John Randolph

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Randolph_(Williamsburg)

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=9096399

Birth: 1727 Williamsburg City Virginia, USA Death: Jun. 30, 1784, England

Lawyer. Known as "John the Tory". Succeeded his brother, Peyton, as King's Attorney in 1766, appointed by Governor Faquier. He was still in this position when the war for independance looked inevitable, and he decided it was against his oath of office to assist in this rebellion. At this time he took his family to England. While in England, he corresponded frequently with his cousin, Thomas Jefferson. He remained in England until his death several years after the war. His last request was to be buried on his home soil. Despite being opposed to his brother during the war, he was laid to rest next to him.

Family links:

Parents:

 Sir John Randolph (1693 - 1737)

 Lady Susanna Beverly Randolph (1692 - 1754)

Spouse:

 Adrianna Jennings Randolph (1723 - 1808)*

Children:

 Edmund Jenings Randolph (1753 - 1813)*

• Calculated relationship

Burial: Chapel of the College of William and Mary Williamsburg Williamsburg City Virginia, USA

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John Randolph, "The Tory"

•Born ca. 1727 in Williamsburg, Virginia

•Studied law in England

•Member of House of Burgesses

•Attorney General for Virginia Colony

•Died 1784 in London, England

•Buried in Virginia

Early Years

John Randolph was born in 1727 or 1728, probably at what is now called the Peyton Randolph House on Market Square, and his heritage was thoroughly Virginian. Educated at the College of William & Mary, he traveled to London in 1745 to study law at the Middle Temple at the Inns of Court in London, and returned to Williamsburg to practice in 1749.

Civic duties

Among Virginia's best-trained attorneys, John Randolph climbed the rungs of civic responsibility toward authority and power. He had become a member of the city's common council, then a burgess for the College of William & Mary. When his older brother Peyton Randolph was elected speaker of the House of Burgesses, John succeeded him as the colony's attorney general. He could not, however, follow Peyton down the road to rebellion.

At odds with brother’s political views

John Randolph’s brother Peyton Randolph followed the call of duty to the chair of the Continental Congress, but conscience summoned John Randolph "home" to England. As the day approached when he would quit America and its Revolution, he wrote a farewell letter to his cousin Thomas Jefferson. "We both of us seem to be steering opposite courses," he said, "the success of either lies in the womb of Time."

The third child of Sir John and Lady Susannah Randolph, John was convinced British-Americans owed more loyalty to the Crown than to the Massachusetts hotheads or to firebrands like his friend Patrick Henry. Historians have tagged him with the nickname John "The Tory." By the summer of 1775, an anonymous piece in the Virginia Gazette insulted John Randolph for his Loyalist views and "dependence on l[or]d D[unmor]e."

Read transcript of article

View Virginia Gazette, July 27, 1775, Page 3, bottom of column two and top of column three (Will open in new window)

If Randolph's associates in Williamsburg disagreed with his views, they nevertheless admired his integrity. Most Virginians referred to England as home; John Randolph meant it.

Returns to England

While Peyton chaired the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia, John sat in Williamsburg, a confidant of the pugnacious Governor Dunmore. As Peyton prepared to leave for the Second Continental Congress, John was closing up his house, Tazewell Hall. Renowned for its hospitality, Tazewell Hall sat at the southern end of South England Street commanding a 99-acre estate. It was a popular literary and social center frequented by the elite of the community. Its master had been a close friend of Governor Fauquier and Lord Botetourt.

John Randolph arranged passage across the Atlantic for himself, his wife, Ariana, and their two daughters, Susannah and Ariana. His son, Edmund, stayed behind; Edmund joined the American army and served as aide-de-camp to General George Washington.

Enjoyed music and gardening

Gardening and music were among John Randolph's avocations. About 1765 he wrote what is believed to be the earliest American book on kitchen gardening, A Treatise on Gardening by A Citizen of Virginia. Cousin Thomas Jefferson thought Randolph's violin was the finest in the colony and John, in turn, admired Tom's library. In 1771, they struck a lighthearted bargain. If Randolph died first, Jefferson was to have the fiddle; if Jefferson died first, Randolph was to have £100 worth of Jefferson's books. George Wythe and Patrick Henry witnessed the agreement.

In August 1775, Jefferson sent their mutual friend Carter Braxton to Williamsburg with £13 pounds and posted a letter saying he meant it for the instrument. The reply was Randolph's farewell, though the men corresponded after Randolph reached England.

