Amanuensis Monday: Deed: Eppa Hunton Jr. to C. W. Fair (1888)

Prince William County
Deed Book 38, page 367
Hunton to Fair

This Deed made and entered into this the 11th day of October 1888 between Eppa Hunton Jr. of the first part and C. W. Fair, of the second party.

Whereas by a decree of the Circuit Court of Prince William County pronounced on the 8th day of October 1888, in the suit of Wards Excr. vs. Florence, the said Eppa Hunton Jr. was appointed a special commissioner and was directed to convey to C. W. Fair certain lands hereinafter more particularly described with Special Warranty.

Now this Deed witnesseth that for and in consideration of the premises and of the sum of Four Hundred and Fifty Dollars in hand paid the said Eppa Hunton Jr. by the said C. W. Fair the receipt where of is hereby acknowledged, he the said Eppa Hunton Jr. commissioner aforesaid has granted bargained and sold and by these presents does grant, bargain sell and convey unto the said C. W. Fair his heirs and assigns forever with Special Warranty all that tract of land situate in the County of Prince William adjoining the lands of Sam Beavers, Albert Corn, and others containing 23[?] acres, more or less.

Witnesseth the following signature and seal, the day and year first above written.

Eppa Hunton Jr. {seal}

Virginia, Fauquier County, Sct.

I, C. M. White, a Notary Public for Fauquier County, in the state of Virginia, do certify that Eppa Hunton Jr., whose name is signed to the writing hereto attached, bearing date on the 10th day of October 1888, has acknowledged the same before me in my county aforesaid.

Given under my hand this 11th day of October 1888.

C. M. White, N.P.

In Clerks Office Prince William Count.

Dec. 7, 1888   This Deed from Hunton Commr. to Fair was received with certificate annexed and admitted to record.

Teste,

Edwin Nelson, Clk.

Sunday's Obituary: Capt. Albert J., Fair

Evening Star (Washington, DC)
6 June 1910

The funeral of Capt. Albert J. Fair, whose death occurred at 7 o'clock yesterday morning, will be held at 4 o'clock tomorrow afternoon from his home, 123 Wolfe street.  Rev. J. R. Sevier, pastor of the Second Presbyterian Church, and Rev. Edgar Carpenter, rector of Grace P. E. Church, will conduct the services.  Burial will be in Methodist Protestant cemetery. Members of Potomac Lodge, No. 38, Order of Odd Fellows, of which organization the deceased was a member, will attend the funeral.

Capt. Fair was one of the most widely known river men in the city, and was seventy-six years old. He leaves a wife. He was born in Brentsville, Prince William county, Va., and most of his life he spent on the river on sailing and steam vessels, having been captain of a number of river steamers, among them the Guy, Mystic and the old City of Alexandria. For twenty years he was captain of the Baltimore and Ohio tug Brewerton, which convoyed the railroad barge between this city and Shepherd's Landing, on the opposite side of the river.  Capt. Fair's death followed a lingering illness from a cancerous affection of the face.  Owing to ill health and declining years he retired several years ago.

Sunday's Obituary: Capt. A. J. Fair

Washington Post (Washington, DC)
June 6, 1910

CAPT. A. J. FAIR IS DEAD

Navigator of Sailing Vessels Was Prominent in Alexandria

Spent Greater Number of His Seventy-six Years on Potomac - He Was an Odd Fellow

Washington Post Bureau, 821 King Street, Alexandria, Va - With the death of Capt. A. J. Fair, which occurred early yesterday morning at his home in Wolfe street, between Lee and Union streets, Alexandria, one of the oldest and best known navigators of the Potomac River passed away.  He had suffered from a cancerous affection several years, and his death was not unexpected.  His wife survives.

Capt. Fair was born at Brentsville, Prince William county, Va., about 76 years ago, and in his youth was employed in various capacities in sailing vessels on the river.  Later, he was a member of the crew of the ferry steamer George Washington, which docked at the foot of Queen street in the early fifties.  His next berth was on the steamer Alice Price, which ran on the lower river route, and subsequently he was the commander of the steamers James Guy and Majestic and the ferry steamer City of Alexandria.

Capt. Fair's last active service, which covered a period of about twenty years, was as the commander of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad transfer tug, Major Brewerton, which towed barges laden with freight cars between Alexandria and Shepherd's wharf, on the District side of the river.  He was a member of Potomac Lodge, Odd Fellows, and took an active interest in the affairs of that organization.

Military Monday: Randolph Whitmer Fair

Manassas Journal
December 6, 1918

R. W. FAIR KILLED

Death Came on Day the Armistice Was Signed

A telegram has just been received, telling of the death of Randolph Whitmer Fair, who died in France November 10th.  He was killed in battle the day the armistice was signed.

His death came as a great shock to his many friends.  He leaves to mourn his loss his mother, who was anxiously awaiting his early return home from far across the water.  Also his wife and two little girls, the oldest six years of age, and her youngest a little over a year old.

Only a few days ago the oldest one, little Hazel, said, I want to see my papa.  And while this is their loss, we hope it will be his eternal gain.  And now he has gone from this earth.  He will nevermore know sorrow or pain.

Mr. Fair was born in Prince William county, Va., in February 10, 1886, and made this his home until Uncle Sam sent him away Nov. 6, 1917, to fight for his country.

Mr. Fair had been road superintendent for Mr. T. M. Russell, in the county, for four years and was liked by all his friends.

A Friend

Wedding Wednesday: Renoe/Tansill

Alexandria Gazette
September 11, 1907

WEDDING.

Miss Georgia Renoe, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Renoe, and Mr. George W. Tansill, of Prince William county, were married at the home of the bride's father at Oak Grove, at noon yesterday, Rev. J. Clifton Bradford, of the Baptist Woodbine church, officiating.  After the wedding a bountiful collation was served.  The newly-married couple will board the Norfolk steamer tonight for a trip to the Jamestown Exposition.  The following guests attended the wedding:  Mr. and Mrs. John Renoe, Miss Jennie Renoe, Mr. and Mrs. Dorsey Fair, Mr. and Mrs. Molair, Mr. and Mrs. Bieber, Miss Evelyn Bieber, Mr. and Mrs. Lowe, Mr. Edward Keys, Mr. J. Lynn, Mr. M. H. Hunter, Mr. Ralph Fair and others.

Tombstone Tuesday: Pearl Fair

Photo by Carolyn G. Lynn

Pearl Fair

Born

Aug 18, 1896

Died

July 31, 1908

Pearl Fair was the daughter of Charles W. and Adelia Fair.  She appears on the 1900 census with her parents and siblings.  The Fair family cemetery, long abandoned, can be found on either side of Rustic Woods Court.  The cemetery was bisected by the road when the subdivision was built.  There are numerous field stones scattered throughout the woods indicating many burials, but Pearl Fair's marker is the only inscribed stone clearly visible from the road.  (It is heartening to note that the cemetery is being cared for by one of the property owners in the subdivision.)

Thriller Thursday: The Fair Family

'Thriller Thursday' is a blogging prompt suggested by Geneabloggers, highlighting "murders, bizarre accidents or other thrilling stories" in family history.

In Prince William County, there may not be a more bizarre and tragic turn of events than those that plagued the Fair Family.  To quote the subheading of the newspaper account below, the Fair story is a tale of "wrecked homes, black fratricide, murders, suicides, and kindred disasters ... [that] would sound cheap in fiction, but these are the sordid facts."

The following was published on February 27, 1910 in the Richmond Times-Dispatch:

Richmond Times-Dispatch (Richmond, VA)
February 27, 1910