Sarah "Sally" Cary Fairfax and her husband George William, were early and close friends of George Washington's. Sally, born Sarah Cary in 1730, came from one of the wealthiest families in Virginia. Fairfax grew up at "Ceelys on the James," a large plantation located on the James River in Southern Virginia. In 1747, she married George William Fairfax, the eldest son of Sir William Fairfax, part of Virginia's largest landowning family.
George Washington was introduced to the Fairfax family through his older half-brother Lawrence Washington, who married Sally's sister-in-law Anne Fairfax. Lawrence often brought his younger brother with him to visit George William and Sally at Belvoir, their estate the Potomac just south of Mount Vernon. The friendship promoted Washington to higher social circles in Virginia. Washington wrote to Sally for advice, including his emerging romantic feelings for Martha Custis.1
After Washington married Martha Custis in 1759, the couples socialized frequently at both Belvoir and Mount Vernon. Sally and George William mourned with the Washingtons after the death of Martha's daughter, Martha Parke Custis, “Patsy,” in 1773. Later that year, Sally and George William moved to England. In their absence, Washington served as their power of attorney for their property in Virginia.2
Later in life, George and Martha Washington wrote a joint letter to Sally Fairfax, where Washington reflected back on the couples' friendship. He wrote, "eradicate from my mind the recollection of those happy moments, the happiest in my life, which I have enjoyed in your company."3
After George William Fairfax died in 1787, Sally retired to a quiet life in Bath. She died in England in 1811.
Updated by Zoie Horecny, Ph.D., 9 April 2025
Notes:
1. “From George Washington to Sarah Cary Fairfax, 12 September 1758,” Founders Online, National Archives.
2. “From George Washington to George William Fairfax, 30 June 1786,” Founders Online, National Archives.
3. "Sally Fairfax to a Sister-in-Law in Virginia, 1788," quoted in Wilson Miles Cary, Sally Cary: A Long Hidden Romance of Washington's Life (New York: The De Vinne Press, 1916), 45.
Bibliography:
Cary, Wilson Miles. Sally Cary: A Long Hidden Romance of Washington's Life. New York: The De Vinne Press, 1916.
Fleming, Thomas. The Intimate Lives of the Founding Fathers. New York: HarperCollins, 2009.
Fraser, Flora. The Washingtons: George and Martha Partners in Friendship and Love. First Anchor Books, 2015.
