Robert Fairfax Seventh Lord Fairfax of Cameron

Male, #38701, (6 Nov 1706 - 15 Jul 1793)
Father*Thomas Fairfax Fifth Lord Fairfax of Cameron
Mother*Catherine Culpeper
Birth*6 Nov 1706 Robert was born at co. Kent, England, on 6 Nov 1706. 
Baptism7 Nov 1706 He was baptized at co. Kent, England, on 7 Nov 1706.  
Death of Father6 Jan 1710 His father Thomas Fairfax Fifth Lord Fairfax of Cameron died on 6 Jan 1710. 
Death of MotherMay 1719 His mother Catherine Culpeper died in May 1719 at Leeds Castle, Leeds, co. Kent, England
Marriage*1741 He married Martha Collins in 1741. 
Birth of Son27 Dec 1743 His son Thomas Fairfax was born on 27 Dec 1743. 
Marriage1749 He married Dorothy Sarah Best in 1749. 
Residence*between 1768 and 1773 Robert resided at Virginia between 1768 and 1773. 
Will27 Nov 1779 Denny, Philip, Frances, Anna, Sibylla and Robert named as heir(s) in the will of Thomas Fairfax Sixth Lord Fairfax of Cameron on 27 Nov 1779.1 
Death*15 Jul 1793 He died on 15 Jul 1793 at age 86. 
Burial*22 Jul 1793 His body was interred on 22 Jul 1793 at Broomfield, co. Kent, England
Biography* Robert Fairfax (Catherine Culpeper15, wife of Thomas, fifth Lord Fairfax), 1706-1793, seventh Lord Fairfax, was the eighth and youngest child of his mother, and was named by his father for a dear friend and kinsman, Admiral Robert Fairfax (1665-1735) of Steeton, co. York. He was born at Leeds Castle, as appears from the entry of his baptism in the Bromfield register, viz: "Robert, the son of Thomas Lord Fairfax and the Lady Catherine his wife, was born 6 November and baptised 7 November, 1706." No record of his education survives, or, indeed, of any other activity of his youth.
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After his eldest brother had given over the thought of marriage, and his second brother, Henry Culpeper Fairfax, died in 1734, he became, at the age of 28, heir presumptive to the family title and to the reversion of the estates in Kent and Virginia which were entailed under his mother's will. It was then that Lord Fairfax purchased for him a commission in the Horse Guards (The War Office record, 25: 89, Commisslon Book 1728-41, shows him Lieutenant, August 14, 1737, and Captain (exempt), July 21, 1739: he was later styled Major, but the commission does not appear). After Lord Fairfax returned from his first visit to Virginia and had determined to retire thence for the remainder of his life, he busied himself in establishing Robert as the resident representative of the family in England. He secured his return to Parliament as burgess for Maidstone at the session of 1740 (he was returned again in 1747 in the same capacity, and in 1754 and 1761 as Knight of the Shire for Kent, but failed of re-election to the Parliament of 1767, Official Returns of M.P., House of Commons Papers, 1878, vol. 62), and arranged his first marriage (April 25, 1741). Robert then went to live at the old Greenway Court; but, upon Lord Fairfax's final departure for Virginia in 1747, removed to Leeds Castle, which he called home during the remainder of a life which was protracted almost to the years of his brother.
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When George Fairfax of Belvoir was in England in 1757 and again in 1762, he tried to persuade Robert Fairfax to go out to Virginia with him, urging (Neill, p. 133), 'it would be much to your interest to see once what must shortly be your property;' but it was not until the summer of 1768, after he had failed of re-election to Parliament, that Robert made the voyage (See the notice of his arrival in the Virginia Gazette, August 25, 1768). Thenceforth he appears often as a visitor at Belvoir in George Washington's diaries for the years 1768 to 1770, so that he must have spent several years in America. In 1775, however, he was again established at Leeds Castle (Neill, p. 164).
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On the death of Robert Fairfax's only son in 1747, George became heir presumptive to the family title, but not to the Culpeper estates. Robert seems to have been willing to do what he could to secure to George, out of his inheritance, compensation for the alienation of the Fairfax estates in Yorkshire, but his own extravagant habits and the weakness of his character, which is revealed by his portrait, nullified that purpose. Indeed, the shoe was on the other foot: in 1785 George wrote to his brother Bryan that he had been compelled to lend money to Robert on so many occasions that the calls on him had become embarrassing.
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At last, on the death of his older brother in 1781, Robert succeeded as seventh Lord Fairfax, being himself now seventy-five years of age. Under the terms of his mother's will he then, in his own right, became tenant in tail of Leeds Castle and of five-sixths of the Northern Neck proprietary. The Virginia estate, which was his principal expectation of revenue, had however, by that time been sequestered by the new Commonwealth; and Robert, Lord Fairfax, was accordingly remitted for relief to the act of Parliament (28 George III, c. 44) passed for the relief of the American Loyalists. His memorial to the commission created under that act was dated April 20, 1786 (P.R.O. Audit Office, 13:28) and upon it he was allowed and paid £13,006 8s. as the measure of his life interest in the proprietary (See Eardly-WiImot, Historical View of the Commission for . . . Claims of the American Loyalists, 1815). This allowance was, however, swallowed up by creditors so that when he died he was in great straits (See obituary in Gentleman's Magazine, August, 1793). It was, indeed, recorded that 'this last nobleman after living in the most extravagant profusion, was buried in a manner more humble than the corpse of one of the meanest cultivators of his estate.'
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He was buried in Bromfield, where the following entry was made in the register: "Robert Lord Fairfax of Leeds Castle was born 6 November, 1706, died 15 and bur. 22 July 1793." His will was as follows:
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P. C. C. Dodwell, 413.
Will dated August 15, 1791
Proved August 15, 1793.
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Robert Lord Fairfax, of Leeds Castle, co. Kent. To be bur. in the family vault in the parish church of Bromfield. To my nephew, the Rev. Denny Martin Fairfax, D. D., all my manors, etc., in Great Britain, America & elsewhere & all my goods absolutely & he to be exor. Witns. George Burr, Chas. Topping, Stepn. Lamprey. Prob. by Rev. Denny Martin Fairfax, D. D., nephew & exor.

He m., 1st, 1741, Martha, dau. of Anthony Collins (1676-1729) of Sandon, co. Essex, These Collins, cadets of an ancient family of the Isle of Wight, had been successful lawyers of the Middle Temple for two generations, when the grandfather of Robert Fairfax's wife became a country gentleman by the purchase in 1687 of the manor of Sandon in Essex (Morant, i, 27). Her father, a disciple of Locke, achieved some notoriety in his day by his deistical writings (See D.N.B.) He married a daur. of the banker, Sir Francis Child, bart., the elder, and, in consequence, when he o.s.p.m. [died without surviving male issue], his two daughters were considerable heiresses by reason of their mother's inheritance. Martha was buried in Bromfield, January 31, 1743/4, as "The Hon. Mrs. Martha Fairfax, wife of the Hon. Robert Fairfax", and by her had
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i Thomas, 1743-1747, o.s.p.
The London Magazine, January 24, 1743/4, announced 'The Lady of Major Fairfax was delivered of a son and heir December 27.' He was baptised in Bromfield, December 28, 1743, as 'Thomas, son of the Hon. Robert Fairfax, esquire, and of Mrs. Martha Fairfax, his wife;' and was buried there April 20, 1747, as 'The Hon. Thomas Fairfax, infant.']
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2d, 1749, Dorothy Sarah, dau. of Mawdistly Best of Park-house in Boxley, co. Kent, s.p. She was the granddaughter of Thomas Best of Chatham, brewer, who died leaving a great fortune; on the strength of which his son, Mawdistly Best, purchased, in 1720, Parkhouse in Boxley and there served the office of Sheriff of Kent in 1730. He died, 1744, leaving, in addition to Robert Fairfax's wife, two sons: Thomas Best of Chilston (which he purchased from the Hamilton descendants of the first Lord Culpeper), who m. a Scott of Scots-hall and was some time M.P. for Canterbury; and James Best of Parkhouse in Boxley, who, like his father, was some time Sheriff of Kent (Hasted, i. 540; ii, 130, 435; and the Best pedigree in Berry, Kent, p. 382). Like Robert Fairfax's first wife, Dorothy Best was 'a fortune.' She was buried in Bromfield, May:23, 1750, as 'Dorothy Sarah, wife of the Hon. Robert Fairfax, in the vault of the family.'
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(Source: Fairfax Harrison, "Proprietors of the Northern Neck.")

 

Family

Martha Collins
Marriage*1741 He married Martha Collins in 1741. 
Child
ChartsThe Culpepers of Hollingbourne, co. Kent, England (Possibly extinct): Descendant Chart
Last Edited4 Feb 2011

Citations

  1. Thomas, Sixth Lord Fairfax, Will, 1782
    Frederick W. B. 4: 583
    Will dated November 8, 1777
    Codicil dated November 27, 1779
    Proved May 5, 1782.

