Guide to the Land indenture from Denny Fairfax to Alexander White, December 4, 1790Land indenture from Denny Fairfax to Alexander White C0358Published by George Mason University Libraries Contact Information:Fenwick Library (2FL) George Mason University Fairfax, Virginia 22030-4444 USA Phone: (703) 993-2220 Fax: (703) 993-8911 Email: speccoll@gmu.edu URL: http://scrc.gmu.edu Historical NoteThe 18th century was a lively time in Fairfax County, VA history. After being under the control of many different entities, in 1690 the area became controlled by the Fairfax family. Thomas, sixth Lord Fairfax left the land in the charge of his cousin, William Fairfax. In 1742, the area ceased to be part of Prince William County and officially became Fairfax County. Return to the Table of Contents Scope and ContentLand indenture from Denny Fairfax nee Martin to Alexander White, written and signed December 4, 1790. This partially-printed document, signed by Denny Fairfax - nephew of Lord Thomas Fairfax - and his attorney, Thomas Bryan Martin (and other witnesses), leases 100 acres in Hardy County, Virginia (now West Virginia) to Alexander White. When Lord Thomas Fairfax died childless in 1781, his vast holdings in the Virginias were devised to his nephew, who later took the Fairfax name. Since Lord Thomas Fairfax was a loyalist, Virginia confiscated the Fairfax holdings, negating Denny Fairfax's leases. Court fights ensued and the Supreme Court finally ruled in the Fairfax family's favor, with Justice Joseph Story writing the opinion, Martin vs. Hunter's Lessee, in 1816. This was Story's most important opinion, establishing the Federal court's authority over the state courts. Return to the Table of Contents ArrangementThis is a single item collection. Return to the Table of Contents RestrictionsAccess RestrictionsThere are no access restrictions. Use RestrictionsThere are no restrictions on personal use. Permission to publish material from the Land indenture from Denny Fairfax to Alexander White must be obtained from the Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries. Return to the Table of Contents Related MaterialThe Special Collections Research Center hold many other collections on historic Virginia, including the Randolph H. Lytton Historic Virginia collection. Return to the Table of Contents Index Terms
Persons:Fairfax, Denny Martin, 1725?-1800
Fairfax, Thomas Fairfax, Lord, 1693-1781
Geographical Names:Fairfax (Va.)
Fairfax County (Va.)
Fairfax County (Va.)--History.
Return to the Table of Contents Administrative InformationAlternative Form AvailableA digitized version of this document can be found here: Land indenture from Denny Fairfax to Alexander White. Preferred CitationLand indenture from Denny Fairfax to Alexander White, C0358, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries. Acquisition InformationThe donor is unknown. Processing InformationProcessing completed by Amanda Brent in June 2019. EAD markup completed by Amanda Brent in June 2019. This collection used to be a part of the Virginia historical documents collection, C0034. Return to the Table of Contents Bibliography"A Brief History of Fairfax County." Fairfax County. https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/planning-zoning/sites/planning-zoning/files/assets/documents/historic/history275.pdf (accessed May 16, 2019). "Timeline of Fairfax County History." Fairfax County. https://research.fairfaxcounty.gov/local-history/timeline (accessed May 16, 2019). |