Mary (Randolph) Stith (bef. 1686 - aft. 1730)

Born before Oct 1686 in Turkey Island, Henrico County, Colony of Virginia

Ancestors

Descendants

Died after 15 Jun 1730 after age 43 in Charles City County, Colony of Virginia

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Biography

Mary was born before October 1686. She was the daughter of William Randolph and Mary Isham. Her date of birth is established by the will of her grandmother, Katherine (Banks) Isham (abt.1627-bef.1686), which was written on 10 October 1686 and makes a bequest of five pounds sterling to Mary Randolph.^[1] The will is quoted in full in her grandmother's profile on WikiTree.

Marriage and Children

She is generally believed to have married John Stith (abt.1658-1724), although the text of her father's biography on WikiTree (but not the linkages) says that her husband was William. A variety of sources connect her to John Stith and provide details of her life during marriage and widowhood. Most of these details have survived because her husband's plantation was close to the plantation of William Evelyn Byrd II (1674-1744), and the couple developed a close relationship with Byrd that continued after John Stith's death.

William Byrd II's father, William Byrd Sr. (1652-1704), had been one of the most successful 17th century settler's in Virginia and, upon his death in 1704, passed some of his multiple offices and wealth to his son. When William Byrd II returned to Virginia and settled in his father's Westover estate, John Stith was one of his closest neighbors. Byrd habitually wrote a diary of his daily activities in a shorthand he learned in England. The shorthand was not deciphered until the 1940s, so any genealogies written prior to then lacked information that the diaries uniquely provide.

Mary is mentioned frequently in the first two periods of Byrd's diaries that have survived: 1709–1712^[2]and 1717–1721.^[3] The first entry, for Sunday, 6 February 1708/9 (on the Julian calendar), records Byrd's recurring practice of inviting his neighbors to dinner after the Sunday church service. In notating this entry, the editors could not identify the "Captain Stith and his wife" who came to dinner because both John Stith and his brother Drury were Captains in the County Militia at this time.^[2]

Both couples maintained relationships with Byrd and Byrd stood as godfather for one of their sons named John. Byrd's Diary for 7 April 1710 says that "[m]y godson John Stith came to see me and I examined him and found he had made a good progress."^[2] The editors of the diary speculate that this John Stith was a son of Drury Stith, Sr., (Mary's brother–in–law) and the same godson who Byrd examined on April 25 1709 in Williamsburg, at the same time that he examined Johnny Randolph, whom the editors identity as John Randolph Knt. (1693-bef.1737), Mary's younger brother. It is possible that this John Stith was Mary's son, but then the marriage of John and Mary, and birth of a son John, would have to be far earlier than previously assumed for their son to go to be examined by Byrd in 1709 and 1710 in the same fashion as Mary's brother, a 16–year old youth.

John and Mary Stith appear to have had three children, the estimated order of birth and birthdates based on their son John not being the godson that Byrd examined in 1709 and 1710:

• John Stith (abt.1710-1762), the husband of Elizabeth (Anderson) Stith (abt.1700-1774) daughter of Charles Anderson (abt.1670-1718), minister at Westover parish for 24 years. The next to last entry in the first volume of Byrd's diary that has survived, for 28 September 1712, records that Captain Stith and his wife (it is clear from the context that this is John and not Drury) came to dinner with Reverend Anderson following a "good sermon" by Anderson.^[2]
• William Stith (1707-1755), who became the third president of William and Mary College.
• Mary Randolph (Stith) Dawson (1711-bef.1752), who married William Dawson, second president of William and Mary College.

Death of Husband and Life in Williamsburg

We do not know the date of John Stith's death. It may be earlier than February 1715/6, when a suit by a Mary Stith was dismissed in York County.^[4] It is certainly before 6 October 1720, when William Byrd II recorded a visit to the "Commissary's where I drank two dishes of chocolate, and Mrs. Stith and Mrs. Keith were with us."^[3] The Commissary he refers to was James Blair. The website of the Episcopal Church describes his position:

By the time of the Glorious Revolution (1688), the Bishop of London held responsibility for control over Anglican affairs in America. Since commissaries already performed functions for bishops in distant areas of dioceses in England, the Rt. Rev. Henry Compton, Bishop of London, decided in 1689 to appoint James Blair as the first American commissary. Blair served in Virginia for fifty-seven years. He established order over the church, enforced morality laws, and in 1693 founded the College of William and Mary, the first Anglican college in America.^[5]

The editors of Byrd's Diary identify Mrs. Stith as:

Mrs. Mary (Randolph) Stith, widow of Captain John Stith, who boarded and lodged the masters and scholars of the College "in the neatest and most regular and plentiful manner." Hugh Jones, Present State of Virginia, ed. Richard Morton (Chapel Hill, N.C. 1956, 68, 186. Her son William later became president of the College.^[3]

Byrd met frequently with Blair, as both were members of the Council of Virginia. Blair had already secured the recall of two governors of colonial Virginia and was in the process of exploiting his sway over a majority of the powerful men who sat on the Council to thwart the will of Governor Alexander Spotswood.^[6] The Governor had attempted to remove Byrd from the Council, but had failed.^[7]

Mary appears to have been a favorite companion to both of these participants in the battle to influence British policy in Virginia. Byrd's entry for 17 October 1720 reads:

I walked to the capitol and sat in court till 12 o'clock and then because I had nobody to dine with at the ordinary I went to dine with the Commissary and ate some chicken and bacon. After dinner we sat and talked till the evening and then drank coffee. At night we send for Mrs. Stith and played at cards till 9 o'clock and I lost two bits. About nine I walked home and read some English and said my Prayers.^[3]

There are later entries for a "Mrs. Stith" and one for a "widow Stith," who Byrd invited to dinner on 1 January 1720/1.^[3] Byrd's diaries show that many members of Mary's extended family came to Williamsburg during the time that she was the matron of the College of William and Mary, so additional information may still be available.

