William Randolph

William Randolph
Portrait by John Wollaston (c.1755)
26th Speaker of the Virginia House of Burgesses
In office
1698–1698
Preceded byRobert Carter
Succeeded byRobert Carter
Personal details
Born1650
Moreton Morrell, Warwickshire, England
Died21 April 1711 (aged 60-61)
Virginia, British America
Resting placeTurkey Island, Virginia
Spouse
Mary Isham
(m. 1676)
Children9, including William, Thomas, Isham, Richard, John and Edward
Residence(s)Henrico County, Virginia
OccupationPlanter, merchant, politician

William Randolph I (bapt. 7 November 1650 – 21 April 1711) was an English-born 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 colony of Virginia 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, John Marshall, Paschal Beverly Randolph, Robert E. Lee, Peyton Randolph, Edmund Randolph, John Randolph of Roanoke, George W. Randolph, and Edmund Ruffin.[citation needed] 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, where Richard Randolph's father, William, was a "steward and servant" to Edward la Zouche, 11th Baron Zouche (1556–1625), having previously served in that same capacity to Sir George Goring, 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 Wars. His family were among the Cavaliers 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. 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.

These were men who had fought on the royal side in the Civil War in England and now sought refuge in Virginia. They were known as 'Cavaliers,’ and they gave Virginia a social atmosphere it never subsequently lost.

— H. J. Eckenrode, author of The Randolphs: The Story of a Virginia Family

Career

Coat of Arms of William Randolph

The Chesapeake economy was centered around tobacco, grown within the English mercantile system 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. 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 and coroner. Randolph represented Henrico County in every assembly of the House of Burgesses 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 had briefly been attorney-general of the colony, but according to a Crown report of September 1696 by Edward Randolph of New England "is wholly unacquainted with the laws and practice of the Courts in England". 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. Randolph was a friend of William Byrd, 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. His early acquisitions were in the neighborhood of Turkey Island, located in the James River 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 1,230 acres (5.0 km2) to Randolph's previous land holdings. The property eventually became the home of William's 5th son Richard Randolph.

Tuckahoe and Dungeness

Around 1700, when Randolph's political career was at its peak, he received land grants to almost 10,000 acres (40 km2) of newly opened land near Richmond; a 3,256-acre (13.18 km2) tract at Tuckahoe Creek and a 5,142-acre (20.81 km2) 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

Mary Isham Randolph

Randolph married Mary Isham (ca. 1659-December 29, 1735), 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:

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 21 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 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.[citation needed]

Most of the Randolphs, like the rest of the Virginia gentry, strongly supported the Revolution.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed] Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, and 18-year-old John Marshall was at Valley Forge for the trying winter of 1777–1778.

See also


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