Much of the information I have on James Richard Randolph is from research shared privately with me by a descendant of Abraham's half brother, Nimrod. The research was done by her great uncle, 3rd great grandson of James Richard Randolph, from Caswell County Court records. I do not have physical or digital access to these records, as the records themselves are in possession of this descendant's family. Following is the summary of what I do have:
Information sources
Celeste Hilderbrand added this on 10 May 2011
All information unless otherwise stated was supplied by the 3rd great grandson William Randolph 1918-2003 wife Marie Melloan. This would be my great uncle and aunt as William is my grandmother Mary L. Randolph Dionne's brother. Below is a note attached to Marie's research on James Randolph SR and his immediate family. All data has been proven by documents of wills,deeds.marriage records cemetery records, the gravestones themselves & tax records. The first data that was found in Caswell Co.N.C. was dated 1771. Anything prior to this date is only guesswork. James,Jr. and Abraham fought in the revolution and there is some pension records on Abraham. James,Jr. and Abraham had pay vouchers from the government for their service. James,Jr. had died before the act of Congress allowed him to get a pension. I have not found where Robert,William,Jeremiah and Rebecca went when they left Caswell County,North Carolina. They were not listed there in 1800. There is a marriage record in Caswell Co.N.C. on a Betsy Randolph who married a Moses Hutson. This record was dated 1784. The surity on this record was William Randolph. This may be another daughter of our old James Randolph, Sr. I have not done any research on this family, they went to live in Rutherford County, North Carolina. All of the data on this family was proven by deeds,marriage bonds,wills, census records, revolutionary war records and military records, pay vouchers, vital statistics records, gravestones. tax reords,etc. The tax records show that John,Nimrod,their Mother, Mary Dye Randolph,the Phelps,Dyes,Ruarks,& their families first moved to Pulaski Co.Ky. in 1808. Johns first son was born in Caswell Co.N.C. in 1807. John sold his land in Caswell Co.N.C. in 1808 and also paid taxes in Pulaski Co.Ky. in 1808. James Randolph,Jr. is listed in 1813 for the first time. He was a half brother to John and Nimrod. He did not sell his land in Caswell Co. until 1817 and two of his daughters were married in Pulaski Co.Ky. in 1816 so he had to have made a trip back to Caswell County, North Carolina to sign his deed in 1817. He was over 60 years old at this time. I believe that James,Jr. moved to Pulaski Co.Ky. about 1814-15. In this book I am listing the descendants of James,Jr's family- Abraham Randolph's family John Randolph's family and Nimrod Randolph's family. Three of these boys went to live in Pulaski Co.Ky. while Abraham Randolph lived in Greenville County,South Carolina for twenty five years and then moved to Lawrence County, Alabama for twenty years before he died in 1837. the ladies of the Melton's Bluff Chapter of the DAR in Alabama dedicated a marker for Abraham's grave on May the 4th, 1978 at the Ferguson Cemetery in Lawrence County,Alabama. During the trip to Kentucky, it was made over the "Wilderness Road" that was opened to wagons in the year 1797 by the expedition led by Daniel Boone and his workers, it led to Crab Orchard in southern Lincoln County, Kentucky. Several of the Pulaski Co. men worked on it. Schuyler Barnett was one of them, it was told that a Barnett woman from Crab Orchard influenced the Randolph party to migrate to Pulaski Co.Ky. This woman was probably the wife of Schuyler Barnett. These Barnetts are buried in the Gilmore Poynter Cemetery in Pulaski Co.Ky. and are the Great-great grandparents of my husband on his mothers side. At the time of this migration they lived at Crab Orchard. Her name was Mary Durham Slade Barnett. I am sure that this was not the deciding influence for the Randolph men to live in Pulaski Co.Ky. There were others of the Caswell County, North Carolina families already living there. I believe that Nimrod Randolph had the most to do with it as he had made an earlier trip, even though he was very,very young man at the time. He was taxed for a horse in 1806 in Pulaski Co.Ky. I have not found James Randolph,Sr.'s grave in Caswell county,North Carolina. Nor any other data on him other than a will, a marriage and several deeds.