Martha Collins

Female, #38702, (say 1716 - before 31 Jan 1744)
Birth*say 1716 Martha was born say 1716. 
Marriage*1741 She married Robert Fairfax Seventh Lord Fairfax of Cameron in 1741. 
Married Name1741  As of 1741, her married name was Fairfax. 
Birth of Son27 Dec 1743 Her son Thomas Fairfax was born on 27 Dec 1743. 
Death*before 31 Jan 1744 She died before 31 Jan 1744. 
Burial*31 Jan 1744 Her body was interred on 31 Jan 1744 at Broomfield, co. Kent, England
Biography* The Collins, cadets of an ancient family of the Isle of Wight, had been successful lawyers of the Middle Temple for two generations, when the grandfather of Robert Fairfax's wife became a country gentleman by the purchase in 1687 of the manor of Sandon in Essex (Morant, i, 27). Martha's father, a disciple of Locke, achieved some notoriety in his day by his deistical writings (See D.N.B.) He married a daur. of the banker, Sir Francis Child, bart., the elder, and, in consequence, when he o.s.p.m. [died without surviving male issue], his two daughters were considerable heiresses by reason of their mother's inheritance. Martha was buried in Bromfield, January 31, 1743/4, as "The Hon. Mrs. Martha Fairfax, wife of the Hon. Robert Fairfax" (Source: Fairfax Harrison, "Proprietors of the Northern Neck.")

 

Family

Robert Fairfax Seventh Lord Fairfax of Cameron
Marriage*1741 She married Robert Fairfax Seventh Lord Fairfax of Cameron in 1741. 
Child
Last Edited1 Apr 2000

Thomas Fairfax

Male, #38703, (27 Dec 1743 - before 20 Apr 1747)
Father*Robert Fairfax Seventh Lord Fairfax of Cameron
Mother*Martha Collins
Birth*27 Dec 1743 Thomas was born on 27 Dec 1743. 
Baptism28 Dec 1743 He was baptized at Broomfield, co. Kent, England, on 28 Dec 1743.  
Burial*20 Apr 1747 His body was interred on 20 Apr 1747 at Broomfield, co. Kent, England
Death*before 20 Apr 1747 He died before 20 Apr 1747. 
Biography* O.s.p. The London Magazine, January 24, 1743/4, announced 'The Lady of Major Fairfax was delivered of a son and heir December 27.' He was baptised in Bromfield, December 28, 1743, as 'Thomas, son of the Hon. Robert Fairfax, esquire, and of Mrs. Martha Fairfax, his wife;' and was buried there April 20, 1747, as 'The Hon. Thomas Fairfax, infant.' (Source: Fairfax Harrison, "Proprietors of the Northern Neck.")

 
ChartsThe Culpepers of Hollingbourne, co. Kent, England (Possibly extinct): Descendant Chart
Last Edited1 Apr 2000

Dorothy Sarah Best

Female, #38704, (say 1720 - before 23 May 1750)
Birth*say 1720 Dorothy was born say 1720. 
Marriage*1749 She married Robert Fairfax Seventh Lord Fairfax of Cameron in 1749. 
Married Name1749  As of 1749, her married name was Fairfax. 
Burial*23 May 1750 Her body was interred on 23 May 1750 at Broomfield, co. Kent, England
Death*before 23 May 1750 She died before 23 May 1750. 
Biography* S.p. Dorothy Sarah, the dau. of Mawdistly Best of Park-house in Boxley, co. Kent, was the granddaughter of Thomas Best of Chatham, brewer, who died leaving a great fortune; on the strength of which his son, Mawdistly Best, purchased, in 1720, Parkhouse in Boxley and there served the office of Sheriff of Kent in 1730. He died, 1744, leaving, in addition to Robert Fairfax's wife, two sons: Thomas Best of Chilston (which he purchased from the Hamilton descendants of the first Lord Culpeper), who m. a Scott of Scots-hall and was some time M.P. for Canterbury; and James Best of Parkhouse in Boxley, who, like his father, was some time Sheriff of Kent (Hasted, i. 540; ii, 130, 435; and the Best pedigree in Berry, Kent, p. 382). Like Robert Fairfax's first wife, Dorothy Best was 'a fortune.' She was buried in Bromfield, May:23, 1750, as 'Dorothy Sarah, wife of the Hon. Robert Fairfax, in the vault of the family.' (Source: Fairfax Harrison, "Proprietors of the Northern Neck.")

 

Family

Robert Fairfax Seventh Lord Fairfax of Cameron
Last Edited1 Apr 2000

Thomas Fairfax Sixth Lord Fairfax of Cameron

Male, #38705, (22 Oct 1693 - 9 Dec 1781)
Father*Thomas Fairfax Fifth Lord Fairfax of Cameron
Mother*Catherine Culpeper
Birth*22 Oct 1693 Thomas was born at Leeds Castle, Leeds, co. Kent, England, on 22 Oct 1693. 
Baptism31 Oct 1693 He was baptized at Broomfield, co. Kent, England, on 31 Oct 1693.  
Death of Father6 Jan 1710 His father Thomas Fairfax Fifth Lord Fairfax of Cameron died on 6 Jan 1710. 
Will8 May 1710 He is mentioned in the will of Margaretta van Hesse on 8 May 1710.1 
Death of MotherMay 1719 His mother Catherine Culpeper died in May 1719 at Leeds Castle, Leeds, co. Kent, England
Will*27 Nov 1779 He made a will on 27 Nov 1779, naming as executor(s) and heir(s) Thomas Bryan Martin of Greenway Court in VA, naming as heir(s) Rev. Denny Martin of Leeds Castle, Philip Martin of Leeds Castle, Frances Martin of Leeds Castle, Anna Susanna Martin of Leeds Castle, Sibylla Martin of Leeds Castle and Robert Fairfax Seventh Lord Fairfax of Cameron.

I, the Right Honourable Thomas Lord Fairfax, Baron of Cameron in that part of Great Britain called Scotland and Proprietor of the Northern Neck of Virginia.
     I give and devise all that my undivided sixth part or share of my lands and Plantations in the colony of Virginia, commonly called or known by the name of the Northern Neck of Virginia, with the several advowsons, and the right of presentations thereto belonging or appertaining, I have therein, with the messuages and tenements, buildings, hereditaments. and all other appurtenances thereto belonging; all or any part whereof being formerly the estate of the Honourable Alexander Culpeper, Esquire, deceased; Together with all other lands and tenements I have, am possessed of, or have a right to in the said colony of Virginia, to the Reverend Mr. Denny Martin, my nephew, now of the County of Kent in Great Britain, to him, his heirs and assigns forever, if he the said Denny Martin should be alive at the time of my death:
     But in case he should not, then I give and devise the same and every part and parcel thereof to Thomas Bryan Martin, Esquire, his next brother now living with me, to him, his heirs and assigns forever; and in case of his death before me,
     Then I give and devise the same and every part and parcel thereof to my other nephew, Philip Martin, Esquire, brother to the aforementioned Denny and Thomas, and to his heirs and assigns forever,
     Provided Always that the said Denny Martin if alive at the time of my decease, or in case of his death, the said Thomas Bryan Martin, if he should be alive at the time of my decease; or in case of both their deaths the said Philip Martin, if he should be alive at the time of my decease, shall pay or cause to be paid to my nieces, Frances Martin, Sybilla Martin and Anna Susanna Martin, and to each and every of them that shall be living at the time of my decease, an Annuity of one hundred pounds sterling during their and each of their natural lives and
     [Provided] further that the said Denny or he to whom the said sixth part of the said Northern Neck shall pass by this my will shall procure an Act of Parliament to pass to take upon him the name of Fairfax and coat of arms.
     To Thomas Bryan Martin 600 acres purchased of John Borden, and all stock of cattle, sheep, horses, implements of husbandry, household goods and furniture on 'the Farm or plantation whereon I now live called Greenway Court.' To nephews Denny, Thomas Bryan and Philip, all negro slaves. To brother 'the honourable Robert Fairfax, Esq.' £500; reciting previous advance of 'a considerable pecuniary legacy' bequeathed to him by will now cancelled. To sister Frances Martin £500. Remainder to 'my elder nephew the aforesaid Rev'd Denny Martin.'
     Executors: Thomas, Bryan Martin, Peter Hog, Gabriel Jones. To last two 500 pounds 'current money of Virginia, apiece.' Estate to be inventoried but not appraised.
     Witnesses: John Hite, Angus McDonald, Richard Rigg, John Legarde, Thomas Smythers.
     Republished October 5, 1778, in presence of Isaac Zane, Daniel Field.
     Codicil: To Bryan Fairfax [later eighth Lord Fairfax] one fourth of negro slaves. To 'the second child of the aforesaid Bryan Fairfax during his or her natural life' annuity of £100 effective after death of Frances Martin. To the 'third' and 'fourth' children of Bryan Fairfax like annuities after the deaths of Sibylla and Anna Susanna Martin respectively. To Peter Hog and Gabriel Jones £500 sterling in lieu of previous legacy of 'current money'
     Witnesses: Robert Mackey, Peter Catlett, John Sherman Woodcock, John Hite.
     Proved by Thomas Bryan Martin and Gabriel Jones, surviving executors.2 
Death*9 Dec 1781 He died at Northern Neck, Virginia, on 9 Dec 1781 at age 88. 
Burial*say 10 Dec 1781 His body was interred say 10 Dec 1781 at Winchester (city), Virginia
Biography* Thomas Fairfax (Catherine Culpeper[15], wife of Thomas, fifth Lord Fairfax), 1693-1781, sixth Lord Fairfax was born at Leeds Castle, as appears from the following entry of his baptism in the Bromfield register: "Thomas son of Thomas Lord Fairfax and the Lady Catherine his wife was born 22 October and bapt. 31 October 1693."

