William Randolph

William Randolph I, baptized on November 7, 1650, in Moreton Morrell, Warwickshire, England, was an English-born individual who emigrated to colonial Virginia between 1669 and 1673. His parents were Richard Randolph, born February 21, 1621, and Elizabeth Ryland, born October 21, 1621. Richard Randolph was originally from Little Houghton near Northampton, and his family had connections to Edward la Zouche, 11th Baron Zouche. William Randolph’s family supported the Royalist side during the English Civil Wars.

In 1657, William Randolph’s family moved to Dublin, Ireland. His mother died around 1669, followed by his father approximately two years later. Randolph’s uncle, Henry Randolph, traveled from Virginia to England and Ireland in 1669, sponsored William’s emigration, and helped him settle in Virginia. By February 12, 1672, Randolph appears in colonial records as a witness to a land transaction.

Randolph’s career in Virginia included activities as a planter, merchant, and lawyer. He supported the tobacco economy, which was central to Virginia’s colonial economy, and during his lifetime, he imported numerous indentured servants and slaves—168 slaves and indentured servants in total. He co-owned ships used for tobacco trade, establishing a maritime enterprise, and trained his sons as merchants and ship captains.

Randolph held multiple public offices. He was appointed clerk of Henrico County Court in 1673 and served until at least 1683. Additionally, he served as a justice of the peace, sheriff, and coroner. He represented Henrico County in every session of the Virginia House of Burgesses from 1684 to 1698, served as its speaker in 1698, and was clerk of the House from 1699 to 1702. Briefly, he held the position of attorney-general of Virginia, although a 1696 report suggested he was inexperienced in English law. In August 1702, he fell ill, and his son William took his place; Randolph resigned as clerk in March 1703.

William Randolph was a founding trustee of the College of William & Mary and maintained friendships with influential figures like William Byrd, serving as an advisor.

He owned substantial landholdings, primarily in the area around the James River. His property holdings included Turkey Island Plantation, acquired in 1670, which became the family’s central estate. In 1676, Randolph purchased Curles Neck Plantation after Nathaniel Bacon’s rebellion. Around 1700, Randolph received land grants totaling nearly 10,000 acres near Richmond, establishing plantations at Tuckahoe and Dungeness, later operated by his descendants.

In approximately 1676, Randolph married Mary Isham, born circa 1659 in Bermuda Hundred, Henrico County. Her father was Henry Isham of Northamptonshire, and her mother was Katherine Banks. They had ten children who survived to adulthood, including William Randolph II, Henry Randolph, Isham Randolph, and Elizabeth Randolph. Notable descendants include Thomas Jefferson, John Marshall, Robert E. Lee, Peyton Randolph, and Edmund Randolph, among others. Their familial alliances and progeny earned them recognition as "the Adam and Eve of Virginia." William Randolph I died on April 21, 1711.