Everything about Francis Fauquier totally explained
Francis Fauquier (
1703 –
3 March 1768) was a
Lieutenant Governor of the colony of
Virginia (in what is today the
United States), and served as acting governor from
1758 until his death in 1768. He was married to Catherine Dalston.
He was a noted friend of
Thomas Jefferson. As royal governor of Virginia, Fauquier often hosted lavish parties where Jefferson (then a
W&M college student) played his violin and drank imported wines.
(External Link
) Fauquier County in
Northern Virginia is named in his honor. Also, due to his connection to several prominent members (both student and faculty) of the
College of William & Mary, there's both a building and a secret society (
The Fauquier Society) on the campus which share his namesake.
Background
Fauquier was born in
England. His father, Dr. John Francis Fauquier, born in
France, relocated to
Britain to work with
Sir Isaac Newton. Dr. Fauquier later became director of the
Bank of England.
Like his father, Fauquier was brought up to be a renaissance man with expertise in both science and industry, with interests in the arts and charity. He became director of the
South Sea Company in
1751. In that same year he also became one of the governors of the charitable
Foundling Hospital for abandoned children. He was elected a
fellow of the Royal Society in
1753.
He came to the colony of Virginia as lieutenant governor in 1758 succeeding
Robert Dinwiddie, and remained in that position until his death. In the absence of the governors—the
earl of Loudon (1756–63) and
Jeffery Amherst (1763–68)—he was the chief administrative officer. Instructions sent with him demanded that the office of
treasurer of the
colony be taken from the speaker of the
House of Burgesses, but he disobeyed these instructions and gained and maintained the friendship of the house. In
1760 he informed the
government of the trend toward opposition to
British policies in the colony and proposed that British tax policy be changed. In
1765, however, he dissolved the house of burgesses when it passed a resolution against the
Stamp Act.
Patrick Henry was a thorn in Fauquier's side for sometime, he always called Henry a "young and hotheaded".
Except in combating disloyalty, he sympathized with the
colonists, and was one of the ablest and most popular of the
royal governors. He published several financial essays, among them
Raising Money for Support of the War.
Fauquier died in Virginia in 1768 at the age of 65.
Further Information
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