In 1719, Fairfax came into possession of the
Northern Neck Proprietary in the British
colony of Virginia, which had been granted to Fairfax's maternal ancestor
John Colepeper, 1st Baron Colepeper by
Charles II of England in 1649. The property included a large portion of the
Shenandoah and
South Branch Potomac valleys, and consisted of approximately 5,282,000 acres (21,380 km2) of land. Struggling to maintain his expensive lifestyle and Leeds Castle, Fairfax relied heavily on the income he derived from the Northern Neck Proprietary, both from the sale of parcels of land to and annual
quit-rents from
planters who settled in the
Northern Neck of Virginia. His affairs in Virginia were handled by Fairfax's resident land agent,
Robert Carter I. In 1721, Fairfax was commissioned into the
British Army, serving in the
Royal Regiment of Horse Guards until 1733. He was also a contributor to
The Spectator, a daily publication founded by
Joseph Addison and
Richard Steele in 1711 before it ceased publication in the next year. In the fall of 1732, Fairfax read Carter's obituary in the London monthly ''
The Gentleman's Magazine'' and was astonished to discover the vast personal wealth Carter had accumulated, which included £10,000 worth of cash, at a time when the
governor of Virginia was paid an annual salary of £200. Rather than appoint another Virginian to the position, Fairfax arranged to have his cousin
William Fairfax move from
Massachusetts to Virginia in 1734 to serve as his resident land agent. Fairfax travelled to Virginia for the first time in 1735 to inspect and manage his estates there, remaining in the colony until 1737. In 1738, Fairfax established approximately thirty farms in the
Patterson Creek Manor, a piece of land granted to him by
the Crown. The northwestern boundary of the Northern Neck Proprietary, which had been contested by the
Privy Council of Great Britain, was marked in 1746 by the
Fairfax Stone at the headwaters of the
North Branch Potomac River. Returning to North America in 1747, Fairfax first settled at
Belvoir, a
slave plantation which had been completed by William six years earlier. In the same year, he also set aside land for personal use at
Swan Pond Manor. Fairfax also became active in developing his Virginian estates and collecting quit-rents, along with utilising the
forced labour of hundreds of
black slaves who worked on his estates. in
Winchester, Virginia Fairfax was the only
British peer who resided in the
Thirteen Colonies. In 1748, he became acquainted with
George Washington, who was a distant relative of the Fairfax family. Impressed with Washington's energy and talents, Fairfax employed him to survey his lands west of the
Blue Ridge Mountains, which was Washington's first employment. Fairfax, a lifelong bachelor, moved to the Shenandoah Valley in 1752. At the suggestion of his nephew
Thomas, he settled down in a hunting lodge at
Greenway Court. Fairfax and Thomas lived together in a style of liberal hospitality, frequently engaging in
fox hunts. He also served as both county lieutenant and
justice of the peace for
Frederick County. During the
American Revolution, he remained quiet about his avowed
Loyalist views, and was protected by his friendship with Washington. The title to his domain, however, was confiscated by the Virginia Act of 1779. ==Death==