Fairfax

Fairfax County, Virginia Courty Genealogy, Wills, Estates, Election Records

Fairfax County was formed in 1742 from the northern part of Prince William County. It was named for Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron (16931781), proprietor of the Northern Neck. The oldest settlements in Fairfax County were located along the Potomac River. Some famous people settled in Fairfax County. George Washington built his home facing the Potomac, Mount Vernon Gunston Hall, the home of George Mason is located nearby. Modern Fort Belvoir is partly located on the estate of Belvoir Manor, built along the Potomac by William Fairfax in 1741. Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron, the only member of the British nobility ever to reside in the colonies, lived at Belvoir before he moved to the Shenandoah Valley. In 1757, the northwestern two-thirds of Fairfax County became Loudoun County. In 1789, part of Fairfax County was ceded to the federal government to form Alexandria County of the District of Columbia. Alexandria County was returned to Virginia in 1846, reduced in size by the secession of the independent city of Alexandria in 1870, and renamed Arlington County in 1920. The Fairfax County town of Falls Church became an independent city in 1948.

Abstracts and Images of Wills

Wills 1742-1749 (abstracted)
Book A-1, 1742 to 1752 (full book)
Administrator and Executor Bonds 1752-82
Book D, 1776-82
Book E, 1783-91
Book F, 1791-1794
Book G, 1794-1799
Book H,1799-1801
Book I, 1806-1806

Images of Fairfax County Wills and Estates, Book A-1, 1742 to 1752

Images of Fairfax County Wills and Estates, Book B-1, 1752 to 1767

Miscellaneous Documents

Lucas, Thomas, LWT (1791) (Transcript)
Reagan, Michael, LWT (1750), image
Reagan, Michael, LWT (1773), image
Simpson, Gilbert, LWT (1773), image

Marriages

Fairfax County Presbyterian Church Marriages

Miscellaneous Wills

Cashat John
Lucas, Thomas
Reagan, Michael
Simpson, Gilbert

Indexes to Probate Records

Will Book A-1, 1742 to 1752
Will Book B-1, 1752 to 1767
Will Book C-1, 1767 t 1776

Images of Deeds

Deed Book A-1, 1742 to 1746
Deed Book A-1, 1742 to 1746, Part II
Index 1742 to 1746
Index 1746 to 1750

Miscellaneous

Election Poll of 1744
Truro Parish
Fairfax Court House Officers
Description of Portraits in Court House
Co. D, Fairfax Rifles, Muster Roll, 1861-1865
Fairfax County ordinance of Secession
Misc. Fairfax Deeds
William Moss Estate (1835)
John Moss LWT (1809)
Clerks of the Court 1742-1976
Justices 1742
Court Orders 1742-1868

Images of Fairfax County Wills and Estates, Book C-1, 1767 to 1776

The Washington Farms: Ferry Farm and Mount Vernon

1800 Fairfax County Court House

The county court system was established in 1619 in Virginia and it handled such matters as local tax rates, licenses for mills and inns, road construction and repair and a general administration of the government. Eventually, the British Parliament imposed a number of rules and regulations on the colonies, which did everything from charging fines and assessments to vessels entering the harbor to preventing the Dutch from doing business with locals. The early records are quite interesting and worth reading because as they established land boundaries, roads were built by local labor. These old petitions are helpful in locating the actual home places. At first, local affairs were conducted in taverns or “tickler” houses. Fairfax County did not construct its first courthouse until 1742 at a place called “Spring Field” which is near present-day Tysons Corner. By the middle of the 17th century, the city of Alexandria, Virginia established itself as one of the major ports of the region for coastal and ocean-going ships, resulting in a courthouse to be built in that region in 1752. However, by November 1789, the county was in need of a new courthouse building. Thus, the legislature in Alexandria, in order to encourage and promote more trade and commerce, requested that the courthouse be placed in the center of Fairfax County. As a result, the court ordered that the sheriff collect thirty-five cents for each taxable person in Fairfax County to pay for its construction. Thus, in May of 1799, William Payne laid out the site and the court ordered that a courthouse be built which was forty-thirty feet ” with sixteen feet pitch with a twelve-foot Portico, one (jail) forty feet by twenty-one clerks office twenty-four feet by eighteen and one (jailers) House twenty-four feet by eighteen.” The jail would have three rooms on the first floor and two on the second, with an addition on the back. The office of the clerk was to be ” arched over with Slate or Tile,” which can be assumed was for fire protection. There were also to be stocks, a pillory, and a whipping post. Two men, John Bogue and Mungo Dykes were hired as contractors. The architect of the building was to be James Wren.