The state government confiscated loyalist properties as the Revolution wore on, and an embittered Randolph spent years fruitlessly trying to reclaim his.

Died in England; buried in Virginia

John Randolph died at Brampton, England, in 1784. In death, as he could not in conscience do in life, Randolph returned to Williamsburg. He is interred beside his father and brother in the family vault in the chapel at the College of William and Mary.

John Randolph, of Williamsburg, son of Sir John Randolph and Susanna, née Beverly, was b. 1727, and was Attorney General for the Colony of Virginia. He married (1752) Arianna Jennings, daughter of Edmund Jennings, of Annapolis, Md., who was at one time Attorney General for both Maryland and Virginia. They had two children:

1. Edmund Randolph, b. Aug. 10, 1753; d. in Frederick Co., Va., Sept. 12, 1813. When the American Revolution broke out John Randolph, of Williamsburg, went to England, but his son Edmund remained and cast his lot with the colonists. He was adopted by his uncle Peyton Randolph, who was President of the first American Congress. Edmund Randolph, b. 1753, was the first Attorney General of the U. S. of America, 1790; having been Gov. of the State 1786-88. He married Image Not Shown Gov. Thomas Nelson Yorktown, York County, Virginia Signer of the Declaration of Independence, July 14th, 1776 (From the Original Portrait by Chamberlin, London, 1754.) (Aug. 29, 1796) Elizabeth, daughter of Robert Carter Nicholas, Speaker of the House of Burgesses and Treasurer of Virginia. They had issue:

Thomas Nelson, of Yorktown, York Co., Va., signer of the Declaration of American Independence, Governor of the State of Virginia and Major General in the American army, was born at Yorktown, Virginia, December 26, 1738. He was the eldest son and child of President William Nelson, of the same place, and Elizabeth (called Betty) Burwell, his wife; and President William Nelson was the eldest son and child of Thomas Nelson, known as Scotch Tom, of England, and Margaret Reid, his wife.

Governor Nelson died during an attack of asthma, caused by exposure during the war of the Revolution.

Edmund Randolph began a career of prominence, and figured largely for many years as the defender of his country in the councils of his state and of the nation, and was the zealous supporter of the Church against all which he believed to be assaults upon her rights. He had been adopted by his uncle, Peyton Randolph, and had espoused his patriotic views with regard to the independence of America.

His father bitterly regretted going to England, died of a broken heart, and directed that his remains be brought to America. They were buried in the college chapel.

In 1775 Edmund Randolph was a delegate to the Virginia Convention, May, 1776, and from 1779 to 1783 he was a member of the Continental Congress.

Being a member of the Virginia delegation to "The Constitutional Convention," which met in Philadelphia, May 25, 1787, Edmund Randolph introduced, on behalf of his delegation, a series of propositions, fifteen in number, embodying a new scheme of central government, known in history as the Virginia plan. This plan, discussed for two weeks in committee of the whole, was so modified, amended and changed that it could only be called the foundation of what was finally accepted and signed by the delegates in due form. The authorship of the constitution, as then laid down, was clearly the product of many minds, and the source of some of its most vital phrases will never be given to posterity. We only know that the end attained was after long, laborious, anxious discussion and most sagacious compromise.Sectional differences of opinion were reconciled, and a distinct plan of constitutional union finally arranged. Washington presided at this convention, and by his inflexible course did much to keep the assembly together, a convention whose almost continuous session of four months had more than once threatened to break up in disorder.

It is to be regretted that so little can be known of the Constitutional Convention of Philadelphia, but the injunction of secrecy under which its deliberations were held was never removed. The official journal deposited by Washington in the public archives, and Madison's notes, are the only extended testimony to throw light on this intensely interesting period-a time when Washington himself declared "that our political affairs were suspended by a thread." In that dread crisis the past furnished no light to guide the statesmen of this august meeting; the present was full of doubt and despair, and the destiny of the American liberty hung trembling in the balance. But in the injunction the majestic reason of George Washington triumphed. "It is too probable," said he, "that no plan we propose will be adopted."

"Perhaps another dreadful conflict is to be sustained. If to please the people, we offer what we ourselves disapprove, how can we afterward defend our work? Let us raise a standard to which the wise and honest can repair. The event is in the hands of God." If, in this memorable speech, Washington counseled immediate action, and thereby cemented the opposing sentiments of the convention by one decisive and imperishable step; if he now laid the foundation of honesty and purity in constitutional government, we, the heirs of this rich legacy, are indebted no less to another Virginian for making the constitution practically all that it has been, is, and yet may be.

