The Randolph family of Virginia is a prominent political family, whose members contributed to the politics of Colonial Virginia and Virginia after statehood. They are descended from the Randolphs of Morton Morrell, Warwickshire, England. The first Randolph in America was Edward Fitz Randolph, who settled in Massachusetts in 1630. His nephew, William Randolph, later came to Virginia as an orphan in 1669. He made his home at Turkey Island along the James River. Because of their numerous progeny, William Randolph and his wife, Mary Isham Randolph, have been referred to as "the Adam and Eve of Virginia". The Randolph family was the wealthiest and most powerful family in 18th-century Virginia.
History
Colonial Virginia
Henry Randolph I (1623-1673), born in Little Houghton, Northamptonshire, England, immigrated to the colony of Virginia in 1642, protege of Sir William Berkeley. 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.
Randolph also acquired title to land on the north side of Swift Creek in Bermuda Hundred in 1655 and built Swift Creek Mill, considered one of the first grist mills in the United States, about 1663. The mill was located alongside Randolph's plantation. Henry married Judith, the daughter of speaker of the House of Burgesses Henry Soane, with whom they had a son, Captain Henry Randolph. Henry Randolph I was the uncle of William Randolph of Turkey Island in Colonial Virginia, whom Henry sponsored to emigrate to Colonial Virginia following a visit to England and Ireland in 1669 or 1670. He was also the half brother of Thomas Randolph, the poet of England. Henry died in Henrico County, Virginia in 1673. William Randolph, nephew of Henry Randolph I, resided in Colonial Virginia by 1672. William was a transatlantic merchant and ran a tobacco plantation. He represented Henrico County, Virginia at the Virginia House of Burgesses and later was Speaker of the Virginia House of Burgesses. He was a founding trustee of the College of William and Mary.
Thomas Randolph of Tuckahoe and William Randolph II, sons of William Randolph, were Virginia Burgesses for Henrico County in 1720 and 1722. Sir John Randolph, son of William Randolph, was a Speaker of the House of Burgesses, and later Deputy Attorney General for Charles City, Prince George, and Henrico Counties.
Revolutionary War era
Peyton Randolph, son of Sir John Randolph, was a speaker of the Virginia House of Burgesses, chairman of the Virginia Conventions, and the first President of the Continental Congress. Based his roles in the Continental Congress, Randolph is recognized as a Founding Father of the United States.
Beverley Randolph, grandson of William Randolph, was a Virginia Delegate for Henrico County from 1777 to 1780 and the 8th Governor of Virginia, the first after the US Constitution was ratified.
Edmund Randolph, grandson of Sir John Randolph, was an aid-de-camp to George Washington in the American Revolutionary War. He was afterward seventh Governor of Virginia, the second Secretary of State, and the first United States Attorney General.
Thomas Jefferson, great-grandson of William Randolph, was a Virginia Burgess for Albemarle County and the principal author of the Declaration of Independence. At the beginning of the American Revolution he was a delegate to the Continental Congress for Virginia, also serving as a wartime Governor of Virginia. Just after the war ended, from mid-1784 Jefferson served as a diplomat to Paris and became the United States Minister to France. He was the first United States Secretary of State (1790–1793) serving under President George Washington. He was the 2nd Vice President, under John Adams, and 3rd President of the United States, during which he oversaw the Louisiana Purchase, leading the United States to double in size during his presidency. In later years he founded the University of Virginia.
John Marshall, great-grandson of Thomas Randolph of Tuckahoe, was the 4th Chief Justice of the United States. His court opinions helped lay the basis for United States constitutional law and made the Supreme Court of the United States a coequal branch of government along with the legislative and executive branches. Previously, he had been a leader of the Federalist Party in Virginia and served as a U.S. representative. He was Secretary of State under President John Adams from 1800 to 1801.