The Washington times., 1906-11-05
KEEFER UNEARTHS
FAIRFAX HISTORY
Interesting Facts AboutGen.
erd Washington and
GreenWay Court.

Joseph =. Keefer. OF this city. who is
Q relative OF General Washington and
wlo has spent some time visiting To-
caites connected with the history of
the genera, recently visited the ruins Of
''Greenway Court which was built by
Lord Thomas Fairfax. and states that
with the exception OF the old manor
house the place has pretty much the
appearance must have had during the
tine Of its distinguished occupants.
One hundr'd years before the surreuL
der OF Lord CornwaIlis at Yorktown.
when James .he Second was reignIng in
England, the title 70 lands In the then
new possession were to be had by gen
tlemen CT thscrOwn for merely the ask
ing. and q wa ordered by the royal au-
thOrity that letters patent should be is
sued IN loSS t1 Thomas Lord Culpeper.
previously a 'overnor of Virginia for
all that domaa known IN history and
geography As t.e Northern Neck OF Vir-
ginta, between he Potomac and Kappa
hammock Rivers comprising IN all the
then twenty-os counties, beginning
with Northumberland and ending with
Frederick, composing 5000. 600 acres. or
nearly one-fOIrJI Of the Old Dominion
Lord CulpepeT' daughter, Catharine
married the NTH Lord Fairfax, named
Thomas, and, he wing young, the heir
ship 10 title and ands fell 10 his son
Thomas the sixth Il his name, who dg-
ured in the early history OF this country.
lie was the sole popTietOr OF this viii
derness empire, viii its mineral wealth
and belongings A that time being a
man OF note and larning in England.
a graduate Of OxfoH College and fell
low OF Addison, Esrfax commissioned
p = H-afgl~ n
Western possessions
William Fairfax f,st came 10 Vir-
ginia in I13s, ana buI, for hls family a
fine home. called BelUir, situated near
Mt. Vernon. on Dognt run ana the Po-
tomac. The f0undaua of Mt Vernon
was then just started ana the Wash
tngton family, with George six years
old, lived on the Othc side OF DOgne
run, az the old EpiWason mill place.
In 1iSS Lord Thomas cme 10 Virginia
70 become better acquitted with his
Wilderness possession, saying a year.
| Then ne returned 10 Engand, settled IN
his affairs, gave his cqsin his KEN
uSh estates, sold out Is army COM
mission, and came back q this country
I IN Il45, making his home for six years
with RIs cousin William, Q Bslvoir. Ia
the II antime he was reDarins his
] home in the Shenandoah VALLEY. 81
Greenway Court Here brd Fairfax
made the acqusiatance OF Gorge Wash
iugJon, who was then but tlrteen wears
Of age and VINO at sixteen ecame sur
veyor for him. Fairfax, az is own ey-
pense, imported the bricks ued Tor the
erection OF Christ Church, lexandria.
| the old Fails Church and r. the Cftv
Hotel, in Alexandria, where Washing
ton afterwards had his heSquarters.
and from the size OF these I'd struc-
lures even today. and the sulllness Of
the ships in those days. tn expsnse
must have been considerable. Fairfax
was born 1881 and died at ,reenway
| Court llS2. His remains were deposited
under the communion table Of he EMS
cOpal Church in Winchester ut wers
removed in 1888, when pS.t ofthe old
church was torn doS'n 10 make pom for
improvements.