To John Marshall, Chief Justice of the United States from 1801-1835, do we turn with gratitude for lifting these resolutions from the mist and cloud of doubt, to be the radiant source of light and life, and happiness to millions of enraptured freemen. When, as yet, the constitution was a doubtful experiment, Judge Marshall by his clear, unanswerable logic, laid it before an eager world as a wonderful combination of liberty and law, and by his practical construction of its beneficent provisions he established it in the hearts and minds of his fellow-citizens as a wise and never-to-be-abandoned system of free government.

At the close of the momentous deliberations of the Constitutional Convention the plan adopted was disapproved by Edmund Randolph, but in June, 1788, when it was submitted to the Virginia Convention, in Richmond, for ratification, he pronounced decidedly for it.

Of the deputies from Virginia, who signed the constitution in Philadelphia, September 17, 1787, were: George Washington, John Blair, James Madison, Jr. Those of the Virginia delegation who did not sign it were: Edmund Randolph, George Mason, George Wythe and James McClung. But the constitution was finally accepted by Virginia, through her convention held at Richmond, and ratified June 25, 1788, by a vote of 89 to 79.

John Randolph, "The Tory"

•Born ca. 1727 in Williamsburg, Virginia

•Studied law in England

•Member of House of Burgesses

•Attorney General for Virginia Colony

•Died 1784 in London, England

•Buried in Virginia

Early Years

John Randolph was born in 1727 or 1728, probably at what is now called the Peyton Randolph House on Market Square, and his heritage was thoroughly Virginian. Educated at the College of William & Mary, he traveled to London in 1745 to study law at the Middle Temple at the Inns of Court in London, and returned to Williamsburg to practice in 1749.

Civic duties

Among Virginia's best-trained attorneys, John Randolph climbed the rungs of civic responsibility toward authority and power. He had become a member of the city's common council, then a burgess for the College of William & Mary. When his older brother Peyton Randolph was elected speaker of the House of Burgesses, John succeeded him as the colony's attorney general. He could not, however, follow Peyton down the road to rebellion.

At odds with brother’s political views

John Randolph’s brother Peyton Randolph followed the call of duty to the chair of the Continental Congress, but conscience summoned John Randolph "home" to England. As the day approached when he would quit America and its Revolution, he wrote a farewell letter to his cousin Thomas Jefferson. "We both of us seem to be steering opposite courses," he said, "the success of either lies in the womb of Time."

The third child of Sir John and Lady Susannah Randolph, John was convinced British-Americans owed more loyalty to the Crown than to the Massachusetts hotheads or to firebrands like his friend Patrick Henry. Historians have tagged him with the nickname John "The Tory." By the summer of 1775, an anonymous piece in the Virginia Gazette insulted John Randolph for his Loyalist views and "dependence on l[or]d D[unmor]e."

Read transcript of article

View Virginia Gazette, July 27, 1775, Page 3, bottom of column two and top of column three (Will open in new window)

If Randolph's associates in Williamsburg disagreed with his views, they nevertheless admired his integrity. Most Virginians referred to England as home; John Randolph meant it.

Returns to England

While Peyton chaired the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia, John sat in Williamsburg, a confidant of the pugnacious Governor Dunmore. As Peyton prepared to leave for the Second Continental Congress, John was closing up his house, Tazewell Hall. Renowned for its hospitality, Tazewell Hall sat at the southern end of South England Street commanding a 99-acre estate. It was a popular literary and social center frequented by the elite of the community. Its master had been a close friend of Governor Fauquier and Lord Botetourt.

John Randolph arranged passage across the Atlantic for himself, his wife, Ariana, and their two daughters, Susannah and Ariana. His son, Edmund, stayed behind; Edmund joined the American army and served as aide-de-camp to General George Washington.

Enjoyed music and gardening

Gardening and music were among John Randolph's avocations. About 1765 he wrote what is believed to be the earliest American book on kitchen gardening, A Treatise on Gardening by A Citizen of Virginia. Cousin Thomas Jefferson thought Randolph's violin was the finest in the colony and John, in turn, admired Tom's library. In 1771, they struck a lighthearted bargain. If Randolph died first, Jefferson was to have the fiddle; if Jefferson died first, Randolph was to have £100 worth of Jefferson's books. George Wythe and Patrick Henry witnessed the agreement.

