Virginia Randolph Cary (January 30, 1786 – May 2, 1852) was an American writer. She was the author of ''Letters on Female Character, Addressed to a Young Lady, on the Death of Her Mother'' (1828), an influential advice book.

Early life and family

Virginia Randolph Cary was born on January 30, 1786, most likely in

Goochland County, Virginia Goochland County is a county located in the Piedmont of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Its southern border is formed by the James River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 24,727. Its county seat is Goochland. Goochland County is includ ...

, at Tuckahoe, the plantation owned by her parents. Her twelve sisters and brothers included

Mary Randolph Mary Randolph (August 9, 1762 – January 23, 1828) was a Southern American cook and author, known for writing ''The Virginia House-Wife; Or, Methodical Cook'' (1824), one of the most influential housekeeping and cook books of the 19th century. ...

(1762–1828), author of the influential cookbook ''

The Virginia House-Wife ''The Virginia House-Wife'' is an 1824 housekeeping manual and cookbook by Mary Randolph. In addition to recipes it gave instructions for making soap, starch, blacking and cologne. Publication history ''The Virginia House-Wife'' was first pub ...

'' (1824), and Thomas Mann Randolph, Jr. (1768–1828), who served in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

from 1803 to 1807 and as

Governor of Virginia The governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia serves as the head of government of Virginia for a four-year term. The incumbent, Glenn Youngkin, was sworn in on January 15, 2022. Oath of office On inauguration day, the Governor-elect takes th ...

from 1819 to 1822. Monticello original front elevation drawing 1771

After her mother died in 1789, the three-year-old Cary lived at

Monticello Monticello ( ) was the primary plantation of Founding Father Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, who began designing Monticello after inheriting land from his father at age 26. Located just outside Charlottesville, V ...

Albemarle County, Virginia Albemarle County is a county located in the Piedmont region of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Its county seat is Charlottesville, which is an independent city and enclave entirely surrounded by the county. Albemarle County is part of the Char ...

with her brother and sister-in-law, Thomas Mann Randolph Jr. and

Martha Jefferson Martha Skelton Jefferson ( ''née'' Wayles; October 30, 1748 – September 6, 1782) was the wife of Thomas Jefferson. She served as First Lady of Virginia during Jefferson's term as governor from 1779 to 1781. She died in 1782, 19 years before ...

(1772–1836), the daughter of

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

. Her sister Judith married

William Randolph William Randolph I (bapt. 7 November 1650 – 11 April 1711) was a planter, merchant and politician in colonial Virginia who played an important role in the development of the colony. Born in Moreton Morrell, Warwickshire, Randolph moved to the ...

's great-grandson,

Richard Randolph Richard Randolph (c.1691 – 1749), also known as Richard Randolph of Curles, was a planter, merchant and politician in colonial Virginia. Richard served as a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses from 1727 until his death. Randolph was th ...

of Bizarre. His paternal ancestors included

Pocahontas Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, known as Matoaka, 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman, belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She was the daughter of ...

, the youngest daughter of

Chief Powhatan Powhatan ( c. 1547 – c. 1618), whose proper name was Wahunsenacawh (alternately spelled Wahunsenacah, Wahunsunacock or Wahunsonacock), was the leader of the Powhatan, an alliance of Algonquian-speaking Native Americans living in Tsenacommaca ...

and her English-born husband

John Rolfe John Rolfe (1585 – March 1622) was one of the early English settlers of North America. He is credited with the first successful cultivation of tobacco as an export crop in the Colony of Virginia in 1611. Biography John Rolfe is believed ...

. Her older sister, Ann Cary "Nancy" Randolph, was the wife of

Gouverneur Morris Gouverneur Morris ( ; January 31, 1752 – November 6, 1816) was an American statesman, a Founding Father of the United States, and a signatory to the Articles of Confederation and the United States Constitution. He wrote the Preamble to the U ...

and mother of

Gouverneur Morris Jr. Gouverneur Morris II (February 9, 1813 – August 20, 1888) was an American railroad executive and the son of a founding father of the United States, Gouverneur Morris. Early life Gouverneur Morris was born on February 9, 1813, Morrisania, Bronx ...

Ann figured in a scandal involving her brother-in-law and distant cousin, Richard Randolph of Bizarre, in which he was responsible for "feloniously murdering a child said to be borne of Nancy nnRandolph."