The only surviving references to him in his childhood are in two letters addressed to his father by Brian Fairfax, the elder, in October and November, 1700 (The Fairfax Correspondence, iv, 258, 262): 'I hope my pretty nephew is well' and 'My service to my little nephew.'

On January 21, 1709/10; a few days after his father's death, and when he was just past his sixteenth birthday, he matriculated at Oriel College, Oxford (Registrum Orielense, ed. Shadwell, ii, 25). That he remained in residence at least three years appears from a childish letter addressed to him at Oxford in January, 1712/13, by his sister Catherine (Fairfax MSS. Bodleian Library). If he was, as Burnaby records, the contributor of one of the still anonymous numbers of The Spectator, it must thus have been while he was in college, for the last number of that periodical is dated December 6, 1712; but, considering his age and the fact that his name has not come to light in all the profuse literature of memoirs and published letters of the reign of Queen Anne, it seems necessary to abandon this picturesque tradition.

The record of him at his coming of age is all of sordid and distressing business, leading up to the final alienation in 1716 of Denton and Bilborough, the estates in Yorkshire, which the first Lord Fairfax had entailed for the support of his peerage; a transaction which has been distorted by uncritical family tradition (See Appendix).

When his mother died in 1719, and he became the actual head of the family, he was in his twenty-sixth year. A Whig by inheritance, he then seemed to have every political opportunity to retrieve his shattered fortune in a career at the court of George I; and he duly made a beginning in that direction. In August, 1721, we find him enrolled, in the tradition of his father's military service, as a 'coronet' in the Horse Guards, Blue (Dalton, George I's Army, 1912, ii, 196) and holding a post at Court as Treasurer of the Household under the Lord Chamberlain (Cal. Treasury Papers, 1720-28, p. 78). To this period belongs also his negotiation for an ambitious marriage. Burnaby records that he was jilted, that the lady who had contracted herself to him 'preferred the higher honour of being a duchess.' In this mortification Fairfax saw to it that the lady's name should be forgotten so far as concerned him: although he preserved a counterpart of the intended marriage settlement and took it to America with him, when at last it came to light in the garret at Greenway Court nearly a century after his death, it was found that he had carefully cut out of the parchment all that identified the lady to whom it referred.

Whether it was the failure of this marriage, or the fact that he lost his post at court on the accession of Sir Robert Walpole to power, Fairfax now abandoned his plan to make a public career, and retired to Leeds Castle; where, until 1733, he led the life of a private country gentleman.

In 1730 Virginia launched her final attack upon the Northern Neck proprietary by demanding of the Crown a limitation of the bounds which had been claimed by the resident agent and lessee, Robert Carter (Journals H. B., 1727-40, p. 92). When this demand reached England there came with it also the news of Col. Carter's death. Until then Fairfax had taken little interest in the proprietary. Although he had been since 1710 the owner of Alexander Culpeper's undivided sixth under his grandmother's will and, since 1719, the life tenant of the remaining five-sixths under his mother's will, he had left the management of the entire business to Col. Cage, his mother's trustee; but the double necessity of protecting his inheritance and of establishing a new resident agent now roused him to individual action. Following his father's example in a similar situation forty years before, he countered on Virginia by filing with the Crown a memorial of his own, praying that the bounds of the proprietary be established; and so precipitated the notable cause of Fairfax v. Virginia, which was to depend before the Privy Council for fifteen years and result in a brilliant victory for the proprietor (Acts P. C., Colonial, iii, 385 ff; Hening, vi, 198).

Having first dispatched his kinsman, William Fairfax, then royal Collector of Customs at Salem in Massachusetts, to succeed Robert Carter as the resident agent for the Northern Neck, Fairfax himself went out to Virginia in May, 1735, and there remained - until September, 1737, while the surveys ordered by the Privy CoutIcil were in progress (the dates appear in Gooch's dispatches of January 8, 1735/6, and November 6, 1737). During this visit he resided with William Fairfax, at first in Westmoreland and later at Falmouth on the Rappahannock; and, having procured the Virginia Assembly to pass the act of 1736 (Hening, iv, 514) which recognised him as the inheritor of Lord Culpeper's charter of 1688, himself executed a number of land grants, including the reservation of his own Leeds Manor in what have since become Fauquier, Warren and Clarke counties (N.N., E: 1-45). The excursions he then made beyond the Blue Ridge determined him to establish his residence in the colony (See William Beverley's letter, W. & M. Quar., iii, 227). The final decree determining, in his favor, the litigation with the Virginia government, was entered April II, 1745, and in the summer of 1747 (Cf. Maryland Gazette, November 17, 1747), being then fifty-four years of age, he duly returned to Virginia, where henceforth for 44 years he lived out his long life.

For several years he resided at Belvoir on the Potomac, the residence William Fairfax had built in 1741 on the neck below Mount Vernon, and it was there that he met George Washington; but in the summer of 1751 he sent to England for another young man in whom also he was interested, his nephew Thomas Bryan Martin; and in the autumn of that year went to live with him at the 'quarter' he had laid out in 1747 (it is mentioned in Washington's diary of 1748) in the new county of Frederick (now Clarke), beyond the Shenandoah, adjoining the western boundary of Leeds Manor. That this was, however, intended to be only a temporary arrangement appears from his grant of the Frederick 'quarter' to Martin on May 21, 1752, as he came of age, with 8,840 acres of surrounding land; stipulating (N.N., H: 179) that this tract was 'to be known and called by the name of the Manor of Greenway Court,' after the Culpeper manor in Kent.

The popular accounts of Fairfax for the remaining thirty years of his life usually put the emphasis on his solitude. Despite a characteristic reserve of manner, he seems, however, to have been no anchorite but to have enjoyed such few associates of the breeding to which he was accustomed as were available to him on the frontier; and somewhat shyly, to have sought them out. He had duly taken up the traditional English duty of local magistracy. On October 30, 1749, during the presidency of Lewis Burwell, the Virginia Council, "Ordered that a special Commission issue to empower the Right Honourable the Lord Fairfax to act as a justice of the Peace in all the Counties of the Northern Neck," and, at Dinwiddie's request (Dinwiddie Papers, i, 48, 82, 312), he assumed, in 1754, the active duty of County Lieutenant of Frederick: but as the membership of the Frederick bench over which he presided was then hardly that of a select club, it may be assumed that his diligent attendance also at the courts of the tidewater counties (as shown by the records of those counties), in the commissions of which he was also included, was a search for congenial society. There are records, too, of periodical visits to Belvoir and, less frequently, to Williamsburg, as on the occasion in 1759 when Burnaby met him at a reception by Governor Fauquier at the Palace.

Looking back at him across the gulf of the American Revolution, there has been also an effort to see in Fairfax the arch tory, the personification of the hated government. There is no justification for this in, anything he himself did or said, and it is significant that when confiscations were the order of the day the Assembly treated him with marked consideration. The only resident peer in America, he was accorded all the privileges of a Virginia citizen and was never molested even by the mob. This could only be because it was recognised that his political sentiments were essentially liberal and practically inoffensive to the revolution. Indeed, Fairfax had never been a tory. On the contrary, he was brought up in the principles of the 'glorious' revolution of 1688, in which his father actively participated; and had, himself, lost his post at George I's Court by expressing such sentiments too logically. If, then, he was distressed by the march of events in the colonies, it was not because he agreed with George III and Lord North. There were other gentlemen in Virginia who shared his views in that respect and did not consider themselves the less good Virginians because they did so.

In this situation it remained for the fertile imagination of Parson Weems to paint in doggerel (in his immortal History of the Life and Death, Virtues and Exploits of General George Washington, first published in 1800) what has come to be the accepted portrait of Fairfax in the character of one whose heart was broken by a disaster to that heavy material society which, as it happened, was precisely what he had come to Virginia to escape.

"Little did the old gentleman expect that be was educating a youth who should one day dismember the British Empire and break his own heart, which truly came to pass. For on hearing that Washington had captured Cornwallis and all his army, he called out to his black waiter, 'Come Joe! carry me to my bed! for I'm sure 'tis high time for me to die!

Then up rose Joe, all at the word
      And took his master's arm
And to his bed he softly led
      The lord of Greenway farm.

There he call'd on Britain's name
      And oft he wept full sore
And sigh'd-thy will, O Lord, be done
      And word spake never more."

This is an excellent example of an argument from the principle post hoc propter hoc, but as it happens, it was not Washington's own appreciation of the end of his early patron. In the midst of the distresses of the winter camp at Valley Forge, Washington wrote a cheerful gossiping letter to his friend of more than thirty years, George William Fairfax, then in England. The date was 'Head-Quarters, Pennsylvania, 11 March, 1778' (Writings of Washington, ed. Ford, vi, 413) and among other things he said, 'Lord Fairfax, as I have been told, after having bowed down to the grave, is perfectly restored and enjoys his usual good health and as much vigor as fall to the lot of ninety.' That is hardly the picture of a desponding loyalist, but of an old man who has lived sanely and at the end was enjoying the reward of peace of mind and a modicum of physical comfort.

