TheRandolph family of Virginia is a prominentpolitical family, whose members contributed to the politics ofColonial Virginia andVirginia after it established statehood in June 1788, following theAmerican Revolutionary War. They are descended from the Randolphs of Morton Morrell,Warwickshire,England. The first Randolph inAmerica was Edward Fitz Randolph, who settled in colonialMassachusetts Bay Colony in 1630.^[1] His nephew,William Randolph, later came to Virginia as anorphan in 1669. He made his home atTurkey Island along theJames River. Because of their numerous progeny, William Randolph and his wife, Mary Isham Randolph, have been referred to as "theAdam and Eve of Virginia". The Randolph family was the wealthiest and most powerful family in 18th-century Virginia.

Henry Randolph I (1623-1673), born inLittle Houghton, Northamptonshire, England,^[2][3] emigrated to the colony of Virginia in 1642,^[4] protege of SirWilliam Berkeley.^[5] Randolph became clerk of the county court, and when Charles Norwood left the colony, Speaker Francis Moryson put forth Randoph's name for the position and the House of Burgesses selected him as its clerk. Randolph remained such longer than anyone else in the century.^[6]

Randolph also acquired title to land on the north side of Swift Creek inBermuda Hundred in 1655 and builtSwift Creek Mill, considered one of the firstgrist mills in theUnited States, about 1663.^[2][7] The mill was located alongside Randolph's plantation.^[8] Henry married Judith, the daughter of speaker of the House of BurgessesHenry Soane, with whom they had a son, Captain Henry Randolph. Henry Randolph I was the uncle ofWilliam Randolph of Turkey Island in Colonial Virginia, whom Henry sponsored to emigrate to Colonial Virginia^[5] following a visit to England and Ireland in 1669 or 1670.^[3][9] He was also the half brother ofThomas Randolph, the poet of England.^[4][9] Henry died in Henrico County, Virginia in 1673.^[3][9]William Randolph, nephew of Henry Randolph I, resided in Colonial Virginia by 1672.^[3] William was a transatlantic merchant and ran a tobacco plantation.^[3] He representedHenrico County, Virginia at the VirginiaHouse of Burgesses and later wasSpeaker of the Virginia House of Burgesses.^[3] He was a founding trustee of theCollege of William and Mary.

Thomas Randolph of Tuckahoe andWilliam Randolph II, sons of William Randolph, were Virginia Burgesses for Henrico County in 1720 and 1722.^[10]Sir John Randolph, son of William Randolph, was a Speaker of the House of Burgesses, and laterDeputy Attorney General forCharles City,Prince George, and Henrico Counties.^[11]

Peyton Randolph, son of Sir John Randolph, was aspeaker of the VirginiaHouse of Burgesses, chairman of the Virginia Conventions, and the firstPresident of the Continental Congress.^[12][13] Based his roles in theContinental Congress, Randolph is recognized as aFounding Father of the United States.^[14]

Beverley Randolph, grandson of William Randolph, was a Virginia Delegate for Henrico County from 1777 to 1780 and the 8thGovernor of Virginia, the first after theUS Constitution was ratified.^[15]

Edmund Randolph, grandson of Sir John Randolph, was anaid-de-camp toGeorge Washington in theAmerican Revolutionary War. He was afterwardseventhGovernor of Virginia, the secondSecretary of State, and the firstUnited States Attorney General.

Thomas Jefferson, great-grandson of William Randolph, was a Virginia Burgess forAlbemarle County, Virginia, and the principal author of theDeclaration of Independence. At the beginning of theAmerican Revolution, he was a delegate to theContinental Congress for Virginia, also serving as a wartimeGovernor of Virginia. Just after the war ended, from mid-1784 Jefferson served as a diplomat toParis and became theUnited States Minister to France. He was the firstUnited States Secretary of State, serving from 1790 to 1793 under PresidentGeorge Washington. He was the nation's secondVice President, underJohn Adams, and the thirdPresident of the United States, during which he oversaw theLouisiana Purchase, leading the United States to double in size. In 1819, following hispresidency, he founded theUniversity of Virginia.

John Marshall, great-grandson of Thomas Randolph of Tuckahoe, was the 4thChief Justice of the United States. His court opinions helped lay the basis forUnited States constitutional law and made theSupreme Court of the United States a coequalbranch of government along with the legislative and executive branches. Previously, he had been a leader of theFederalist Party in Virginia and served as aU.S. representative. He wasSecretary of State under PresidentJohn Adams from 1800 to 1801.^[16]

"Light Horse Harry" Lee, 2x great-grandson of William Randolph was an earlyAmerican patriot who served as theninthGovernor ofVirginia and as the VirginiaRepresentative to the United States Congress. During theAmerican Revolution, Lee served as acavalry officer in theContinental Army.^[17][18]

Thomas Mann Randolph Jr., 2x great-grandson of William Randolph, was a member of both houses of theVirginia General Assembly, aU.S. Representative in theUnited States Congress, and as the21stGovernor of Virginia, from 1819 to 1822.

Peyton Randolph, son of Edmund Randolph, served on the Virginia Privy Council and was acting Governor of Virginia from 1811 to 1812.

Robert E. Lee, 3x great-grandson of William Randolph, was an American career military officer best known for having commanded theConfederateArmy of Northern Virginia in theAmerican Civil War. In postbellum years he was president of Washington College (laterWashington and Lee University).

