Early Life and Career
William Fairfax was born in London in 1691, the son of Henry Fairfax and grandson of Henry Fairfax, 4th Lord Fairfax of Cameron. As a young man, he went to the English colonies in the Caribbean, where he served as the Customs agent in Barbados and as Chief Justice of the Bahamas under Woodes Rogers. He served as governor of the Bahamas after Rogers' departure.
William was the cousin of Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron, proprietor of the extensive grant of land on the Northern Neck of Virginia. Residing in England in Leeds Castle, Lord Fairfax used a succession of land agents to manage his vast Virginia property. Upon reading the 1732 obituary of his last resident agent, Robert "King" Carter, and learning of the vast personal wealth Carter had amassed, Lord Fairfax decided to place a trusted member of the family in charge of his 5-million-acre (20,000 km2) Northern Neck proprietary.
He arranged for William Fairfax to be transferred from Massachusetts to Virginia, to be assigned as that colony's customs collector for the Potomac River and to act as his land agent.
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