In August 1775, Jefferson sent their mutual friend Carter Braxton to Williamsburg with £13 pounds and posted a letter saying he meant it for the instrument. The reply was Randolph's farewell, though the men corresponded after Randolph reached England.

The state government confiscated loyalist properties as the Revolution wore on, and an embittered Randolph spent years fruitlessly trying to reclaim his.

Died in England; buried in Virginia

John Randolph died at Brampton, England, in 1784. In death, as he could not in conscience do in life, Randolph returned to Williamsburg. He is interred beside his father and brother in the family vault in the chapel at the College of William and Mary.

John Randolph, "The Tory"

Born ca. 1727 in Williamsburg, Virginia Studied law in England Member of House of Burgesses Attorney General for Virginia Colony Died 1784 in London, England Buried in Virginia Early Years

John Randolph was born in 1727 or 1728, probably at what is now called the Peyton Randolph House on Market Square, and his heritage was thoroughly Virginian. Educated at the College of William & Mary, he traveled to London in 1745 to study law at the Middle Temple at the Inns of Court in London, and returned to Williamsburg to practice in 1749.

Civic duties

Among Virginia's best-trained attorneys, John Randolph climbed the rungs of civic responsibility toward authority and power. He had become a member of the city's common council, then a burgess for the College of William & Mary. When his older brother Peyton Randolph was elected speaker of the House of Burgesses, John succeeded him as the colony's attorney general. He could not, however, follow Peyton down the road to rebellion.

At odds with brother’s political views

John Randolph’s brother Peyton Randolph followed the call of duty to the chair of the Continental Congress, but conscience summoned John Randolph "home" to England. As the day approached when he would quit America and its Revolution, he wrote a farewell letter to his cousin Thomas Jefferson. "We both of us seem to be steering opposite courses," he said, "the success of either lies in the womb of Time."

The third child of Sir John and Lady Susannah Randolph, John was convinced British-Americans owed more loyalty to the Crown than to the Massachusetts hotheads or to firebrands like his friend Patrick Henry. Historians have tagged him with the nickname John "The Tory." By the summer of 1775, an anonymous piece in the Virginia Gazette insulted John Randolph for his Loyalist views and "dependence on lord Dunmore."

If Randolph's associates in Williamsburg disagreed with his views, they nevertheless admired his integrity. Most Virginians referred to England as home; John Randolph meant it.

Returns to England

While Peyton chaired the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia, John sat in Williamsburg, a confidant of the pugnacious Governor Dunmore. As Peyton prepared to leave for the Second Continental Congress, John was closing up his house, Tazewell Hall. Renowned for its hospitality, Tazewell Hall sat at the southern end of South England Street commanding a 99-acre estate. It was a popular literary and social center frequented by the elite of the community. Its master had been a close friend of Governor Fauquier and Lord Botetourt.

John Randolph arranged passage across the Atlantic for himself, his wife, Ariana, and their two daughters, Susannah and Ariana. His son, Edmund, stayed behind; Edmund joined the American army and served as aide-de-camp to General George Washington.

Enjoyed music and gardening

Gardening and music were among John Randolph's avocations. About 1765 he wrote what is believed to be the earliest American book on kitchen gardening, A Treatise on Gardening by A Citizen of Virginia. Cousin Thomas Jefferson thought Randolph's violin was the finest in the colony and John, in turn, admired Tom's library. In 1771, they struck a lighthearted bargain. If Randolph died first, Jefferson was to have the fiddle; if Jefferson died first, Randolph was to have £100 worth of Jefferson's books. George Wythe and Patrick Henry witnessed the agreement.

In August 1775, Jefferson sent their mutual friend Carter Braxton to Williamsburg with £13 pounds and posted a letter saying he meant it for the instrument. The reply was Randolph's farewell, though the men corresponded after Randolph reached England. The state government confiscated loyalist properties as the Revolution wore on, and an embittered Randolph spent years fruitlessly trying to reclaim his.

Died in England; buried in Virginia

John Randolph died at Brampton, England, in 1784. In death, as he could not in conscience do in life, Randolph returned to Williamsburg. He is interred beside his father and brother in the family vault in the chapel at the College of William and Mary.

References

• https://www.colonial-settlers-md-va.us/getperson.php?personID=I0338...