John Randolph II (1727 - 1784)

Born 27 Dec 1727 in Williamsburg, James, Virginia

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 31 Jan 1784 at age 56 in Brampton, Cumberland, England

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Biography

John Randolph II is Notable.

Birth: 1727 Williamsburg City Virginia, USA

Death: Jun. 30, 1784, London, England

Burial: Chapel of the College of William and Mary Williamsburg, Williamsburg City, Virginia, USA

Parents: Sir John Randolph (1693 - 1737) Lady Susanna Beverly Randolph (1692 - 1754)

Spouse: Adrianna Jennings Randolph (1723 - 1808)

Studied law in England

Member of House of Burgesses

Attorney General for Virginia Colony

Lawyer. Known as "John the Tory". Succeeded his brother, Peyton, as King's Attorney in 1766, appointed by Governor Faquier. He was still in this position when the war for independence looked inevitable, and he decided it was against his oath of office to assist in this rebellion. At this time he took his family to England. While in England, he corresponded frequently with his cousin, Thomas Jefferson. He remained in England until his death several years after the war. His last request was to be buried on his home soil. Despite being opposed to his brother during the war, he was laid to rest next to him.

Peyton Randolph and his Loyalist brother John, portrayed by Charles Redd and Jack Flintom.

Early Years

John Randolph was born in 1727 or 1728, probably at what is now called the Peyton Randolph House on Market Square, and his heritage was thoroughly Virginian. Educated at the College of William & Mary, he traveled to London in 1745 to study law at the Middle Temple at the Inns of Court in London, and returned to Williamsburg to practice in 1749.

Civic duties

Among Virginia's best-trained attorneys, John Randolph climbed the rungs of civic responsibility toward authority and power. He had become a member of the city's common council, then a burgess for the College of William & Mary. When his older brother Peyton Randolph was elected speaker of the House of Burgesses, John succeeded him as the colony's attorney general. He could not, however, follow Peyton down the road to rebellion.

At odds with brother’s political views

John Randolph’s brother Peyton Randolph followed the call of duty to the chair of the Continental Congress, but conscience summoned John Randolph "home" to England. As the day approached when he would quit America and its Revolution, he wrote a farewell letter to his cousin Thomas Jefferson. "We both of us seem to be steering opposite courses," he said, "the success of either lies in the womb of Time."

The third child of Sir John and Lady Susannah Randolph, John was convinced British-Americans owed more loyalty to the Crown than to the Massachusetts hotheads or to firebrands like his friend Patrick Henry. Historians have tagged him with the nickname John "The Tory." By the summer of 1775, an anonymous piece in the Virginia Gazette insulted John Randolph for his Loyalist views and "dependence on l[or]d D[unmor]e."

Read transcript of article

View Virginia Gazette, July 27, 1775, Page 3, bottom of column two and top of column three

If Randolph's associates in Williamsburg disagreed with his views, they nevertheless admired his integrity. Most Virginians referred to England as home; John Randolph meant it.

Returns to England

While Peyton chaired the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia, John sat in Williamsburg, a confidant of the pugnacious Governor Dunmore. As Peyton prepared to leave for the Second Continental Congress, John was closing up his house, Tazewell Hall. Renowned for its hospitality, Tazewell Hall sat at the southern end of South England Street commanding a 99-acre estate. It was a popular literary and social center frequented by the elite of the community. Its master had been a close friend of Governor Fauquier and Lord Botetourt.

John Randolph arranged passage across the Atlantic for himself, his wife, Ariana, and their two daughters, Susannah and Ariana. His son, Edmund, stayed behind; Edmund joined the American army and served as aide-de-camp to General George Washington.

Enjoyed music and gardening

Gardening and music were among John Randolph's avocations. About 1765 he wrote what is believed to be the earliest American book on kitchen gardening, A Treatise on Gardening by A Citizen of Virginia. Cousin Thomas Jefferson thought Randolph's violin was the finest in the colony and John, in turn, admired Tom's library. In 1771, they struck a lighthearted bargain. If Randolph died first, Jefferson was to have the fiddle; if Jefferson died first, Randolph was to have £100 worth of Jefferson's books. George Wythe and Patrick Henry witnessed the agreement.

In August 1775, Jefferson sent their mutual friend Carter Braxton to Williamsburg with £13 pounds and posted a letter saying he meant it for the instrument. The reply was Randolph's farewell, though the men corresponded after Randolph reached England.

The state government confiscated loyalist properties as the Revolution wore on, and an embittered Randolph spent years fruitlessly trying to reclaim his.

Died in England; buried in Virginia

John Randolph died at Brampton, England, in 1784. In death, as he could not in conscience do in life, Randolph returned to Williamsburg. He is interred beside his father and brother in the family vault in the chapel at the College of William & Mary.

For further reading: •Peyton Randolph House •College of William and Mary •Peyton Randolph •Thomas Jefferson •Sir John Randolph •Lady Susannah Beverley Randolph •Patrick Henry •Ariana Jenings Randolph •Susannah Beverley Randolph •Edmund Randolph •Gardening^[1]

John Randolph (loyalist) :^[2]

John Randolph (1727 – January 31, 1784) was a lawyer from Williamsburg in the British colony of Virginia. He served as king's attorney for Virginia from 1766 until he left for Britain at the outset of the American Revolution.

Randolph was born in Williamsburg into one of the most prominent families of Virginia. His father was Sir John Randolph, the only colonial Virginian to be knighted. The younger Randolph was a close friend of Thomas Jefferson, his cousin, with whom he often played violin.

During the revolutionary crisis, Randolph remained a Loyalist, unlike his brother Peyton Randolph, and his son, Edmund Randolph. In 1774, he wrote "Considerations on the Present State of Virginia", in which he called for reconciliation between his fellow colonists and Great Britain. He boycotted the Virginia Convention, an extralegal convening of the House of Burgesses headed by his brother Peyton. When hostilities began, Randolph fled to Scotland with Governor Dunmore. In Scotland, Randolph continued to promote reconciliation between Great Britain and the colonies.

When Randolph died in Brompton, London, in 1784, his last request was to be buried in Virginia. His remains were returned and he is interred in the chapel at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg. His son Edmund became Governor of Virginia and Attorney General of the United States.

Sources

1. ↑ Entered by Lynda Hull.
2. ↑ From Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Randolph_(loyalist)

• http://www.history.org/Almanack/people/bios/bioratjr.cfm

• E. Jay Stith, Brøderbund Software, Inc., World Family Tree Vol. 1, Ed. 1, (Release date: November 29, 1995), "CD-ROM," Tree #5156, Date of Import: Jan 16, 1999. (1995), "Electronic," Date of Import: Feb 2, 1999.

Acknowledgments

• Thank you to Theresa Ellenwood for creating WikiTree profile Randolph-780 through the import of LucindaElizaBatesAncestors.ged on Mar 5, 2013.
• Thanks to Lynda Hull for starting this profile. Click the Changes tab for the details of contributions by Lynda and others.
• Profile Adopted/Edited by Leslie Ridley-388 1 Mar 2014