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 Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

, Randolph moved to the

colony of Virginia The Colony of Virginia, chartered in 1606 and settled in 1607, was the first enduring English colonial empire, English colony in North America, following failed attempts at settlement on Newfoundland (island), Newfoundland by Sir Humphrey GilbertG ...

sometime between 1669 and 1673, and married Mary Isham (ca. 1659 – 29 December 1735) a few years later. His descendants include many prominent individuals including

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was previously the nati ...

John Marshall John Marshall (September 24, 1755July 6, 1835) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the fourth Chief Justice of the United States from 1801 until his death in 1835. He remains the longest-serving chief justice and fourth-longes ...

, Paschal Beverly Randolph,

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, towards the end of which he was appointed the overall commander of the Confederate States Army. He led the Army of Nort ...

Peyton Randolph Peyton Randolph (September 10, 1721 – October 22, 1775) was an American politician and planter who was a Founding Father of the United States. Born into Virginia's wealthiest and most powerful family, Randolph served as speaker of Virginia ...

Edmund Randolph Edmund Jennings Randolph (August 10, 1753 September 12, 1813) was a Founding Father of the United States, attorney, and the 7th Governor of Virginia. As a delegate from Virginia, he attended the Constitutional Convention and helped to create ...

John Randolph of Roanoke John Randolph (June 2, 1773May 24, 1833), commonly known as John Randolph of Roanoke,''Roanoke'' refers to Roanoke Plantation in Charlotte County, Virginia, not to the Roanoke, Virginia, city of the same name. was an American Planter (American ...

, George W. Randolph, and Edmund Ruffin. Due to his and Mary's many progeny and marital alliances, they have been referred to as "the Adam and Eve of Virginia".

Early years

William Randolph was baptized in Moreton Morrell, Warwickshire, England on 7 November 1650. He was the son of Richard Randolph (21 Feb 1621 – 2 May 1678) and Elizabeth Ryland (21 Oct 1621 – 1669) of Warwickshire. Richard Randolph was originally from Little Houghton (also called Houghton Parva), a small village east of

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

, where Richard Randolph's father, William, was a "steward and servant" to

Edward la Zouche, 11th Baron Zouche Edward la Zouche, 11th Baron Zouche (6 June 1556 – 18 August 1625) was an English diplomat. He is remembered chiefly for his lone vote against the condemnation of Mary, Queen of Scots, and for organising the stag hunt where his guest, the Ar ...

(1556–1625), having previously served in that same capacity to

Sir George Goring George Goring, 1st Earl of Norwich (28 April 1585 – 6 January 1663) was an English soldier and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1621 and 1628 when he was raised to the peerage. Goring was the son of George Goring of Hurst ...

, a landowner in Sussex. William was the fourth of seven Randolph children. Richard and Elizabeth moved to Warwickshire before the birth of their first child in Moreton Morrell in 1647. They lived within the "heart of Parliamentarian Warwickshire" throughout the end of the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians ("Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of Kingdom of England, England's governanc ...

s. His family were among the

Cavalier The term Cavalier () was first used by Roundheads as a term of abuse for the wealthier royalist supporters of King Charles I and his son Charles II of England during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration (1642 – ). It ...

s who supported the king. In 1657, the last of their children was born in Moreton Morrell. The same year, Elizabeth's father was buried there. Then, the family moved to

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

. His mother died there around 1669 and his father about two years later. William's uncle, Henry Randolph (1623–1673), traveled to England and Ireland from Virginia in 1669, and sponsored William to emigrate to Colonial Virginia. He arrived without money and an axe. He arrived in an area replete with others whose families had also supported the king during the Civil War. His family had long been members of the court. William Randolph was in the colony by 12 February 1672 when he appears in the record as witness to a land transaction.

Career

The Chesapeake economy was centered around

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ch ...

, grown within the English

mercantile system Mercantilism is an economic policy that is designed to maximize the exports and minimize the imports for an economy. It promotes imperialism, colonialism, tariffs and subsidies on traded goods to achieve that goal. The policy aims to reduce ...

for export to markets in Britain and Europe. Indentured servants and slaves supported the tobacco industry at that time. By 1674 Randolph imported 12 persons into the colony and thereby earned his first

land patent A land patent is a form of letters patent assigning official ownership of a particular tract of land that has gone through various legally-prescribed processes like surveying and documentation, followed by the letter's signing, sealing, and publi ...