A source for the date of her death had not been identified.

Research Notes

The 1712 date of Mary's marriage previously suggested in this profile is inconsistent with William Byrd II's diaries and the birthdate of her son William Stith (1707-1755) (1707). While William was a student at Queen's College in Oxford, he appointed William Randolph, Esq., as his attorney to possess and sell ("as soon as the Same can be done, for such Consideration as he shall think fit.") all of his "lands, tenements, hereditaments, Negroes or other Slaves, Goods and Chattels. This power of attorney was dated 3 September 1728 and presented at the Court held at Varina for Henrico County on the first Monday in February 1728/9.^[8] For the power of attorney to be valid, it seems that William must have reached his majority, suggesting a date for his parents marriage in 1706 or earlier.

Unless John Stith II married another woman named "Mary" prior to marrying Mary Randolph, their marriage occurred before 30 January 1696/7. On that date John Stith and Mary Stith witnessed a deed. On 9 February 1696/7, they appeared in the Charles City County Court and acknowledged their signatures. The Court record shows that the selller and his wife signed with their marks. The record of Mary Stith's signature does not indicate that she signed with a mark, evidencing an unusual degree of education for that time.^[9]

One genealogist of the Stith family, Armistead C. Gordon, reported facts provided by Colonel Wilson Miles Cary (1806-1877), a 2nd great grandnephew of Mary, in an article in the William and Mary Quarterly. He says that Mary's parents were married in 1677 and that Mary was the eldest child. Based on those dates, Mary could have been over 18 years old when she witnessed a deed with her husband John.^[10]

The will of her father, William Randolph, was recorded in the Henrico County Court on 1 June 1713. An abstract says that the will gave rings to William's wife and to his daughters Stith and Bland, apparently this Mary Stith and Elizabeth (Randolph) Bland (1685-1720).^[11] The present image is not legible, but would likely have been more visible in 1887 when the abstract was made.^[12]

Sources

1. ↑ Will of Katherine Isham, dated 10 Oct 1686 and proved 1 Dec 1686, "Henrico, Virginia, Record Book No.1," 392; images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9GY-QH9Y : July 28, 2022), image 196 of 439; Virginia. County Court (Henrico County).
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3} Louis B. Wright & Marion Tinling, The Secret Diary of Willam Byrd of Westover 1709–1712 (Richmond: The Dietz Press, 1941) 1, 26, 162, 214.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4} Louis B. Wright & Marion Tinling, editors, The London Diary (1717-1721) and Other Writings, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1958) 404, 459, 463, 493
4. ↑ Orders, Wills, etc 15 Part 1, 1716-1720, York County, Virginia, 82; "York, Virginia, United States records, Jul 15, 2023," images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G92Z-Z938-W?view=explore : Oct 17, 2023), image 53 of 184; Virginia. County Court (York County).
5. ↑ "An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church: Commissary," viewed on 17 Oct 2023 at https://www.episcopalchurch.org/glossary/commissary/
6. ↑ Edmund S. Morgan, American Slavery, American Freedom, 357–59 (Francis Parkman Prize Edition, History Book Club: New York, 2005 ed.)
7. ↑ Warren M. Billings, John E. Selby, Thad W. Tate, Colonial Virginia: A History, 190-91(White Plains, New York: kto press, 1986)
8. ↑ Power of Attorney from William Stith to William Randoph, "Henrico, Virginia, Deeds and Wills 1725–1737, No. 1, Part2, 223; images, FamilySearch, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89P6-SLJ1 : August 4, 2022), image 298 of 548; Virginia. County Court (Henrico County).
9. ↑ See the image and transciption of Charles City County Record Book, 1692-1700, 308. Enter Charles City in the Name box at https://virginiamemory.com/collections/lost (accessed 9 Nov 2023).The entry is in the secondsection (Transcription of Pages 100-199), transcription image 129.
10. ↑ "Further Notes on the Stith Family," Armistead C. Gordon, The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 22, No. 4 (Apr., 1914), pp. 273-275. Published by Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture. Article DOI: 10.2307/1914821. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1914821
11. ↑ William G. Stanard, "Extracts from the Records of Henrico County Virginia 1677–1771 (Richmond 1887); typed by Iola Embry, 30 Jan 1946; 72; "Henrico, Virginia, British Colonial America records, Sep 24, 2023," images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHV-13PN-96L5?view=explore : Oct 10, 2023), image 48 of 57; Embry, Iola (Iola Harriet Bird), 1895-.
12. ↑ Will of William Randolph, Henrico County , Virginia, Records 1710–1714, Part 1, 228 (1 Jun 1713) ; "Henrico, Virginia, British Colonial America records, Oct 3, 2023," images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9P6-KRD?view=explore : Oct 11, 2023), image 127 of 325; Virginia. County Court (Henrico County).

• American Marriages Before 1699 ( Ancestry Online publication, 1997). Original data - Clemens, William Montgomery. American Marriage Records Before 1699. Pompton Lakes, NJ, USA: Biblio Co., 1926.Original data: Clemens, William Montgomery. American Marriag Note: APID: 1,2081::0
• U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 Author: Yates Publishing Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2004.Original data - This unique collection of records was extracted from a variety of sources including family group sheets and electronic databases. Originally, the information was deriv Note: APID: 1,7836::0