Isham Randolph

Isham Randolph was born on February 24, 1687, at the Turkey Island plantation in Henrico County, Virginia. He was the third son of William Randolph (1650–1711), a colonist, landowner, planter, merchant, and the 26th Speaker of the Virginia House of Burgesses, and his wife Mary Isham (c. 1659–1735). Randolph graduated from the College of William & Mary.

In 1717, Randolph married Jane Rogers in London at St. Paul's Church in the Shadwell parish. Jane was from a family of wealthy landed gentry in England and Scotland. After their marriage, they relocated to Virginia. The couple had nine children, with notable descendants among them, including Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States.

Their children included:

- Isham Randolph (born August 18, 1724), who married Sarah Hargreaves in 1749 in Philadelphia.

- Jane Randolph (1720–1776), who married Peter Jefferson and was the mother of Thomas Jefferson.

- Mary Randolph (born October 15, 1725), who married Colonel Charles Lewis of Buck Island.

- Elizabeth Randolph (born 1727).

- William Randolph (born July 9, 1729), who married Elizabeth Little in 1761 in London.

- Dorothea Randolph (born November 24, 1730).

- Thomas Randolph (born 1732), died young.

- Ann Randolph (born February 5, 1735), mother of James Pleasants Jr., the 22nd Governor of Virginia.

- Thomas Randolph (born August 13, 1736), married Jane Cary in 1768.

- Susannah Randolph (born September 25, 1738), married Carter Henry Harrison I, and was ancestral to Carter Harrison III, a mayor of Chicago.

Following in his father's career, Isham Randolph was a merchant, planter, and public official. He also served as a shipmaster and operated as a merchant agent for Virginia in London. Around October 1725, with the birth of his second daughter, he returned to Virginia. In 1730, Randolph constructed Dungeness on a tobacco plantation near Goochland, Virginia. The estate was built in the English manor house style and became a significant plantation with over a hundred servants. Randolph's land was situated on the frontier, approximately 40 miles from Richmond.

As a member of the Virginia planter class, Randolph engaged in the cultivation of tobacco utilizing enslaved labor, and participated in broader trade networks including the triangular trade and the transportation of indentured servants and slaves. He was known to have scientific interests akin to those of other colonial figures of the period; in London, he was regarded as a naturalist by members of the Royal Society and was recommended by naturalist John Bartram to botanist Peter Collinson, whom he hosted during an expedition to gather botanical specimens in Virginia.

In 1738, Randolph was appointed adjutant general of Virginia, and in 1739, he became a colonel of the Goochland County militia. He was also elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses. Isham Randolph died on November 2, 1742, and was buried on Turkey Island. His will included provisions for the guardianship of his children, naming Peter Jefferson, the father of Thomas Jefferson, as one of the guardians.

Throughout his life, Randolph was recognized for his qualities of justice, probity, and honor. His demeanor was considered obliging and easy, earning him many friends and a reputation of esteem within Virginia society.