. Over the course of his life, he imported 168 slaves and indentured servants to Virginia. In later years Randolph became a merchant and a planter, and co-owned several ships used to transport tobacco to England and goods back to Virginia. He established several of his sons as merchants and ship captains. He trained as a lawyer and was a partner with Peter Perry and Edward Hill, Jr. in the law firm Hill, Perry & Randolph in the 1680s. He held multiple official appointments. At the local level, he became clerk of Henrico County Court in 1673 and held the position until he was asked to serve as a justice of the peace in 1683. He also served as

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

and coroner.Kukla, Jon. 1981., p. 100 Randolph represented

Henrico County Henrico County , officially the County of Henrico, is located in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 334,389 making it the fifth-most populous county in Virginia. Henrico County is inc ...

in every assembly of the

House of Burgesses The House of Burgesses was the elected representative element of the Virginia General Assembly, the legislative body of the Colony of Virginia. With the creation of the House of Burgesses in 1642, the General Assembly, which had been established ...

from 1684 to 1698, was Speaker of the House of Burgesses in 1698, and was the Clerk of the House from 1699 to 1702. He fell ill in August 1702 and his son, William, took his place. Randolph resigned the clerkship completely in March 1703. Randolph was a founder and one of the first trustees of the

College of William & Mary The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William II ...

. Randolph was a friend of

William Byrd William Byrd (; 4 July 1623) was an English composer of late Renaissance music. Considered among the greatest composers of the Renaissance, he had a profound influence on composers both from his native England and those on the continent. He i ...

, and he served as an advisor to Byrd's sons during their political careers. He is mentioned in one of Byrd's diaries as "Colonel Randolph", his militia title.

Property

Randolph was the founder of a dynasty of individuals who shaped commerce and governmental administration for years. They were "one of the most numerous and wealthiest" of the "first families" of the colony. Between Randolph and his heirs, they acquired tens of thousands of acres, including establishment of eleven large neighboring plantations that were worked by hundreds of slaves.

Turkey Island Plantation

Randolph acquired property by purchase, headright, marital interest and

land grant A land grant is a gift of real estate—land or its use privileges—made by a government or other authority as an incentive, means of enabling works, or as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service. Grants ...

. His early acquisitions were in the neighborhood of Turkey Island, located in the

James River The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 to Ches ...

about 20 miles (32 km) southeast of present-day Richmond. Randolph began living at the Turkey Hill estate, which included the island and surrounding area, in 1670. That residence no longer exists. William Randolph's residence overlooked Turkey Island, and he is buried near the site of the house. Randolph's Turkey Island Plantation became the seat of the Randolph family.

Curles Neck Plantation

In 1676 a Virginia colonist, Nathaniel Bacon, rebelled unsuccessfully against the colonial government and his estate was forfeited. This was Curles Neck Plantation, located near Turkey Island. Randolph made an assessment of the property for Governor Berkeley and was allowed to buy it for his estimated price, adding to Randolph's previous land holdings. The property eventually became the home of William's 5th son

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 ...

Tuckahoe and Dungeness

Around 1700, when Randolph's political career was at its peak, he received land grants to almost of newly opened land near Richmond; a tract at Tuckahoe Creek and a plot at Westham. This land became the basis of the Tuckahoe and Dungeness Plantations, which were later founded by two of William Randolph's sons.

Marriage and children

Randolph married Mary Isham, around 1676. Her father was Henry Isham of Northamptonshire. Her mother, Katherine Banks Royall Isham, was one of the wealthiest women in the colonies for their time. In Henrico County, Virginia, the Ishams owned a large estate in Bermuda Hundred which was across the river from Randolph's Turkey Island estate. William Randolph had nine children who survived into adulthood: * William Randolph II (born November 1681) married Elizabeth Beverley (the daughter of

Peter Beverley Peter Beverley (1663 – 1728) was an English-born planter and lawyer who served as the 27th speaker of the House of Burgesses as well as treasurer of the Colony of Virginia (1710-1723). His father Robert Beverley had been the clerk of the H ...

