Fairfaxes and Belvoir
John Carlyle married Sarah Fairfax of Belvoir Plantation on December 31, 1747. Belvoir Plantation (now Fort Belvoir) was the home of William Fairfax, cousin and land agent to Thomas, sixth Lord Fairfax. William Fairfax was also the president of the Governor’s Council in Williamsburg and one of the founders of Alexandria. One of the wealthiest families in Virginia, the Fairfaxes set the fashions for Northern Virginia. Belvoir Plantation, completed in 1741, was a grand two-story brick mansion surrounded by a large garden.
 
After William’s death in 1757, his son and Sarah’s brother, George William Fairfax, inherited Belvoir Plantation. George William and his wife Sally Cary Fairfax continued to furnish and entertain in the grand manner inaugurated by his father. John Carlyle, his family, and close neighbors like George Washington visited Belvoir often. In 1773 George William and Sally left Virginia for England. The house was rented and the elegant furnishings sold at auction.
 
In 1783 the house burned to the ground. George Washington wrote to George William that “Belvoir is no more!...ruins indeed they are...When I viewed them, when I considered that the happiest moments of my life had been spent there...I was obliged to fly from them.”