Washington was, however, mistaken in one detail. Fairfax was not ninety in 1778, nor did he ever attain that age, though he lived on for more than three years. It is truly recorded in the same Bromfield register in which his baptism had been entered, that "Thomas, Lord Fairfax, died at his Proprietary in Virginia, 9 December, 1781, in the eighty-ninth year of his age."

Fairfax had always lived in Virginia with the utmost simplicity. His personal bearing was what would now be called democratic, though he never had the remotest appreciation of what that term has come to mean. His residence remained to the end a mere wilderness lodge which was not even his own property; for he never acted upon his original intention to build a house, although he had selected for that purpose a noble site upon a summit of a western spur on the Blue Ridge overlooking the lower valley of the Shenandoah, within the limits of Leeds Manor. The colour of the picture painted in Burke's Peerage, of his 'baronial hospitality' is mere mythology. There was many a contemporary tidewater planter who would have been ashamed of the rude plenty of his table, bereft of luxuries: at which, indeed, his younger brother sneered in 1768 (MS. letter penes me). He had no such cellar of Madeira wine as was in his time to be f ound in most, even moderately well to do, Virginia plantation houses. His London agent and devoted friend, Samuel Athawes, sent him out every year new clothes of the latest fashion, but, unlike George Washington, he did not wear them. His plate was like his library, sufficient for decent comfort but inadequate for show; such as one could find today in east Africa in the hunting lodges of Englishmen, who, like Fairfax, have sought in vast open spaces a surcease of the pains engendered by civilization.

In these habits Fairfax escaped his family failing of extravagance. Although never an exacting landlord, and grossly imposed upon after William Fairfax's death, he lived to see the whole five million acres of his principality covered by a population, most of whom yielded him a nominal, but in the aggregate necessarily important, annual quit rent. There was found in his house when he died, cash amounting to more than £47,000 in Virginia currency (See his inventory in Va. Mag., viii, 1), despite the fact that he had steadily given of his substance to all his kin, particularly to his spendthrift brother, Robert, who had married two fortunes and run through them both.

Bryan Martin wrote to Bryan Fairfax from Greenway Court, February 3, 1782, 'His Lordship died December the 9th and is interred in the church in Winchester' (MS. penes me). Following Parson Weems and Kercheval, it is usual to record that the Proprietor died at Greenway Court. The persistent local tradition is, however, that the demise occurred in Winchester; that the old man, feeling ill, had ridden over to that town to consult his physician, Dr. Cornelius Baldwin, and died in his house. In support of this tradition is the fact that Lord Fairfax's great jack boots (the same which were presented by the late Governor F. W. M. Holliday to the Virginia Historical Society and are now included in its collection at Richmond) stood for many years in the hall of Dr. Baldwin's residence at Winchester. There is no doubt, however, of the place of burial. Supplementing the statement of Bryan Martin already quoted, another nearly contemporary letter (MS. penes me) to Bryan Fairfax (from his brother George William, then in England, and dated April 15, 1782) gives further detail:

"Upon receiving several very pressing letters from Mr, now Lord, Fairfax urging much to see me at Leeds Castle in Kent, as he had received Letters from Officers particular Friends of his at New York, informing him that his Brother, the good old Lord, was no more; as soon as I was really able I set off, was at the Castle eight or ten days, satisfied his Lordship how I had disposed of his Power of Attorney and yesterday I returned from thence. I must own at first I had my doubts, as neither He nor myself had received even a Scrip of such information from Mr Martin or any other Friend, untill the Letters above mentioned were put into my hands, one of which says -- Lord Fairfax is dead and was interred the 27th of December last at Winchester -- the other confirms it by saying that he actually saw him interred on the same day and place."

The first resting place was the original parish church of Frederick, a large stone building erected at Fairfax's own cost in 1762. This building stood on the corner of Loudoun (Main) and Boscawen (Water) streets in the town of Winchester (Cartmel, Shenandoah Valley Pioneers, 1909, pp. 183, 138), where a stone today displays an inscription recording that 'Lord Fairfax was first buried on this spot, and afterwards removed and buried under Christ Church in this town.' The Christ Church so referred to was built on the corner of Washington and Water Streets in 1829 (Bishop Meade, ii, 287, says 1827) and thereafter the vestry erected therein a marble tablet, which, the tradition is, was removed from the original church. On this was an MI., as follows: [Arms, apparently those of the Viscounts Fairfax of Embly, with a motto, 'Je le feray durant ma vie.'] "In Memory of Thomas, Lord Fairfax, who died 1782, and whose ashes repose underneath this church, which he endowed."

It will be noted that the date here cited, apparently following Burnaby, is erroneous. For this consideration, as well as others, a new bronze tablet was, in the autumn of 1925, set up in Christ Church on the occasion of the re-interment there of Lord Fairfax's dust; on which is an MI. as follows: [Arms, Fairfax of Cameron quartering Culpeper, with the motto, 'Fare Fac' being the achievement which Lord Fairfax himself preferred to use in relation to Virginia, as identifying the origin of his proprietary title; and which he had displayed, e.g., on the third (1745) state of John Warner's map of the Northern Neck.] "Under this Spot repose the Remains of Thomas, sixth Lord Fairfax of Cameron, Son of Thomas, fifth Lord Fairfax, and Catherine Culpeper, his wife. Born at Leeds Castle, County Kent, England, October 22, 1693. Died at his proprietary of the Northern Neck in Virginia, December 9, 1781, in the eighty-ninth year of his age. He was buried in the original Frederick Parish Church at the comer of Loudoun (Main) and Boscawen (Water) Streets, whence his remains were removed to this church in 1828; where they were reinterred in 1925, when this tablet was erected by the Vestry of Christ Church."

His will (first printed by Cartmel, p. 134, but noted in Va. Mag., xviii, 206), which gave occupation to the Virginia courts for many years to come, will be found above.3 
ChartsThe Culpepers of Hollingbourne, co. Kent, England (Possibly extinct): Descendant Chart
Last Edited1 Aug 2011

Citations

  1. Fairfax Harrison, The Proprietors of the Northern Neck - Chapters of Culpepper Genealogy, Richmond, VA: The Old Dominion Press (Privately printed), 1926, Repository: LDS Family History Library - Salt Lake City, Call No. US/CAN Film #929429. Transcription available online at: http://gen.culpepper.com/historical/nneck/default.htm
    Will of Margaret Lady Culpeper, widow, Baroness Dowager of Thoresway, P.C.C. Smith, 145, Will dated May 8, 1710, Proved June 19, 1710.
  2. Thomas, Sixth Lord Fairfax, Will, 1782
    Frederick W. B. 4: 583
    Will dated November 8, 1777
    Codicil dated November 27, 1779
    Proved May 5, 1782.
  3. Fairfax Harrison, The Proprietors of the Northern Neck - Chapters of Culpepper Genealogy, Richmond, VA: The Old Dominion Press (Privately printed), 1926, Repository: LDS Family History Library - Salt Lake City, Call No. US/CAN Film #929429. Transcription available online at: http://gen.culpepper.com/historical/nneck/default.htm.

Mary Fairfax

Female, #38706, (before 12 Mar 1705 - before 22 Sep 1739)
Father*Thomas Fairfax Fifth Lord Fairfax of Cameron
Mother*Catherine Culpeper
Baptism12 Mar 1705 She was baptized at Broomfield, co. Kent, England, on 12 Mar 1705.  
Birth*before 12 Mar 1705 Mary was born at Leeds Castle, Leeds, co. Kent, England, before 12 Mar 1705. 
Death*before 22 Sep 1739 She died before 22 Sep 1739. 
Burial*22 Sep 1739 Her body was interred on 22 Sep 1739 at Broomfield, co. Kent, England
Biography* She was baptised in Bromfield, March 12, 1704/5, as 'Mary, daughter of Thomas, Lord Fairfax, and the Lady Catherine his wife,' and was there buried also, September 22, 1739, as 'the Hon. Mary Fairfax, daughter of the Right Hon. Thomas Lord Fairfax.' There is an obituary notice in Gentleman's Magazine, 1739, p. 496. Named in her mother's will for a fortune of £2,000, she left the following will of her own:
.
Canterbury Consistory 6: 1138.
Will dated September 14, 1739.
Proved October 23, 1739.
.
Mary Fairfax, daur. of the late Right Hon. Lard F. of Leeds Castle, co. Kent. To be bur. in parish church of Bromfield in the burial place of my family. £5 to poor of Bromfield; to my brother the Honourable (sic) Thomas Lord F. £900, he paying £8 yearly to my old servant Ann Burr (for her long and faithful service) for life; to my brother the Hon. Robert F.£900; to my sister the Hon. Mrs. Wilkins & to Rev. Dr. Wilkins each a £10 ring; to my sister the Hon. Mrs. Martin & her husband Denny M. £10 each for mourning; to my nephew & godson Denny Martin £100 to place him in the world; to my dearest & best friend & kinswoman Mrs. Mary Sherrard, sister to the Earl of Harborough, £50; to my eldest neices Mrs. Frances & Sibby Martin £5 each, etc; to my servant Ann Burr, clothes; to my brother, the Hon. Robert F., diamond girdle, etc., arrears of interest due to me from my brother, the Right Hon. Lord F., & rest of personal estate, & he to be exor. Witns. Francis Muriell, Edward Harrison. Proved by Hon. Robert F., bro. & exor. (Source: Fairfax Harrison, "The Proprietors of the Northern Neck.")
 