, a Speaker of the House of Burgesses and Treasurer of Virginia) around 1705 and had five children who lived to adulthood. He was the grandfather of Beverley Randolph, the eighth

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 ...

and

Ann Bolling Randolph Fitzhugh William Fitzhugh (August 24, 1741June 6, 1809) was an American planter, legislator and patriot during the American Revolutionary War who served as a delegate to the Continental Congress for Virginia in 1779, as well as many terms in the House o ...

. * Thomas Randolph of Tuckahoe (born ~June 1683) married Judith Fleming on October 16, 1712. He was the great-grandfather of

, as well as the great-great-grandfather of Ann Cary (Nancy) Randolph, who married

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 ...

, and her brother Thomas Mann Randolph Jr., who married Thomas Jefferson's daughter, Martha. * Isham Randolph of Dungeness (born December 1684) married Jane Rogers in 1717 and had nine children, including

Jane Randolph Jane Randolph (née Roemer; October 30, 1914 – May 4, 2009), was an American film actress. She is best known for her portrayals of Alice Moore in the 1942 horror film '' Cat People'', and its sequel, ''The Curse of the Cat People'' (1944). S ...

(who married Peter Jefferson and was the mother of

), Mary Randolph (who was the mother of Charles Lilburn Lewis and grandmother of Isham and Lilburn Lewis), Ann Randolph (who was the mother of James Pleasants Jr., the 22nd Governor of Virginia), and Susannah Randolph (who married

Carter Henry Harrison I Carter Henry Harrison I (1736 – 1793), also known as Carter Henry Harrison of Clifton, was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates. On April 22, 1776 at the courthouse in Cumberland County, Virginia, "the first explicit instructions in f ...

and was the great-grandmother of Carter Henry Harrison III and great-great-grandmother of Carter Henry Harrison IV) – both five-time

mayors of Chicago The mayor of Chicago is the chief executive of city government in Chicago, Illinois, the third-largest city in the United States. The mayor is responsible for the administration and management of various city departments, submits proposals and r ...

. *

(born ~May 1686) married Jane Bolling, a descendant of

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 o ...

, around 1714. He was the grandfather of the colorful Congressman

. *Henry Randolph (born ~October 1687) did not marry. * Sir John Randolph (born ~April 1689) married Susanna Beverley (another daughter of Peter Beverley) around 1718. He studied at the Inns of Court, practiced law in Williamsburg. John was the only native of Colonial America to receive a knighthood. He was the father of

, President of the First Continental Congress, and John Randolph, a Loyalist. The latter's son,

, served as a Virginia delegate to the

Constitutional Convention Constitutional convention may refer to: * Constitutional convention (political custom), an informal and uncodified procedural agreement *Constitutional convention (political meeting), a meeting of delegates to adopt a new constitution or revise an e ...

and became the first U.S. Attorney General and was the great-great grandfather of Robert Williams Daniel, a banker who survived the ''Titanic'' disaster. *

Edward Randolph Edward Randolph (~October 1690 – after 1756), sometimes referred to as Edward Randolph of Bremo, was a ship captain, a London tobacco merchant, and the seventh and youngest son of William Randolph and Mary Isham. Biography In 1713, Randolph ...

(born ~October 1690) married Miss (Elizabeth?) Grosvenor around 1715. *Mary Randolph (born ~1692) married Captain John Stith, a member of the

Virginia House of Burgesses The House of Burgesses was the elected representative element of the Virginia General Assembly, the legislative body of the Colony of Virginia. With the creation of the House of Burgesses in 1642, the General Assembly, which had been established ...

and the son of

John Stith John Stith ( fl. 1631–1694) was a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses and the progenitor of the Stith family, one of the first families of Virginia. Early life John Stith was born in Kirkham in Lancashire, England in 1625. Stith ancest ...

, around 1712. Her son,

William Stith William Stith (1707 – September 19, 1755) was an early American historian and an Anglican minister. He was the third president of the College of William & Mary (1752–1755), where Stith Hall was named for him. Early life Stith was th ...

