The Randolph Family's Legacy in Colonial Virginia

The Randolph Family

The Randolph family emerged as one of the most prominent First Families of Virginia, wielding tremendous political, economic, and social influence throughout the colonial era. Settling in the 17th century, they established vast tobacco plantations and held major offices in the House of Burgesses and the colonial government. Through strategic marriages and legal excellence, they formed an extensive dynasty that helped shape Virginia's leadership and produced several foundational figures during the American Revolution.

People

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Birth Death Origin Age (Death)

1721
1727
1753
1768
1773

Timeline

Category
Element

Year	The Randolph Family
1721	Birth of Peyton Randolph (Period: September 10, 1721, Location: Williamsburg (present-day Virginia))
1727	Birth of John Randolph (Period: 1727, Location: Williamsburg (present-day Virginia))
1740	Education at the College of William & Mary (Carter Henry Harrison I)
1750	Marriage to Ariana Jennings Marriage (John Randolph, Ariana Jennings)
1753	Birth of Edmund Jennings Randolph (Period: August 10, 1753, Location: Williamsburg (present-day Virginia))
1766	Appointment as Attorney General of the Colony of Virginia (John Randolph)
1768	Birth of Thomas Mann Randolph Jr. (Period: October 1, 1768, Location: Near Richmond (present-day Goochland County, Virginia))
1770	Graduation from the College of William & Mary (Edmund Jennings Randolph) Political Conflict with Thomas Jefferson Correspondence with Thomas Jefferson
1771	Assumption of Office as Mayor of Williamsburg (John Randolph)
1773	Birth of John Randolph of Roanoke (Period: June 2, 1773, Location: Hopewell (near present-day Hopewell, Virginia)) Birth at Cawsons (Period: June 2, 1773, Location: Cawsons Plantation, around present-day Hopewell, Virginia)
1774	Efforts for Reconciliation between the Colony of Virginia and Great Britain Non-participation in the Virginia Revolutionary Conventions Publication of "Considerations on the Present State of Virginia"
1775	American Revolutionary War Appointment as Aide-de-Camp to George Washington (Edmund Jennings Randolph) Exile from Virginia (John Randolph) Issue of Property Confiscation and Return (John Randolph) Emigration to Great Britain due to the American Revolutionary War (John Randolph) Later Years in Great Britain Death of Peyton Randolph
1776	Participation in the Virginia Constitutional Convention (John Randolph of Roanoke) Appointment as Attorney General of Virginia (Edmund Jennings Randolph) Marriage (Edmund Jennings Randolph, Elizabeth Nicholas)
1779	Delegate to the Continental Congress (Edmund Jennings Randolph)
1780	College Education (John Randolph of Roanoke)
1784	Death of John Randolph
1786	Assumption of Office as Governor of Virginia (Edmund Jennings Randolph) Participation in the Annapolis Convention (Edmund Jennings Randolph)
1787	Participation in the Constitutional Convention and Committee of Detail (Edmund Jennings Randolph) Presentation of the Virginia Plan (Edmund Jennings Randolph) Refusal to Sign the U.S. Constitution (Edmund Jennings Randolph)
1788	Support for Ratification at the Virginia Ratifying Convention (Edmund Jennings Randolph)
1789	French Revolution Appointment as First U.S. Attorney General (Edmund Jennings Randolph)
1790	Marriage (Thomas Mann Randolph Jr., Martha Jefferson)
1792	Acquisition of Edgehill Plantation (Thomas Mann Randolph Jr.)
1793	Genêt Affair Oney Judge Affair Assumption of Office as Virginia State Senator (Thomas Mann Randolph Jr.)
1794	Political Dispute over the Jay Treaty Appointment as U.S. Secretary of State (Edmund Jennings Randolph)
1795	Fauchet Affair Resignation as Secretary of State (Edmund Jennings Randolph)
1799	First Election to the 6th U.S. Congress (John Randolph of Roanoke)
1801	Appointment as Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee (John Randolph of Roanoke)
1803	Assumption of Office as U.S. Representative (Thomas Mann Randolph Jr.)
1804	Impeachment Trial of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase
1805	Political Rift with Jefferson Formation of the Tertium Quids
1806	Congressional Conflict with John Randolph of Roanoke
1807	Treason Trial of Aaron Burr
1810	Brawl with Willis Alston
1812	War of 1812
1813	Death of Edmund Jennings Randolph
1816	Establishment of the American Colonization Society
1819	Proposal for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery Assumption of Office as Governor of Virginia (Thomas Mann Randolph Jr.)
1820	Opposition to the Missouri Compromise Financial Distress and Separation from Family (Thomas Mann Randolph Jr.)
1823	Return to the Virginia House of Delegates (Thomas Mann Randolph Jr.)
1825	Assumption of Office as U.S. Senator (John Randolph of Roanoke)
1826	Georgia–Florida Boundary Survey Issue Duel with Henry Clay
1828	Death of Thomas Mann Randolph Jr.
1830	Appointment as Minister to Russia (John Randolph of Roanoke)
1833	Final Term in the U.S. House of Representatives (John Randolph of Roanoke) Death of John Randolph of Roanoke
Unknown	Marriage (John Randolph of Roanoke, None, Period: Never Married, Location: N/A)

Map

Category
Element

United States World

Group	List
New England	Independence Movement Leaders The Adams Family Boston, Massachusetts Patriots Merchant/Diplomacy/Maritime Territorial Expansion and Western Development Puritan New England Construction Thinkers and Intellectuals
South	The Randolph Family The Harrison Family Wars with Indigenous Peoples and Territorial Expansion Texas annexation

People Timeline

The Randolph Family's Legacy in Colonial Virginia