ChartsThe Culpepers of Hollingbourne, co. Kent, England (Possibly extinct): Descendant Chart
Last Edited1 Apr 2000

Ann Fairfax

Female, #38707, (9 Jul 1698 - say 1699)
Father*Thomas Fairfax Fifth Lord Fairfax of Cameron
Mother*Catherine Culpeper
Birth*9 Jul 1698 Ann was born at Leeds Castle, Leeds, co. Kent, England, on 9 Jul 1698. 
Baptism11 Jul 1698 She was baptized at Broomfield, co. Kent, England, on 11 Jul 1698.  
Death*say 1699 She died say 1699. 
Biography* Ob. infans. She was baptised in Bromfield, July 11, 1698, as 'Ann, Daughter of Thomas Lord Fairfax and the Lady Catherine his wife, born 9 July.' There is no entry of her burial in the register but she is ignored by the family wills of that generation, and by the Leeds Castle Bible. Moreover, Margaret, Lady Culpeper, wrote to Thomas Jones, December 19, 1706, 'My daughter and her seven children are all very well.' (Source: Fairfax Harrison, "The Proprietors of the Northern Neck.")
 
ChartsThe Culpepers of Hollingbourne, co. Kent, England (Possibly extinct): Descendant Chart
Last Edited1 Apr 2000

Henry Culpeper Fairfax

Male, #38708, (9 Jul 1697 - 14 Oct 1734)
Father*Thomas Fairfax Fifth Lord Fairfax of Cameron
Mother*Catherine Culpeper
Birth*9 Jul 1697 Henry was born at Leeds Castle, Leeds, co. Kent, England, on 9 Jul 1697. 
Baptism14 Jul 1697 He was baptized at Broomfield, co. Kent, England, on 14 Jul 1697.  
Death of Father6 Jan 1710 His father Thomas Fairfax Fifth Lord Fairfax of Cameron died on 6 Jan 1710. 
Death of MotherMay 1719 His mother Catherine Culpeper died in May 1719 at Leeds Castle, Leeds, co. Kent, England
Death*14 Oct 1734 He died at Leeds Castle, Leeds, co. Kent, England, on 14 Oct 1734 at age 37. 
Burial*19 Oct 1734 His body was interred on 19 Oct 1734 at Broomfield, co. Kent, England
Biography* O.s.p. He was baptised in Bromfield, July 14, 1697, as 'Henry Culpeper Fairfax, son of Thomas Lord Fairfax and the Lady Catherine his wife, born 9 July;' and was there buried also, October 19, 1734, as 'the Hon. Henry Culpeper Fairfax.' George William Fairfax entered in the Leeds Castle Bible, 1761, as to him: 'A gentleman well versed in the mathematicks, and other branches of polite literature, died at Leeds Castle, October 14, 1734.' He matriculated at Oriel College, Oxford, 29 January, 1713/14, aged 16; and graduated B. A., 15 October, 1716 (Registrum Orielense, ed. Shadwell, 1902). He was Captain-Lieutenant in Sybourg's Horse (Seventh Dragoon Guards), 24 February, 1718/19; and in August, 1730, commanded a company in Brigadier Edward Fielding's regiment of Invalids (W. O. 25; 89; Dalton, George I's Army, 1912, ii, 162). On January 11, 1726/7, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society on the strength of his specialty in mathematics (Records of the Royal Society, 1901, p. 254). There are obituaries in London Magazine and Gentleman's Magazine, 1734.
(Source: Fairfax Harrison, "The Proprietors of the Northern Neck.")

 
ChartsThe Culpepers of Hollingbourne, co. Kent, England (Possibly extinct): Descendant Chart
Last Edited1 Apr 2000

Catherine Fairfax

Female, #38709, (before 2 Jul 1695 - before 7 Aug 1716)
Father*Thomas Fairfax Fifth Lord Fairfax of Cameron
Mother*Catherine Culpeper
Baptism2 Jul 1695 She was baptized at Broomfield, co. Kent, England, on 2 Jul 1695.  
Birth*before 2 Jul 1695 Catherine was born at Leeds Castle, Leeds, co. Kent, England, before 2 Jul 1695. 
Will8 May 1710 She is mentioned in the will of Margaretta van Hesse on 8 May 1710.1 
Death*before 7 Aug 1716 She died before 7 Aug 1716. 
Burial*7 Aug 1716 Her body was interred on 7 Aug 1716 at Broomfield, co. Kent, England
Biography* Unmarried. She was baptised in Bromfield, July2, 1695, as 'Catherine, the daughter of Thomas Lord Fairfax and the Lady Catherine his wife,' and by a like description was there also buried, August 7, 1716. Named in her grandmother's will (1710) for a legacy, her mother administered upon her estate (P. C. C. Admon Act Book, 1716), as explained in her own will. (Source: Fairfax Harrison, "The Proprietors of the Northern Neck.")

 
ChartsThe Culpepers of Hollingbourne, co. Kent, England (Possibly extinct): Descendant Chart
Last Edited1 Apr 2000

Citations

  1. Fairfax Harrison, The Proprietors of the Northern Neck - Chapters of Culpepper Genealogy, Richmond, VA: The Old Dominion Press (Privately printed), 1926, Repository: LDS Family History Library - Salt Lake City, Call No. US/CAN Film #929429. Transcription available online at: http://gen.culpepper.com/historical/nneck/default.htm
    Will of Margaret Lady Culpeper, widow, Baroness Dowager of Thoresway, P.C.C. Smith, 145, Will dated May 8, 1710, Proved June 19, 1710.

Margaret Fairfax

Female, #38710, (before 4 Jan 1692 - 1755)
Father*Thomas Fairfax Fifth Lord Fairfax of Cameron
Mother*Catherine Culpeper
Birth*before 4 Jan 1692 Margaret was born at Leeds Castle, Leeds, co. Kent, England, before 4 Jan 1692. 
Baptism4 Jan 1692 She was baptized at Broomfield, co. Kent, England, on 4 Jan 1692.  
Death of Father6 Jan 1710 Her father Thomas Fairfax Fifth Lord Fairfax of Cameron died on 6 Jan 1710. 
Will8 May 1710 She is mentioned in the will of Margaretta van Hesse on 8 May 1710.1 
Death of MotherMay 1719 Her mother Catherine Culpeper died in May 1719 at Leeds Castle, Leeds, co. Kent, England
Marriage*1725 She married David Wilkins Prebendary of Canterbury in 1725. 
Married Name1725  As of 1725, her married name was Wilkins. 
Death*1755 She died in 1755. 
Biography* O. s. p. Margaret married in 1725, 'Dr. David Wilkins, Prebendary of Canterbury and Archdeacon of Suffolk,' She was baptised in Bromfield, January 4, 1691/2, as 'Margaret, daur. of Thomas, Lord Fairfax, by the Lady Catherine his wife.' Her m. and d. (without issue) from the Leeds Castle Bible. (Source: Fairfax Harrison, "The Proprietors of the Northern Neck.") 

Family

David Wilkins Prebendary of Canterbury
Marriage*1725 She married David Wilkins Prebendary of Canterbury in 1725. 
ChartsThe Culpepers of Hollingbourne, co. Kent, England (Possibly extinct): Descendant Chart
Last Edited1 Apr 2000

Citations

  1. Fairfax Harrison, The Proprietors of the Northern Neck - Chapters of Culpepper Genealogy, Richmond, VA: The Old Dominion Press (Privately printed), 1926, Repository: LDS Family History Library - Salt Lake City, Call No. US/CAN Film #929429. Transcription available online at: http://gen.culpepper.com/historical/nneck/default.htm
    Will of Margaret Lady Culpeper, widow, Baroness Dowager of Thoresway, P.C.C. Smith, 145, Will dated May 8, 1710, Proved June 19, 1710.

David Wilkins Prebendary of Canterbury

Male, #38711, (say 1700 - )
Birth*say 1700 David was born say 1700. 
Marriage*1725 He married Margaret Fairfax in 1725. 

Family

Margaret Fairfax
Last Edited1 Apr 2000

William Woodcock

Male, #38712, (say 1489 - )
Birth*say 1489 William was born say 1489. 
Biography* The Woodcock family was long established in the City of London, where Sir John Woodcock, Knight, presumably an ancestor of William, was Lord Mayor as far back as 1405.
.
Stow ("London" [Strype], Book v, p. 116, 175) gives for his arms, "On a bend three cross-crosslets fitche'e", which it should be noted is the coat of arms which Sir Pury Cust has impaled with his own arms as that of his wife Ursula Woodcock (distantly related to the Ursula, wife of John Culpeper) on the monument in St. George's Church, Stamford, which he erected in her memory.
.
The proved pedigree of the Woodcocks begins with Ralph Woodcock... He belonged to the Grocers' Company, and according to a pedigree in Harleian MS. 1444, was son of one William Woodcock. He was probbaly also nearly related to a certain Andrew Woodcock, Citizen and Grocer of London, and Master of the Bridge House, whose widow, Dorothy Woodcock was buried at the age of 96, on Septenber 24, 1585, in the church of All Hallows, London Wall, and to whose family manison in this parish, Thomas Woodcock the elder, the son of Ralph Woodcock, appears to have succeeded.
.
Source: Lady Elizabeth Cust, "Records of the Cust Family of Pinchbeck, Stamford and Belton in Lincolnshire, 1479-1700". London, 1898. 
Birth of Son1519 His son Ralph Woodcock Alderman of London was born in 1519. 

