| Name |
William Randolph, of Turkey Island |
| Born |
Nov 1651 |
Yorkshire, England  |
| Gender |
Male |
| History |
"William Randolph was baptized in Moreton Morrell, Warwickshire, England on November 1650, the son of Richard Randolph (21 February 1621–2 May 1678) and Elizabeth Ryland (1625–ca. 1669). Richard Randolph was originally from Houghton Parva, a small village east of Northampton, where his father 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.[3] Elizabeth was the daughter of John Ryland of Warwick. William was the second of seven Randolph children, all born in Moreton Morrell between 1647 and 1657.
No record has yet surfaced to fix William Randolph's residences after his birth until 1672.
Although his father's older half-brother, the poet Thomas Randolph, attended Westminster School and Cambridge University, he did so largely on scholarship and there is no record of any other members of William's family having attended either public school or university.[5] At some point in the late 1650s or 1660s, his parents moved to Dublin, where they both died, his mother around 1669 and his father in 1671, so William may well have spent the bulk of his formative years in Ireland.[6] It is also known that William's uncle, Henry Randolph (1623-?), in 1669 traveled to Britain from Virginia, to which place he had emigrated around 1642.[7] Henry probably encouraged his nephew at that time to return with him to the Chesapeake. In any case, William Randolph was in the colony by 12 February 1672 when he appears in the record as witness to a land transaction." Source: Wilipedia
Husband of Mary (Isham) Randolph. Father of Elizabeth Bland), an infant also named Elizabeth, William Jr., Edward, Sir John, Mary (Sith), Richard and Col. Isham Randolph. (Randolph/Randolf later spelling. GRT Grandfather of Thomas Jefferson.
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=16714316 |
| History |
His descendants include many prominent individuals including Thomas Jefferson, John Marshall, Paschal Beverly Randolph, Robert E. Lee,[2] Peyton Randolph, Edmund Randolph, John Randolph of Roanoke, George W. Randolph, and Edmund Ruffin. Genealogists have taken an interest in him for his progeny's many marital alliances, referring to him and Mary Isham as "the Adam and Eve of Virginia".[citation needed] [3] |
| History |
The historian, Hugh Blair Grigsby, was authority for the statement that William Randolph was a carpenter who landed in the Colony with his broad-axe on his shoulder, and Campbell repeated it in his History of Virginia. My grandfather participated in an acrimonious debate with Grigsby in the columns of The Norfolk Argus in 1858 (File in the Congressional Library) as to whether his ancestor was a carpenter or a cavalier, but neither one was able to prove his point and they later became friends and carried on an interesting correspondence. William C. Rives, in writing to my grandfather at the time, said: "I am not surprised to learn from you that Mr. Campbell in his history repeats the exploded fancies of our friend Mr. Grigsby. They both write under strong anti-cavalier and anti-Anglican pre-possessions which make them cling fondly to all such versions of our private or public history. The time will come, I hope, when the history of our State will be written from an elevated and philosophical point of view, far above the influence of party feeling either in Church or State."
Whether William Randolph was a carpenter or a cavalier, a commoner or an English "Gent," he certainly carved out for himself a large measure of success in the new land and he was the progenitor of more distinguished Americans than any pioneer who set foot in the colony before or after him. His son John was knighted, his grandson Peyton was President of the first Continental Congress, his great grandson Edmund was Attorney General of the United States, his great grandson Thomas Jefferson was President of the United States, his great grandson John Marshall was Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States and for ten generations the line has produced distinguished and able citizens. The strain is crossed with all the first families of Virginia so it has not run to seed and the native American Indian blood of Powhatan and his daughter Pocahontas has probably contributed something to the points of his descendants. The children of my grandfather, Robert Carter Randolph of Millwood, Clarke County, Virginia, trace their descent from the Indian source and from five of the six sons of the Pioneer who had issue. The children of his daughter Susan who married her second cousin Eston Randolph, trace their descent from all six of these sons.
