= VOL. XIII MARCH, 1885 No. 3 O THE FAIRFAXES OF YORKSHIRE AND VIRGINIA NE of the most famous families of England and America is that which bears the name of Fairfax. From the earliest times of which there is any record its principal English home has been in the Ainsty of York, the country between the old city and Tadcaster, bounded by the rivers Ouse, Wharfe, and Nidd. The name is Saxon, and-as old Fuller explainsmeans "fair hair, either bright in color, or comely from the plenty thereof." Clements R. Markham, in his "Life of the Great Lord Fairfax," says the original seat of the family was at Walton, near Thorparch, where it commanded a view of the valley of the Wharfe. Thence the scions of this grand old house went forth to seek fortune and distinction in the courts. and camps of their own and other nations. For centuries the senior branch of the Fairfax stock had its seat at Walton. Its representatives afterwards became the Viscounts Fairfax of Gilling Castle. It is now extinct. During the Wars of the Roses, Sir Guy Fairfax, a younger son, and the Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench, established the renowned junior branch. Fixing his residence at Steeton, in the parish of Bolton Percy, on the left of the road from York to Tadcaster, he there built a castle, or embattled house, with a chapel attached. The latter was consecrated by Archbishop Rotherham in 1473, and within the past few years was torn down, and its stones used in the restoration of Bilbrough Church. Much of the moat has been filled up, but enough remains to impart some ideas of the original fortification, and of the manner in which the foss or moat was filled with water. Sir William Fairfax, grandson of the Lord Chief Justice, added much to the greatness of the family, and was a very influential Yorkshire knight in the reign of Henry VIII. His wooing and marriage were of peculiarly romantic character. Isabel Thwaites, a rare and radiant beauty, and an orphan heiress, was secluded in the ancient Cistercian nunnery of Nun-Appleton, situated some four miles from Steeton, and near the confluence of the Ouse and Wharfe. But, being permitted by Lady Anna Langton, the last abbess, to hunt and to visit friends in the neighborhood, she naturally met with William Fairfax. Love sprang up between the twain-love that sought fruition in honorable marriage. To this the VOL. XIII.-No. 3.-15 scheming abbess would not consent. Isabel was confined within the nunnery walls, and William was forbidden to approach them. Higher authority, however, ordered the fair novice's release: but even then it was found necessary to effect forcible entrance. This was done, and the happy girl was carried in triumph to the church at Bolton Percy, and there married to her gallant lover in the year 1518. From that auspicious union sprang the statesmen and warriors, the scholars and poets, who have shed luster ever new upon the Fairfax name. Less than twenty-five years after the nuptials of the fair orphan, the unfeeling Anna Langton was compelled to surrender her nunnery to Thomas and Guy, the sons of Sir William and Isabel. They pulled down the conventual buildings, and erected a house with part of the materials. In March, 1557, Sir William Fairfax made his will, by which he bequeathed Steeton Hall and the manor of Bolton Percy to his younger son Gabriel, ancestor of the present owner of Steeton and Bilbrough, and head of the family in England. To his eldest son Thomas he gave Nun-Appleton, Denton, and Bishop-hill in York-thus founding two families of high reputation. From the elder of these the American, and from the younger the English Fairfaxes have descended. In 1558 he died; and after his death a schedule of all his assets, debts, and bequests was duly prepared by friends designated for that purpose. In the summer of 1884 the paper then drawn up was kindly loaned to the writer by Mrs. Fairfax, widow of the late Colonel Fairfax, and mother of the minor owner of the estate. It is a literary curiosity, and reflects considerable light upon the manners, customs, and modes of life of the sixteenth century. In the left hand margin of the document are inserted explanations of some of the terms therein employed. As matter of interest we transcribe a portion of the contents. "The Inventory of Sir W. Fairfax, Knyght, late Dyed. The Inventory Indented of all the goods and chattells whiche saide was Sir W. Fairfax of Steeton in the Countie of the Citie of Yorke, Knyght's, deceased: appraysed by Barnard Pape, Richard Shepley, Conrad (?) Stevenson, Richard Brackman, and Oswyn Hedwyn, the 15th Day of Novembre, in the year of our Lord God A Thousand and five hundredth, fiftie and eight. = Thus far the transcript is literal In the inventory of bed-room furniture are such items as "one standinge bed, the Teaster of Red Velvet and Blake, one Matras, one Fether bed and bolster, one Fustane Blankitt and a Cotton Blankitt " = 33 4 3 Chists, 1 Cobberd, 2 Landirons, 1 Counterpoynte Quilt what we now call patchwork, 6 Fowrams, 4 Qushshinges 3 Hangyngs of Ares Warke." Marginal note:- Ares-so called a sort of Rich Tapestry, made at Arras, in the County of Artois in Flanders." "3 Buffett Stolles and 1 Fowrome, I Hanging of Say, 3, 5 Garnyshe of Pewdevesell," Pewter vessels sufficient to furnish 5 tables." = = 4'; "In Playte" the deceased Knight abounded. One lot is valued at £47 13 8 another at £96 13 6; and a third at £8 2 5. In the stables are "2 Mares and their folles, £5; 2 Gray Twenter Stags 40°; 1 Bay stoned Staige £3; One Pewder Flagett, - a small vessel in which they carry liquer to haymakers, 16; One Kneyf with the Forke, 12d." All his personal estate, including claims upon different persons, is estimated at £1709 2 5. From this his debts, amounting to £28 2 7, are to be deducted; leaving a net balance of £1680 13 10. Legacies, funeral expenses, and debts aggregate in the sum of £1587 6 3; leaving the remainder, £93 7 7, apparently to the nearest of kin. To many an English tenant farmer this exhibit now appears to be one of meager wealth. Measured by the purchasing power of money in those times, it indicates real affluence. Mr. James Myers, the present tenant of the Steeton Hall estate, lives in greater comfort than the doughty soldier who distinguished himself in the "Pilgrimage of Grace," and whom the puissant Henry Tudor addressed as his "trusty and well-beloved knight.” The Hall as it now is differs very little in size or arrangement from what it was when the beautiful Isabel Fairfax was its sunny and beloved mistress. Like most of the ancient English halls, it is cold, damp, and disagreeable; and particularly to any one accustomed to the warmth, comfort, and convenience of homes on Manhattan Island. Were it in possession of an American owner, the irreverent and iconoclastic but sober and practical spirit of the man would speedily level it with the ground, and raise a modern structure upon the site. Thomas, the eldest son of Sir William Fairfax, fought under Sir Francis Vere in the wars of France and the Low Countries, and was knighted for his gallantry by Lord Essex. Thinking that his position and |