Charles S. Fairfax

The Lord Fairfax of Cameron
5th Speaker of the California State Assembly
In office Jan 1854 – May 1854
Preceded by	Isaac B. Wall
Succeeded by	William W. Stow
Member of the California State Assembly from the 15th district
In office 1853–1854
Personal details
Born	March 8, 1829 Vaucluse Plantation, Virginia
Died	April 4, 1869 (aged 40)
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Ada Benham
Relations	John Fairfax, 11th Lord Fairfax of Cameron (brother)
Parents	Albert Fairfax Caroline Eliza Snowden
Profession	Politician

Charles Snowdon Fairfax, 10th Lord Fairfax of Cameron (March 8, 1829 – April 4, 1869) was an American Democratic politician of California. He was of Scottish noble descent, and held a Scottish peerage. Fairfax was lured west as part of the gold rush. The town of Fairfax, California, is named for him.

He was born on Vaucluse Plantation in Virginia, the eldest son of Albert Fairfax (April 15, 1802 – May 9, 1835) and Caroline Eliza Snowden (April 21, 1812 – December 28, 1899), who were married on April 7, 1828. His younger brother was John Fairfax, 11th Lord Fairfax of Cameron (September 13, 1830 – September 28, 1900), who became the 11th Lord Fairfax of Cameron upon Charles' death in 1869. His paternal grandfather was Thomas Fairfax, 9th Lord Fairfax of Cameron (1762–1846). On May 1, 1838, his mother married William R. Saunders.

He was collaterally related to Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax, who was a Parliamentary general during the English Civil Wars. He was also related to Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron, who relinquished his English estates to his brother Robert Fairfax, 7th Lord Fairfax of Cameron and emigrated to America, where he settled on a plantation of more than a million acres (4,000 km²) in Virginia, which he inherited from his mother, Catherine Colepeper. Thomas Fairfax was the first person who employed George Washington as a surveyor.

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