Family

Child
Last Edited31 Jan 2004

Thomas St. Leger of Ottringden in Kent1

Male, #38713, (say 1360 - )
Birth*say 1360 Thomas was born say 1360. 

Family

Child
Last Edited25 Apr 2000

Citations

  1. 1619 Visitation, Kent, England.

Henry Aucher Gent., of Losenham, Kent1

Male, #38714, (say 1375 - )
Father*Nicholas Aucher of Losenham, Kent
Mother*(?) Oxenbridge of Brede, Sussex2
Birth*say 1375 Henry was born at co. Kent, England, say 1375. 
Marriage*say 1403 He married Elizabeth Dygge of Berham, co. Kent say 1403. 
Birth of Sonsay 1405 His son Henry Aucher of Ottringden, co. Kent was born say 1405 at co. Kent, England

Family

Elizabeth Dygge of Berham, co. Kent
Child
ChartsDiana, Princess of Wales: Culpeper Ancestral Chart
John Culpeper the Merchant: Ancestral Chart
Last Edited2 Dec 2005

Citations

  1. 1619 Visitation, Kent, England.
  2. Douglas Richardson, Magna Carta Ancestry, Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2005.
    Page 249.

Elizabeth Dygge of Berham, co. Kent1,2

Female, #38715, (say 1383 - )
Father*John Dygge Esquire, Sheriff of Kent3
Mother*Juliane de Northwode3
Name Variation She was also known as Elizabeth Digges. 
Birth*say 1383 Elizabeth was born say 1383. 
Marriage*say 1403 She married Henry Aucher Gent., of Losenham, Kent say 1403. 
Married Namesay 1403  As of say 1403, her married name was Aucher. 
Birth of Sonsay 1405 Her son Henry Aucher of Ottringden, co. Kent was born say 1405 at co. Kent, England

Family

Henry Aucher Gent., of Losenham, Kent
Child
ChartsDiana, Princess of Wales: Culpeper Ancestral Chart
John Culpeper the Merchant: Ancestral Chart
Last Edited2 Dec 2005

Citations

  1. 1619 Visitation, Kent, England.
  2. Douglas Richardson, Magna Carta Ancestry, Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2005.
    Culpeper, Page 249.
  3. Douglas Richardson, Magna Carta Ancestry, Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2005.
    Digges, Page 282.

Nicholas Aucher of Losenham, Kent1,2

Male, #38716, (say 1330 - )
Birth*say 1330 Nicholas was born at co. Kent, England, say 1330. 
Marriage*say 1355 He married (?) Oxenbridge of Bread, co. Sussex say 1355. 
Marriage*say 1372 He married (?) Oxenbridge of Brede, Sussex say 1372. 
Birth of Sonsay 1375 His son Henry Aucher Gent., of Losenham, Kent was born say 1375 at co. Kent, England

Family 1

(?) Oxenbridge of Bread, co. Sussex

Family 2

(?) Oxenbridge of Brede, Sussex
Child
ChartsDiana, Princess of Wales: Culpeper Ancestral Chart
John Culpeper the Merchant: Ancestral Chart
Last Edited2 Dec 2005

Citations

  1. 1619 Visitation, Kent, England.
  2. Douglas Richardson, Magna Carta Ancestry, Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2005.
    Page 249.

(?) Oxenbridge of Bread, co. Sussex1

Female, #38717, (say 1333 - )
Birth*say 1333 (?) was born say 1333. 
Marriage*say 1355 She married Nicholas Aucher of Losenham, Kent say 1355. 

Family

Nicholas Aucher of Losenham, Kent
Last Edited2 Apr 2000

Citations

  1. 1619 Visitation, Kent, England.

Richard Rettig

Male, #38718, (Jun 1854 - say 1925)
Father*Valentine Rettig
Birth*Jun 1854 Richard was born at Darmstadt, Germany, in Jun 1854.1 
Marriage*say 1877 He married Barbara Kling say 1877. 
Birth of SonFeb 1890 His son Richard Rettig Jr. was born in Feb 1890 at Buffalo, Erie Co., New York.2 
Birth of SonOct 1897 His son Carl Rettig was born in Oct 1897 at Buffalo, Erie Co., New York.2 
1900 Census*1 Jun 1900 Richard was listed as the head of a family on the 1900 Census at Buffalo, Erie Co., New York.2 
Death*say 1925 He died at Buffalo, Erie Co., New York, say 1925. 

Family

Barbara Kling
Children
ChartsCLBC / Cathryn 'Lee' Burton Culpepper: Ancestral Chart
Last Edited4 Apr 2011

Citations

  1. 1900 Federal Census, United States.
    ED 124, Page 9A, Lines 8-15, Ward 16, Buffalo, Erie Co., NY (7 Jun 1900)
    Richard Rettig, Head, Wh, M, Jun 1854, 45, md 18 yrs, GER/GER/GER, emigrated 1883, Cooper
    Barbara Rettig, Wife, Wh, F, Sep 1860, 39, md 18 yrs, GER/GER/GER
    Margaret Rettig, Daughter, Wh, F, Mar 1883, 17, sng, NY/GER/GER
    Louisa Rettig, Daughter, Wh, F, Jun 1884, 15, sng, NY/GER/GER
    Jennie Rettig, Daughter, Wh, F, Nov 1886, 13, sng, NY/GER/GER
    Richard Rettig, Son, Wh, M, Feb 1890, 10, sng, NY/GER/GER
    Isabelle Rettig, Daughter, Wh, F, Dec 1893, 6, sng, NY/GER/GER
    Carl Rettig, Son, Wh, M, Oct 1897, 2, sng, NY/GER/GER.

  2. 1900 Federal Census, United States.
    ED 124, Page 9A, Lines 8-15, Ward 16, Buffalo, Erie Co., NY (7 Jun 1900)
    Richard Rettig, Head, Wh, M, Jun 1854, 45, md 18 yrs, GER/GER/GER, emigrated 1883, Cooper
    Barbara Rettig, Wife, Wh, F, Sep 1860, 39, md 18 yrs, GER/GER/GER
    Margaret Rettig, Daughter, Wh, F, Mar 1883, 17, sng, NY/GER/GER
    Louisa Rettig, Daughter, Wh, F, Jun 1884, 15, sng, NY/GER/GER
    Jennie Rettig, Daughter, Wh, F, Nov 1886, 13, sng, NY/GER/GER
    Richard Rettig, Son, Wh, M, Feb 1890, 10, sng, NY/GER/GER
    Isabelle Rettig, Daughter, Wh, F, Dec 1893, 6, sng, NY/GER/GER
    Carl Rettig, Son, Wh, M, Oct 1897, 2, sng, NY/GER/GER.

Barbara Kling

Female, #38719, (circa 1859 - )
Father*George Kling1
Mother*Barbara (?)1
Birth*circa 1859 Barbara was born at New York circa 1859. 
Marriage*say 1877 She married Richard Rettig say 1877. 
Married Namesay 1877  As of say 1877, her married name was Rettig. 
Birth of SonFeb 1890 Her son Richard Rettig Jr. was born in Feb 1890 at Buffalo, Erie Co., New York.2 
Birth of SonOct 1897 Her son Carl Rettig was born in Oct 1897 at Buffalo, Erie Co., New York.2 
1900 Census1 Jun 1900 Barbara was listed as Richard Rettig's wife on the 1900 Census at Buffalo, Erie Co., New York.2 

Family

Richard Rettig
Children
ChartsCLBC / Cathryn 'Lee' Burton Culpepper: Ancestral Chart
Last Edited30 Apr 2011

Citations

  1. Cathryn Lee Burton Culpepper, 1021 Arbor Trace, NE, Atlanta, GA 30319, e-mail address, Phone: (404) 660-3762.
  2. 1900 Federal Census, United States.
    ED 124, Page 9A, Lines 8-15, Ward 16, Buffalo, Erie Co., NY (7 Jun 1900)
    Richard Rettig, Head, Wh, M, Jun 1854, 45, md 18 yrs, GER/GER/GER, emigrated 1883, Cooper
    Barbara Rettig, Wife, Wh, F, Sep 1860, 39, md 18 yrs, GER/GER/GER
    Margaret Rettig, Daughter, Wh, F, Mar 1883, 17, sng, NY/GER/GER
    Louisa Rettig, Daughter, Wh, F, Jun 1884, 15, sng, NY/GER/GER
    Jennie Rettig, Daughter, Wh, F, Nov 1886, 13, sng, NY/GER/GER
    Richard Rettig, Son, Wh, M, Feb 1890, 10, sng, NY/GER/GER
    Isabelle Rettig, Daughter, Wh, F, Dec 1893, 6, sng, NY/GER/GER
    Carl Rettig, Son, Wh, M, Oct 1897, 2, sng, NY/GER/GER.

