Carte de la Virginie et du Maryland
On this map, a large area in Virginia bounded on one side by the Potomac River, and, in part, by the Rappahannock River on the other, is outlined in red to get our attention. It is labeled “Limites de Lord Fairfax”. It was known as the “Northern Neck Proprietary”, also as the “Fairfax Grant”, and extends into present-day West Virginia. Who was Lord Fairfax and how did he manage to acquire such a large holding?
In 1649 the King of England, Charles II, was in exile in France with several of his loyal followers. As a reward for the support (political payoff?) of two Culpeper brothers and five other followers who went into exile, the King issued them a grant for a “porcon of Virginia ….. bounded by and within the heads of the Rivers Rappahannock and Patawomecke.…”. Initially it was useless piece of paper since the King was in exile, but in 1660 Charles II was restored to the throne, the grant was recorded, and a “proprietary” created in Virginia Colony. In 1669, Lord Culpeper got a 21-year renewal of the grant from Charles II; a 1688 grant removed that 21-year term limit. This was a patent for over 5 million acres, amounting to one-eighth of the land in Virginia and West Virginia.
With the new patent, the owners throughout the years eventually earned fortunes by selling and leasing parts of the land and collecting taxes. As the years passed, ownership became concentrated, and Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron (1693-1781) inherited the entire property in 1719. It is his property shown on the map titled Carte de la Virginie et du Maryland Dressee sur la grande carte Angloisede M’rs. Josue Fry et Pierre Jefferson, Par le Sr. Robert de Vaugondy Geographe ordinaire du Roi. Avec Privilege 1755.
In 1755, Gilles Robert de Vaugondy and his son Didier Robert de Vaugondy made this one-sheet map from the famous four-sheet map of Virginia by Joshua Fry and Peter Jefferson (Thomas Jefferson’s father). This was accomplished by reducing the content somewhat and by trimming the coverage surrounding Virginia. The map, though dated 1755, was first published in 1757. The Robert de Vaugondys were French map-makers and publishers. Gilles is also known as Le Sieur or Monsieur Robert. His name is abbreviated “le Sr. Robert de Vaugondy” on this map.
The second edition of the map, published circa 1776, omits the red boundary and the term “Limites de Lord Fairfax”. An oversight? No! Lord Fairfax refused to declare allegiance to Virginia after the Declaration of Independence, and his property line found on the first edition of the map was removed for this edition. Because of his refusal, the unsettled portions of his 5 million acre domain were finally confiscated under the “Virginia Act of 1779” as were all lands belonging to British subjects. An expensive price to pay for his allegiance to the Crown, especially when you consider Britain lost the Revolutionary War a few years later.
Tales from the Rare Map Cabinet by Luke A Vavra.
Map Number N4072. The map has been sold.
Leave a Reply