, was the third president of the College of William and Mary; her son-in-law, William Dawson, was the second president of The College of William & Mary. Mary was the great-grandmother of Congressman William Johnston Dawson. Her second son, John Stith III, was the great-great-grandfather of

Armistead C. Gordon Armistead Churchill Gordon (December 20, 1855 – October 21, 1931) was a Virginia lawyer and a prolific writer of prose and poetry. Early life Gordon was born on December 20, 1855, at his grandfather's ''Edgeworth plantation'' in Albemarle C ...

and also Junius Daniel,

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed t ...

of the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

. *Elizabeth Randolph (born ~1695) married Richard Bland around 1711 and had five children, including Mary Bland (who married Henry Lee I and was the mother of

Henry Lee II Col. Henry Lee II (1730–1787) of Alexandria, Westmoreland, Virginia Colony, was an American planter, soldier, and politician, the father of Henry "Light-Horse Harry" Lee III, and grandfather of Robert E. Lee. Early life Lee was the third ...

, the grandmother of Henry "Light-Horse Harry" Lee III, and the great-grandmother of

), Theodorick Bland of Cawsons (who was the father of Congressman Theodorick Bland as well as grandfather to

), and the statesman Richard Bland (who was the great-great-grandfather of Roger Atkinson Pryor). The sons of William Randolph were each distinguished by the estates left to them. Early generations of Randolphs married into several other gentry families, including Beverley, Bland, Bolling, Dilliard, Fleming, Byrd, Fitzhugh, Carter, Cary, Harrison and Page. Later affiliations included members of the Lewis, Meriwether and Skipwith families.

Death

Randolph died on 11 April 1711 at his Turkey Island plantation. Mary and two of their sons, Thomas and William, were executors of the estate that spelled out the manner in which his numerous land holdings were distributed to his sons. Profits from the Pigeon Swamp plantation were to pay off his debt of £3259 to

Micajah Perry Micajah Perry (died 1753) was a British tobacco merchant and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1727 to 1741. He was Lord Mayor of London in 1738. He was the son of Richard Perry, merchant, of Leadenhall Street, London, and his wife S ...

III's law firm before title was to be transferred in accordance with the will.

Legacy

In their wealth and social status, the Randolphs were much like other families of the Chesapeake elite. If anything set them apart it was their participation in the political life of the colony, clearly traceable to William Randolph's example. Randolphs and close relatives formed the predominant political faction in the colonial government during the 18th century, with many members of the elected House of Burgesses and the appointed, and more exclusive, Council. Most of the Randolphs, like the rest of the Virginia gentry, strongly supported the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

. However, John Randolph (son of Sir John), in opposition to both his brother Peyton and son Edmund, remained loyal to Great Britain and left Virginia. Thomas Jefferson wrote the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of ...

, and 18-year-old John Marshall was at

Valley Forge Valley Forge functioned as the third of eight winter encampments for the Continental Army's main body, commanded by General officer, General George Washington, during the American Revolutionary War. In September 1777, Congress fled Philadelphi ...

for the trying winter of 1777–1778.

Notes

References

Bibliography

*Colonial Wills of Henrico County, Virginia, Part One, 1654–1737, abstracted and compiled by Benjamin B. Weisiger III, p. 90. http://boards.ancestry.com/localities.northam.usa.states.virginia.counties.henrico/2157/mb.ashx * Daniels, Jonathan Worth. 1972. ''The Randolphs of Virginia'', Doubleday. *Eckenrode, H.J. 1946. ''The Randolphs: The story of a Virginia family.'' New York: The Bobbs Merrill Company. * Fischer, David Hackett, 1989. " Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America", Oxford University Press, USA. * *Kukla, Jon. 1981. ''Speakers and clerks of the Virginia House of Burgesses 1643–1776.'' Richmond, VA: Virginia State Library. *Malone, Dumas (Ed.). 1963. ''Dictionary of American biography, volume VIII: Platt-Seward'', 371–372. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. *Randolph, Wassell.. William Randolph I of Turkey Island (Henrico County) Virginia and his immediate descendants. Memphis, Tenn.: Seebode Mimeo Service : Distributed by Cossitt Library, 1949.

External links

Portrait of William Randolph: Virginia Historical SocietyPortrait of Mary Isham Randolph: Virginia Historical SocietyPicture of Virginia Historical Marker for Turkey Island
* ttp://www.learnnc.org/lp/multimedia/7493 1751 Fry-Jefferson Map {{DEFAULTSORT:Randolph, William 1650 births 1711 deaths American planters American slave owners American slave traders English emigrants People from Stratford-on-Avon District People from Henrico County, Virginia William Randolph Speakers of the Virginia House of Burgesses