 kind in the colony. and to it's welcome
 gates came the Nelsons Lees Carters
 Carys, Pages, Randolphs, Berkeleys