Henry August Erftenbeck

Male, #38720, (12 Aug 1859 - after 1934)
Birth*12 Aug 1859 Henry was born at Hanover, Germany, on 12 Aug 1859. 
Emigration*1878 He emigrated, in 1878, From Hanover, Germany to Buffalo, Erie Co., New York
Marriage*1884 He married Pauline Linkner at Buffalo, Erie Co., New York, in 1884. 
Birth of SonMay 1885 His son Fred Erftenbeck was born in May 1885 at Buffalo, Erie Co., New York.1 
Birth of SonOct 1889 His son Arthur G. Erftenbeck was born in Oct 1889 at Buffalo, Erie Co., New York.1 
1900 Census*1 Jun 1900 Henry was listed as the head of a family on the 1900 Census at Buffalo, Erie Co., New York.1 
Occupation* He was employed by the New York Central Railroad.2 
Death*after 1934 He died after 1934. 
Descendant* See footnote for the name and contact info of a descendant of Henry August Erftenbeck who would like to communicate with other descendants.2 

Family

Pauline Linkner
Marriage*1884 He married Pauline Linkner at Buffalo, Erie Co., New York, in 1884. 
Children
ChartsCLBC / Cathryn 'Lee' Burton Culpepper: Ancestral Chart
Last Edited4 Apr 2011

Citations

  1. 1900 Federal Census, United States.
    ED 86, Page 13A, Lines 37-41, Ward 11, Buffalo, Erie Co., NY (14 Jun 1900)
    Henry G. Erfentenbeck, Head, Wh, M, Aug 1860, 39, md 15 yrs, GER/GER/GER, emigrated 1878, Machinist
    Pauline Erfentenbeck, Wife, Wh, F, May 1866, 34, md 15 yrs, GER/GER/GER, emigrated 1872
    Frederick A. Erfentenbeck, Son, M, May 1885, 15, Sng, NY/GER/GER, Machinist
    Ledia H. Erfentenbeck, Daughter, F, May 1887, 13, Sng, NY/GER/GER
    Arthur G. Erfentenbeck, Son, M, Oct 1889, 10, Sng, NY/GER/GER.
  2. Cathryn Lee Burton Culpepper, 1021 Arbor Trace, NE, Atlanta, GA 30319, e-mail address, Phone: (404) 660-3762.

Pauline Linkner

Female, #38721, (22 May 1866 - after 1934)
Father*August Linkner1
Mother*Anna (?)1
Birth*22 May 1866 Pauline was born at Danzig, Germany, on 22 May 1866. 
Emigration*1872 She emigrated, in 1872. Point of origin: Danzig, Germany. Destination: Buffalo, Erie Co., New York
Marriage*1884 She married Henry August Erftenbeck at Buffalo, Erie Co., New York, in 1884. 
Married Name1884  As of 1884, her married name was Erftenbeck. 
Birth of SonMay 1885 Her son Fred Erftenbeck was born in May 1885 at Buffalo, Erie Co., New York.2 
Birth of SonOct 1889 Her son Arthur G. Erftenbeck was born in Oct 1889 at Buffalo, Erie Co., New York.2 
1900 Census1 Jun 1900 Pauline was listed as Henry August Erftenbeck's wife on the 1900 Census at Buffalo, Erie Co., New York.2 
Death*after 1934 She died after 1934. 

Family

Henry August Erftenbeck
Marriage*1884 She married Henry August Erftenbeck at Buffalo, Erie Co., New York, in 1884. 
Children
ChartsCLBC / Cathryn 'Lee' Burton Culpepper: Ancestral Chart
Last Edited4 Apr 2011

Citations

  1. Cathryn Lee Burton Culpepper, 1021 Arbor Trace, NE, Atlanta, GA 30319, e-mail address, Phone: (404) 660-3762.
  2. 1900 Federal Census, United States.
    ED 86, Page 13A, Lines 37-41, Ward 11, Buffalo, Erie Co., NY (14 Jun 1900)
    Henry G. Erfentenbeck, Head, Wh, M, Aug 1860, 39, md 15 yrs, GER/GER/GER, emigrated 1878, Machinist
    Pauline Erfentenbeck, Wife, Wh, F, May 1866, 34, md 15 yrs, GER/GER/GER, emigrated 1872
    Frederick A. Erfentenbeck, Son, M, May 1885, 15, Sng, NY/GER/GER, Machinist
    Ledia H. Erfentenbeck, Daughter, F, May 1887, 13, Sng, NY/GER/GER
    Arthur G. Erfentenbeck, Son, M, Oct 1889, 10, Sng, NY/GER/GER.

Leola Bork

Female, #38722, (8 Mar 1923 - 17 Mar 2008)
Birth*8 Mar 1923 Leola was born on 8 Mar 1923.1 
SSN*between 1936 and 1950 Her Social Security Number was issued between 1936 and 1950 in New York.1 
Marriage*1948 She married Warren Erftenbeck at Buffalo, Erie Co., New York, in 1948. 
Married Name1948  As of 1948, her married name was Erftenbeck. 
Death of SpouseAug 1968 Her husband Warren Erftenbeck died in Aug 1968 at Buffalo, Erie Co., New York
Death*17 Mar 2008 She died at San Dimas, Los Angeles Co., California, on 17 Mar 2008 at age 85.1 

Family

Warren Erftenbeck
Last Edited7 Nov 2010

Citations

  1. U.S. Social Security Administration, compiler, Social Security Death Index (SSDI), Online database at Ancestry.com.
    http://www.ancestry.com/search/rectype/vital/ssdi/main.htm

Cathryn Ruth Erftenbeck

Female, #38723, (1918 - 1980)
Father*Arthur G. Erftenbeck
Mother*Isabelle Victoria Rettig
Birth*1918 Cathryn was born at Buffalo, Erie Co., New York, in 1918. 
Marriage*13 Apr 1940 She married Chester Harrison Naukam at Buffalo, Erie Co., New York, on 13 Apr 1940. 
Married Name13 Apr 1940  As of 13 Apr 1940, her married name was Naukam. 
Death of Father1946 Her father Arthur G. Erftenbeck died in 1946. 
Death*1980 She died at Chicago, Cook Co., Illinois, in 1980. 

Family

Chester Harrison Naukam
Last Edited2 Jun 2001

Chester Harrison Naukam

Male, #38724, (9 Dec 1919 - Aug 1984)
Birth*9 Dec 1919 Chester was born at Buffalo, Erie Co., New York, on 9 Dec 1919. He was the son of Eugene M. and Louise A. L. Naukam.1,2 
Marriage*13 Apr 1940 He married Cathryn Ruth Erftenbeck at Buffalo, Erie Co., New York, on 13 Apr 1940 at age 20. 
Marriage*21 Jun 1980 He married Hazel Ann Erftenbeck at Denton Co., Texas, on 21 Jun 1980 at age 60.3 
Death of Spouse1980 His wife Cathryn Ruth Erftenbeck died in 1980 at Chicago, Cook Co., Illinois
Death*Aug 1984 He died at Melbourne, Brevard Co., Florida, in Aug 1984 at age 64.1 

Family 1

Cathryn Ruth Erftenbeck

Family 2

Hazel Ann Erftenbeck
Last Edited7 Nov 2010

Citations

  1. U.S. Social Security Administration, compiler, Social Security Death Index (SSDI), Online database at Ancestry.com.
    http://www.ancestry.com/search/rectype/vital/ssdi/main.htm
  2. 1920 Federal Census, United States.
    Buffalo Ward 5, Erie, New York; Roll: T625_1100; Page: 8A; Enumeration District: 52; Image: 926.
  3. Texas Department of State Health Services, compiler, Texas Marriage Collection, 1814-1909 and 1966-2002, Online database at Ancestry.com, 2005.
    http://www.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=8795
    Chester H Naukam, Male, 61, and Hazel A Erftenbeck, Female, 63, married 21 Jun 1980 in Denton Co., TX.

Fred Erftenbeck

Male, #38725, (May 1885 - say 1921)
Father*Henry August Erftenbeck
Mother*Pauline Linkner
Birth*May 1885 Fred was born at Buffalo, Erie Co., New York, in May 1885.1 
1900 Census1 Jun 1900 Fred and Arthur was listed as a son in Henry August Erftenbeck's household on the 1900 Census at Buffalo, Erie Co., New York.1 
Marriage*say 1910 He married Louise Rettig at Buffalo, Erie Co., New York, say 1910. 
Death*say 1921 He died at Buffalo, Erie Co., New York, say 1921. 

Family

Louise Rettig
Last Edited26 Jan 2011

Citations

  1. 1900 Federal Census, United States.
    ED 86, Page 13A, Lines 37-41, Ward 11, Buffalo, Erie Co., NY (14 Jun 1900)
    Henry G. Erfentenbeck, Head, Wh, M, Aug 1860, 39, md 15 yrs, GER/GER/GER, emigrated 1878, Machinist
    Pauline Erfentenbeck, Wife, Wh, F, May 1866, 34, md 15 yrs, GER/GER/GER, emigrated 1872
    Frederick A. Erfentenbeck, Son, M, May 1885, 15, Sng, NY/GER/GER, Machinist
    Ledia H. Erfentenbeck, Daughter, F, May 1887, 13, Sng, NY/GER/GER
    Arthur G. Erfentenbeck, Son, M, Oct 1889, 10, Sng, NY/GER/GER.