George W. Randolph, 3x great-grandson of William Randolph, was a general officer in theAmerican Civil War and aConfederate States Secretary of War. He was most well known for his strengthening the Confederacy's western and southern defenses, but came into conflict with Confederate PresidentJefferson Davis over this.^[19]

Junius Daniel, 4x great-grandson of William Randolph, was a planter and career military officer, serving in the United States Army, then in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War, as a brigadier general. His troops were instrumental in the Confederates' success at the first day of theBattle of Gettysburg. He was killed in action at theBattle of Spotsylvania Court House.

Harrison Randolph, 4x great-grandson of William Randolph was President of the College of Charleston from 1897 to 1945.

Armistead C. Gordon, 5x great-grandson of William Randolph was a Virginia lawyer and a prolific writer of prose and poetry.

John Skelton Williams, 2x great-grandson of Edmund Randolph, great-grandson of Peyton Randolph, wasComptroller of the Currency under PresidentWoodrow Wilson.

Edmund Randolph Williams, 2x great-grandson of Edmund Randolph, great-grandson of Peyton Randolph, was a Virginia lawyer

Robert Williams Daniel, 2x great-grandson of Edmund Randolph was a bank executive who served in theVirginia Senate from 1936 to 1940. He is best known for having survived the sinking of the ocean linerRMSTitanic in 1912. His account of the disaster was published in multiple newspapers.

Robert Williams Daniel, Jr., 3x great-grandson of Edmund Randolph was a Virginia farmer, businessman, teacher, and politician who served five terms in theU.S. House of Representatives. While in Congress, Daniel was a member of theHouse Armed Services Committee and various subcommittees. He later served as deputy assistant toSecretary of Defense,Caspar Weinberger, from 1984 to 1986, and director of intelligence for theDepartment of Energy from 1990 to 1993. He was a recipient of theNational Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal.

The family's wealth was based on four large plantations on the James River, acquired by William Randolph: Turkey Island (which he began assembling after his arrival around 1668), Curles (purchased from the colonial government), Tuckahoe and Dungeness (the result of two large land grants around 1700).

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Turkey Island was given its name by the first explorers of the James River, who noted that it contained a large population of wild turkeys. The term can refer to the surrounding area as well as the island. William Randolph's residence overlooked Turkey Island, and he is buried near the site of the house.^[20]

Curles Neck Plantation is west of Turkey Island. It was owned by Nathaniel Bacon, who rebelled against the governor in 1676. The property was forfeited to the colonial government and William Randolph purchased it.

Tuckahoe is the American English name of an edible plant, borrowed from anAlgonquian Native American language. It is also the name of several streams and places in eastern Virginia, includingTuckahoe Plantation, established by William Randolph's son, Thomas. "Tuckahoe" later became a pejorative nickname for eastern Virginians, used mainly by western Virginians.

Dungeness is the headland of a shingle beach in Kent, England, which must be rounded to approach the Thames Estuary. The founder of Dungeness Plantation, Isham Randolph, spent several years of his adult life as a ship's captain, and therefore was familiar with the feature.^{[citation needed]}

Bremo was the name for a tract between Turkey Island and Curles plantations.^{[citation needed]} The name comes from a Germanic word meaning "edge", in this case the edge of a river. The root also occurs in the English word "brim". The extantBremo Plantation was established in the early 19th century inFluvanna County, far to the west.

These plantations are shown on the 1751Fry-Jefferson map.

Historic homes associated with the family includeTuckahoe inGoochland andHenrico counties, thePeyton Randolph House inWilliamsburg, theWilton House Museum and theJohn Marshall House inRichmond,Monticello nearCharlottesville,Stratford Hall inWestmoreland,Brandon Plantation inPrince George andBurgh Westra inGloucester, Virginia .

Randolphs who freed slaves and fought Virginia's growing dependence on the "peculiar institution" in the early Republic are less known, but includeAnn Cary Randolph Morris, who later married founding father (and anti-slavery advocate)Gouverneur Morris of New York^[21] Jacob Randolph of Isle of Wight County, Virginia, freed 13 slaves in 1783.^[22]

John Randolph of Roanoke freednearly 400 slaves in his will,probated in 1833 and upheld more than a decade later.^[23][24][25]

Richard Randolph (? - 1859) of Greene County, Ohio, in his will probated in 1859, left his entire estate valued at $80,000 to be used to free slaves of the Randolph family and to be expended for their use and benefit.^[26] By 1895, $6,646.27 of Richard Randolph's estate remained unclaimed.^[27] In response, the Ohio General Assembly passed an act in 1898 that directed the entire $6,646.27 to be transferred to the endowment ofWilberforce University.^[27]

Members of the Randolph family also intermarried with other prominent Virginia families, including the Blands, Byrds, Carters, Beverleys, Fitzhughs, andHarrisons.Pocahontas was indirectly an ancestress to members of the Randolph family through marriages ofRobert Bolling's two granddaughters, Lucille and Jane Bolling. Some evidence suggests that famousAmerican frontiersman, politician and heroDavy Crockett was of Randolph descent. ActorLee Marvin and actress and producerKimberley Kates are also Randolph descendants, in her case through her paternal grandmother. World War I fighter aceHamilton Coolidge was a direct descendant of the marriage of a Randolph to the daughter of U.S. PresidentThomas Jefferson.

In 1926,Jessie Harlan Lincoln, the granddaughter ofAbraham Lincoln married her third husband, Robert John Randolph of this Randolph family.^[28] Her later two marriages did not produce any more children.

• First Families of Virginia
• Nottoway Plantation

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