Works

After the death of her husband in 1823, as a widow, she published four major works: * (an advice book) * ''Mutius: An Historical Sketch of the Fourth Century'', American Sunday-School Union, (1828) * * ''Ruth Churchill; or, The True Protestant: A Tale for the Times (1851)'', C. Shepard & Co., a novel

Personal life

On August 28, 1805 she married her cousin Wilson Jefferson Cary (1783-1823), of

Fluvanna County, Virginia Fluvanna County is a county located in the Piedmont region of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 27,249. Its county seat is Palmyra, while the most populous community is the census designated place of Lak ...

. They had six children: *Col. Wilson Miles Cary (1806–1877), who married Jane Margaret Carr (1809–1903) *Archibald Cary (1815-1854), who married Monimia Fairfax (1820–1875), the daughter of

Thomas Fairfax, 9th Lord Fairfax of Cameron Thomas Fairfax, 9th Lord Fairfax of Cameron (1762–1846), was an American born Scottish peer, who along with his father, on 11 December 1799, was among the last guests at Mount Vernon before Washington died. Early life and family Thomas Fair ...

(1762–1846). *Jane Blair Cary *Elizabeth Randolph Cary *Mary Randolph Cary (1811–1887), who married Orlando Fairfax, son of

*Martha Jefferson Cary (1820-1873), who married

(1813–1888) Cary died in

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Downto ...

, and is buried in Saint Paul's Episcopal Church Cemetery.

Descendants

Her granddaughter was the writer

Constance Cary Constance Cary Harrison (pen name, Refugitta; April 25, 1843 – November 21, 1920), also referred as Mrs. Burton Harrison, was an American playwright and novelist. She and two of her cousins were known as the "Cary Invincibles"; the three sewed t ...

(1843–1920), who was one of three women to sew the first examples of the

Confederate Battle Flag The flags of the Confederate States of America have a history of three successive designs during the American Civil War. The flags were known as the "Stars and Bars", used from 1861 to 1863; the "Stainless Banner", used from 1863 to 1865; and ...

. She was married to

Burton Harrison Burton Norvell Harrison (July 14, 1838 – March 29, 1904), was a lawyer, American Democratic politician, and private secretary to Confederate States of America president Jefferson Davis. Harrison's support for the pro-slavery South countered a ...

(1838–1904).Louise Pecquet du Bellet, ''Some Prominent Virginia Families'', p. 81,2
/ref> Another granddaughter was

Hetty Cary Hetty Carr Cary (May 15, 1836 – September 27, 1892) was the wife of Confederate General John Pegram and, later, of pioneer physiologist H. Newell Martin. She is best remembered for making the first three battle flags of the Confederacy (al ...

(1836–1892), who married

John Pegram John Pegram (November 16, 1773April 8, 1831) was a Virginia planter, soldier and politician who served in the United States House of Representatives, both houses of the Virginia General Assembly and a major general during the War of 1812. Ear ...

(1832–1865) and later

Henry Newell Martin Henry Newell Martin, FRS (1 July 1848 – 27 October 1896) was a British physiologist and vivisection activist. Biography He was born in Newry, County Down, the son of Henry Martin, a Congregational minister. He was educated at University Co ...

(1848–1896).

References

Sources

* Cynthia A. Kierner, "'The dark and dense cloud perpetually lowering over us': Gender and the Decline of the Gentry in Postrevolutionary Virginia," ''Journal of the Early Republic'' 20 (2000): 185–217. * Patrick H. Breen, ed., "The Female Antislavery Petition Campaign of 1831–32," ''Virginia Magazine of History and Biography'' 110 (2002): 377–398.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cary, Virginia Randolph 1786 births 1852 deaths American religious writers Women religious writers

Virginia Randolph Virginia Estelle Randolph (May 1870 – March 16, 1958) was an American educator in Henrico County, Virginia. She was named the United States' first "Jeanes Supervising Industrial Teacher" by her Superintendent of Schools, Jackson Davis, and sh ...

People from Albemarle County, Virginia People from Goochland County, Virginia Randolph family of Virginia Writers from Virginia 19th-century American writers 19th-century American women writers American women non-fiction writers American people of Powhatan descent