William Randolph, of Turkey Island

1651 - 1711  (60 years)

• Name	William Randolph  [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]
  Suffix	of Turkey Island
  Christened	7 Nov 1650	Moreton Morell, Warwickshire, England   [3]
  Born	1651	Yorkshire, England   [1]
  Gender	Male
  Immigration	1674	America   [1]
  Alt. Death	11 Apr 1711  [1]
  Name	William Randolph  [8, 9]
  Died	21 Apr 1711	'Turkey Island', Chesterfield County, Virginia   [3]
  Person ID	I18069	If the Legends Are True...
  Last Modified	17 Jan 2015

  
  

  Father	Richard Randolph, of Warwickshire,   b. 21 Feb 1620/21, 'Moreton Hall', Moreton Morell, Warwickshire, England ,   d. 1671, Dublin, Dublin, Leinster, Ireland  (Age 49 years)
  Mother	Elizabeth Ryland,   d. Yes, date unknown
  Family ID	F18736	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Mary Isham, of Bermuda Hundred,   d. Yes, date unknown
  Married	1680  [10]
  Children	+ 1. William Randolph, of Turkey Island,   b. 1681,   d. 19 Oct 1741  (Age 60 years) + 2. Thomas Randolph, of Tuckahoe,   b. Jun 1683, 'Turkey Island', Chesterfield County, Virginia ,   d. Cal Sep 1729  (Age ~ 46 years) + 3. Isham Randolph, of Dungeness,   b. 1685, 'Turkey Island', Chesterfield County, Virginia ,   d. 2 Nov 1742, London, Greater London, England, United Kingdom  (Age 57 years) + 4. Sir John Randolph,   b. 1693,   d. 5 Mar 1736/37  (Age 44 years) + 5. Colonel Richard Randolph,   b. May 1689,   d. 17 Dec 1748  (Age ~ 59 years) + 6. Elizabeth Randolph,   d. 22 Jan 1718/19 + 7. Mary Randolph,   b. 1692,   d. 28 Nov 1734  (Age 42 years) + 8. Edward Randolph,   d. Yes, date unknown   9. Henry Randolph,   d. England
  Last Modified	27 May 2011
  Family ID	F6764	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  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 (Research):See Compendium of American Genealogy, Vol. VII.

  
  

• Reference

  If the Legends Are True... by J. Craig Canada, "William Randolph, of Turkey Island" (accessed January 23, 2021) | http://www.palmspringsbum.org/genealogy/getperson.php?personID=I18069&tree=Legends.