Thomas Fairfax, 9th Lord Fairfax of Cameron (1762–1846), son of Bryan Fairfax

Bryan Fairfax, 8th Lord Fairfax of Cameron

Bryan Fairfax , 8th Lord Fairfax of Cameron, boyhood friend of George Washington, became the first American-born member of the house of Lords.-Biography:...

. Thomas Fairfax, with his father, on December 11, 1799, was among the last guests at Mount Vernon, before Washington died.

He lived the life of a country squire overseeing his 40000 acres (161.9 km²), lived at Belvoir

Belvoir (plantation)

Belvoir was the historic plantation and estate of colonial Virginia's prominent William Fairfax family. It was situated on the west bank of the Potomac River in Fairfax County, Virginia at the present site of Fort Belvoir. The main house — called Belvoir Manor or Belvoir Mansion — burnt in 1783...

, Ash Grove

Ash Grove (plantation)

Ash Grove is an 18th century plantation house in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. In 1790, Bryan Fairfax built Ash Grove on Leesburg Pike, 2 miles west of Tysons Corner, Virginia for his son, Thomas Fairfax....

, and Vaucluse

Vaucluse (plantation)

Vaucluse was a plantation in Fairfax County, Virginia, three miles from Alexandria and from Washington, D.C., on a hill near the Virginia Theological Seminary, that was owned first by Dr. James Craik, and later by the Fairfax family, the first being Thomas Fairfax, 9th Lord Fairfax of Cameron.-...

, where he died. He married three times: Mary Aylett, Laura Washington, Margeret Herbert. He had seven children: Albert Fairfax, Henry Fairfax, (who died in the Mexican–American War

Mexican–American War

The Mexican–American War, also known as the First American Intervention, the Mexican War, or the U.S.–Mexican War, was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848 in the wake of the 1845 U.S...

, at Saltillo, Mexico, on August 14, 1847), Orlando Fairfax, Reginald Fairfax, Eugenia Fairfax, Aurelia Fairfax, Monimia Fairfax, (mother of Constance Cary).

He maintained a winter home at 607 Cameron Street, Alexandria, Virginia

Alexandria, Virginia

Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...

, which he built in 1816.

Thomas Fairfax was a follower of Swedenborg. Because of these religious beliefs, he manumitted his slaves, taught them a trade, and sent them to Liberia

Liberia

Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...

. This is consistent with the thinking of the American Colonization Society

American Colonization Society

The American Colonization Society , founded in 1816, was the primary vehicle to support the "return" of free African Americans to what was considered greater freedom in Africa. It helped to found the colony of Liberia in 1821–22 as a place for freedmen...

.

His grandson, Charles S. Fairfax

Charles S. Fairfax

Charles Snowdon Fairfax was an American Democratic politician of California. He was of Scottish noble descent and was himself entitled to the title as the 10th Lord Fairfax of Cameron. Fairfax was lured west as part of the gold rush...

, succeeded him as Baron Cameron.