View of Potomac
Photo: Ileana Johnson 2019
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The remains of Elizabeth Fairfax and Henry Fairfax Sr. are interred here. Elizabeth Fairfax died November 6, 1847 at the age of 54 and Henry Fairfax Sr. died October 6, 1847 at the age of 74. Captain Henry Fairfax and his wife Elizabeth are buried in the enclosed portion of the cemetery. Captain Fairfax had purchased the Leesylvania Plantation from the Lees in 1825.
Leesylvania (meaning Lee’s Woods) Plantation became part of the Lee family legacy through the marriage of Laetitia Corbin to Richard Lee II in 1675.
Henry Lee II and his wife Lucy Grymes named the Plantation Leesylvania (Lee’s Woods). The home they built high on the ridge overlooking the Potomac River burned long ago but it was thought to resemble the Rippon Lodge, a neighboring home that was built around the same time. The Leesylvania Plantation home burned in 1790, shortly after Henry Lee II’s death in 1787.
George Washington, residing 14 miles up the river in Mt. Vernon, was a frequent visitor at the Leesylvania Plantation. His diary records dinner visits at the Lees on his way to Williamsburg and Fredericksburg on October 19, 1768, on October 30, 1769 (with his wife Martha and daughter Patsy) and on November 27, 1772.
Lee and Fairfax Cemetery today without headstones
Photo: Ileana Johnson December 2019
Lee and Fairfax Cemetery with bronze plaque
Photo: Ileana Johnson December 2019
Henry Lee was Prince William County Lieutenant and Presiding Justice for many years. He represented Prince William County in the House of Burgesses, the Revolutionary Conventions, and the State Senate from 1758-1788.
Lucy and Henry Lee had eight children born in Leesylvania House. “Light Horse Harry” was a Revolutionary War hero, Governor of Virginia, and father of Gen. Robert E. Lee. The Lee children served Virginia and Country in various capacities. Charles Lee was Attorney General of the United States. Richard Bland Lee was the first Congressman for Northern Virginia. Edmund Jennings Lee was the Mayor of Alexandria.
An obelisk-shaped monument is dedicated to “Light Horse Harry” at the foot of the hilly and heavily wooded peninsula, in a circular driveway close to the Potomac River.
Lee and Fairfax cemetery with headstones in place
Photo: Archives
The Fairfax headstones were relocated in the Union Cemetery in Leesburg, near the tomb of their son, John Walter Fairfax, but the remains were not disturbed, they still rest in the enclosed cemetery.
Fairfax home ruins (1825)
Photo: Ileana Johnson December 2019
Excellent article Ileana.
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