Robert Isham Randolph – 1936
from:
http://www.palmspringsbum.org/genealogy/getperson.php?personID=I18069&tree=Legends [4] |
| Occupation |
1698 |
| 26th Speaker of the House of Burgesses |
| Residence |
Turkey Island, Chesterfield, Virginia |
| Died |
11 Apr, 1711 |
Turkey Island, Chesterfield County, Virginia |
| Buried |
Randolph Family Cemetery Presque Isle, Henrico County, Virginia [5] |
- "Here Lies Col. William Randolph Founder of Randolph Family
1651-1711." Virginia Conservation Com. 1946.
William Randolph, settled at Turkey Island in the early 1680s, near the head of the tidewater on the James River, built up a large estate, and became one of the most influential political leaders of his generation. He was the 26th Speaker of the Virginia House of Burgesses in 1698. By the time of his death in 1711, he had established a leading dynasty and was able to bequeath thousands of acres of land to his children. Taking advantage of opportunities in the interior, his sons moved further upriver: Richard settled at Curles Neck, Thomas far beyond the falls at Tuckahoe (the first great plantation on the upper James), and Isham further upriver still. As a young man Isham had gone to sea, become a successful merchant, and lived for many years in London, serving as an agent for Virginia affairs. In 1718 he married Jane Rogers and three years later their daughter, Jane, was baptized at St. Paul's Church, Shadwell. Jane Randolph, Thomas Jefferson's mother, was English by birth and spent her childhood in London surrounded by the busy streets and docklands of the East End, before moving to her father's plantation at Dungeness in the frontier county of Goochland.
The Randolph Family Cemetery on the South-West side of the old Turkey Island Plantation. The Turkey Island Plantation is NOT on Turkey Island, but across the James River, north of Turkey Island. The family plot is now on private property and the owner does not allow people to visit the walled in cemetery.(according to G. Parsons).
Family links:
Parents:
Richard Randolph (1621 - 1678)
Elizabeth Ryland Randolph (1621 - 1669)
Spouse:
Mary Isham Randolph (1659 - 1735)
Children:
Elizabeth Randolph Bland (1680 - 1720)*
William Randolph (1681 - 1742)*
Thomas Randolph (1683 - 1729)*
Elizabeth Randolph (1685 - 1685)*
Isham Randolph (1685 - 1742)*
Mary Randolph Stith (1686 - 1742)*
Edward Randolph (1690 - 1737)*
John Randolph (1693 - 1737)*
*Calculated relationship
Burial:
Randolph Family Cemetery Presque Isle
Henrico County
Virginia, USA
Created by: Kaaren Crail Vining
Record added: Nov 19, 2006
Find A Grave Memorial# 16714316
|
| Person ID |
I121 |
Ellie Wood Keith |
| Last Modified |
21 May 2017 |
| Family |
Mary Isham of Bermuda Hundred |
| Children |
| + | 1. Colonel Richard Randolph, b. May 1689, d. 17 Dec,1766 |
| | 2. Thomas Randolph, of Tuckahoe, b. Jun 1683, Turkey Island, Chesterfield County, Virginia , d. Sept,1729 (Age ~ 45 years) |
| | 3. Isham Randolph of Dungeness, b. 1683, "Turkey Island', Chesterfield County, Virginia , d. 2 Nov,1742, London, England (Age 59 years) |
| | 4. Sir John Randolph, b. 1693, d. 5 Mar,1736/37 |
| | 5. Elizabeth Randolph, d. 22 Jan,1718/19 |
| | 6. Mary Randolph, b. 1692, d. 28 Nov,1734 |
| | 7. Edward Randolph |
| | 8. Henry Randolph, d. England |
|
| Last Modified |
11 May 2017 |
| Family ID |
F68 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
Ellie Wood Keith Genealogy
1651 - 1711 (~ 59 years)