Louise Rettig

Female, #38726, (28 Jun 1884 - Mar 1980)
Father*Richard Rettig
Mother*Barbara Kling
Birth*28 Jun 1884 Louise was born on 28 Jun 1884. 
1900 Census1 Jun 1900 Margaret, Louise and Isabelle was listed as a daughter in Richard Rettig's household on the 1900 Census at Buffalo, Erie Co., New York.1 
Marriage*say 1910 She married Fred Erftenbeck at Buffalo, Erie Co., New York, say 1910. 
Married Namesay 1910  As of say 1910, her married name was Erftenbeck. 
Death of Spousesay 1921 Her husband Fred Erftenbeck died say 1921 at Buffalo, Erie Co., New York
Death of Fathersay 1925 Her father Richard Rettig died say 1925 at Buffalo, Erie Co., New York
Death*Mar 1980 She died at Columbus, Franklin Co., Ohio, in Mar 1980 at age 95. 

Family

Fred Erftenbeck
Marriage*say 1910 She married Fred Erftenbeck at Buffalo, Erie Co., New York, say 1910. 
Last Edited2 Apr 2000

Citations

  1. 1900 Federal Census, United States.
    ED 124, Page 9A, Lines 8-15, Ward 16, Buffalo, Erie Co., NY (7 Jun 1900)
    Richard Rettig, Head, Wh, M, Jun 1854, 45, md 18 yrs, GER/GER/GER, emigrated 1883, Cooper
    Barbara Rettig, Wife, Wh, F, Sep 1860, 39, md 18 yrs, GER/GER/GER
    Margaret Rettig, Daughter, Wh, F, Mar 1883, 17, sng, NY/GER/GER
    Louisa Rettig, Daughter, Wh, F, Jun 1884, 15, sng, NY/GER/GER
    Jennie Rettig, Daughter, Wh, F, Nov 1886, 13, sng, NY/GER/GER
    Richard Rettig, Son, Wh, M, Feb 1890, 10, sng, NY/GER/GER
    Isabelle Rettig, Daughter, Wh, F, Dec 1893, 6, sng, NY/GER/GER
    Carl Rettig, Son, Wh, M, Oct 1897, 2, sng, NY/GER/GER.

Robert Spencer Colepeper1

Male, #38727, (11 Feb 1753 - between 1753 and 1768)
Father*John Spencer Colepeper of Charterhouse, Middlesex1
Mother*Mary Webb1
Name-AltSpell This surname is sometimes spelled Culpepper. 
Name-AltSpell This surname is sometimes spelled Culpeper. 
Birth*11 Feb 1753 Robert was born at Clerkenwell, co. Middlesex, England, on 11 Feb 1753.1 
Baptism18 Feb 1753 He was baptized at Charterhouse Chapel, Clerkenwell, co. Middlesex, England, on 18 Feb 1753.1  
Death*between 1753 and 1768 He died between 1753 and 1768
When Robert's father John wrote his will on 28 Jul 1768, he referred to Robert as "my late very dear and amiable son Robert Spencer Colepeper."2,3 
Will28 Jul 1768 He is mentioned in the will of John Spencer Colepeper of Charterhouse, Middlesex at Charterhouse Square, co. Middlesex, England, on 28 Jul 1768.2,4 
Research note*3 Feb 2010  (an unknown value.)5 
ChartsThe 12th century Culpepers of England: Descendant Chart (16 generations, Males only)
The Culpepers of Hollingbourne, co. Kent, England (Possibly extinct): Descendant Chart
Last Edited21 May 2011

Citations

  1. Various Parish Churches, compiler, Middlesex, England, Extracted Parish Records, Online database at Ancestry.com, 2001.
    http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=5908
    18 Feb 1753 Robert Spencer second son of John Spencer Colepeper, but first son of the said John Spencer Colepeper and Mary his wife, was born on Sunday the 11 Feb 1753 one thousand seven hundred and fifty three, and was baptized on ye Sunday following. The Sponsors were the Honorable Robert Fairfax, Esq., and Samuel Martin, of ye Inner Temple, London, Esqr., and Cornelia Bridges, Widow, of Philadelphia, in North America, second sister of ye said John Spencer Colepeper, by her Proxy Ruth Webb, Spr., Sister of ye said Mary Colepeper. Baptized by me W. Ramsden.
  2. Public Records Office, National Archives, London.
    Will of John Spencer Culpeper of Charterhouse, dated 28 Jul 1768, transcribed by Charles Andrew Grigsby. Image at: http://gen.culpepper.com/archives/uk/wills/images/John_Spencer_1789.pdf.
  3. Various Parish Churches, compiler, Middlesex, England, Extracted Parish Records, Online database at Ancestry.com, 2001.
    http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=5908
    John Spencer Colepeper, Esq. (Receiver 1739 ), was married to Ruth Webb, of Lond., Spr., in the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, 21 Dec 1743 (St. Thomas Day), and after to Mary Webb, Spinster, in this Chapel, 04 Apr 1752 , by whom he has two children, as one by his first wife. One of the former, a son, is dead. (The date of this entry is not indicated, so the date of Robert's death is not clear).
  4. E-mail written 2007 to Warren Culpepper from Charles Andrew Grigsby, England, e-mail address.
  5. Warren L. Culpepper (#1942), Former publisher of Culpepper Connections.

Mary Colepeper1

Female, #38728, (8 Oct 1754 - )
Father*John Spencer Colepeper of Charterhouse, Middlesex
Mother*Mary Webb
Name-AltSpell This surname is sometimes spelled Culpepper. 
Name-AltSpell This surname is sometimes spelled Culpeper. 
Birth*8 Oct 1754 Mary was born at Clerkenwell, co. Middlesex, England, on 8 Oct 1754.2 
Baptism16 Oct 1754 She was baptized at Charterhouse Chapel, Clerkenwell, co. Middlesex, England, on 16 Oct 1754.2  
Probate*13 Jul 1798 She served as an executor of John Spencer Colepeper of Charterhouse, Middlesex's estate on 13 Jul 1798. 
Will18 Nov 1824 She is mentioned in the will of John Spencer Colepeper (2) at co. Surrey, England, on 18 Nov 1824.3,4 
ChartsThe Culpepers of Hollingbourne, co. Kent, England (Possibly extinct): Descendant Chart
Last Edited21 May 2011

Citations

  1. Church of Latter Day Saints, compiler, International Genealogical Index (IGI), Intellectual Reserve, Inc..
    http://www.familysearch.org/
  2. Various Parish Churches, compiler, Middlesex, England, Extracted Parish Records, Online database at Ancestry.com, 2001.
    http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=5908
    16 Oct 1754 Mary daughter of John Spencer Colepeper, Esqr. (Receiver of this Hospital), by Mary his wife, was born tuesday ye 08 Oct 1754 One thousand seven hundred and fifty-four, And was baptized on ye Wednesday se'nnight following, being ye 16 Oct 1754 The Sponsors were the right Honourable Lady Mary ye wife of Samuel Greatheed, of Guy's cliff, in the County of Warwick, Esqr., Robert Webb, of Taunton, in ye County of Somerset, Esqr., and Frances ye wife of ye Reverend Venn Eyre, Chancellour of St. Asaph, by me W. Salisbury, B.D., Rector of Moreton, late Reader.
  3. Public Records Office, National Archives, London.
    Will of John Spencer Culpeper, dated 18 Nov 1824, transcribed by Charles Andrew Grigsby. Image at: http://gen.culpepper.com/archives/uk/wills/images/John_Spencer_of%20Walterloo_1834.pdf.
  4. E-mail written 2007 to Warren Culpepper from Charles Andrew Grigsby, England, e-mail address.

Martha Colepeper1

Female, #38729, (17 Sep 1769 - )
Father*John Spencer Colepeper (2)1
Mother*Martha Codd1
Name-AltSpell This surname is sometimes spelled Culpepper. 
Name-AltSpell This surname is sometimes spelled Culpeper. 
Birth*17 Sep 1769 Martha was born at London, England, on 17 Sep 1769.1 
Baptism13 Oct 1769 She was baptized at St. Helen's, Bishopsgate, London, England, on 13 Oct 1769.1  
ChartsThe Culpepers of Hollingbourne, co. Kent, England (Possibly extinct): Descendant Chart
Last Edited21 May 2011

Citations

  1. Church of England, compiler, London, England, Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812, Online database at Ancestry.com, 2010.
    http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1624
    Martha Colepeper, daughter of John Spencer Colepeper and Martha his wife, was born 17 Sep 1769 and baptized 13 Oct 1769 at St Helen Bishopgate, City of London.

Elisabeth Colepeper1

Female, #38730, (23 Jun 1772 - )
Father*John Spencer Colepeper (2)1
Mother*Martha Codd1
Name-AltSpell This surname is sometimes spelled Culpepper. 
Name-AltSpell This surname is sometimes spelled Culpeper. 
Birth*23 Jun 1772 Elisabeth was born at London, England, on 23 Jun 1772.1 
Baptism21 Jul 1772 She was baptized at St. Helen's, Bishopsgate, London, England, on 21 Jul 1772.1  
ChartsThe Culpepers of Hollingbourne, co. Kent, England (Possibly extinct): Descendant Chart
Last Edited21 May 2011

Citations

  1. Church of England, compiler, London, England, Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812, Online database at Ancestry.com, 2010.
    http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1624
    Elisabeth Colepeper, daughter of John Spencer Coleper and Martha his wife, was born 23 Jun 1772 and baptized 21 Jul 1772 at St Helen Bishopgate, City of London.