Peyton Randolph

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For a later governor of Virginia see Peyton Randolph (governor).

Peyton Randolph

Born	September 1721 Williamsburg, Virginia
Term	September 5, 1774-October 22, 1774 and May 10, 1775-October 22, 1775
Died	October 22, 1775 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Peyton Randolph (c. 1721 – October 21, 1775) was the first President of the Continental Congress. He presided from September 5 to October 21, 1774, and then again for a few days in 1775 from May 10 to May 23. He was succeeded in office by Henry Middleton.

Randolph was born in Virginia. His parents were Sir John Randolph and Susannah Beverley. He was also the grandson of William Randolph and was, among other ancient royalty and nobility, mostly on his mother's side, at least, a descendant seven times from King Jean de Brienne of Jerusalem, three times illegitimately from Geoffrey the Fair, Count of Anjou, from King Henry II of England, once from his marriage and four times from a liaison, three times from King John of England, three times from King Henry III of England, three times from King Louis VIII of France, eight times from King Edward I of England (seven from the first marriage and once from the second), four times from King Edward III of England and once from King Pedro I of Castile, and also five times a nephew of Kings Guy de Lusignan and Amalric II de Lusignan of Jerusalem and Cyprus [1]. He attended the College of William and Mary, and later studied law at Middle Temple at the Inns of Court in London, becoming a member of the bar in 1743. He then returned to Williamsburg and was appointed Attorney General of the Virginia colony the next year.

He served several terms in the Virginia House of Burgesses, beginning in 1748. It was his dual roles as attorney general and as burgess that would lead to an extraordinary conflict of interest in 1751.

The new governor, Robert Dinwiddie, had imposed a fee for the certification of land patents, which the House of Burgesses strongly objected to. The House selected Peyton Randolph to represent their cause to Crown authorities in London. In his role as attorney general, though, he was responsible for defending actions taken by the governor. Randolph left for London, over the objections of Governor Dinwiddie, and was replaced for a short time as attorney general. He was reinstated on his return at the behest of officials in London, who also recommended the Governor drop the new fee.

In 1765 Randolph found himself at odds with a freshman burgess, Patrick Henry, over the matter of a response to the Stamp Act. The House appointed Randolph to draft objections to the act, but his more conservative plan was trumped when Henry obtained passage of five of his seven Virginia Stamp Act Resolutions. This was accomplished at a meeting of the House in which most of the members were absent, and over which Randolph was presiding in the absence of the Speaker.

Randolph resigned as attorney general in 1766. As friction between Britain and the colonies progressed, he became more in favor of independence. In 1769 the House of Burgesses was dissolved by the Governor in response to its actions against the Townshend Act. Randolph had been Speaker at the time. Afterwards, he chaired meetings of a group of former House members at a Williamsburg tavern, which worked toward responses to the unwelcome tax measures imposed by the British government.

Randolph was selected to chair in both the First and Second Continental Congresses, in large part due to his reputation for leadership while in the House of Burgesses. He did not, however, live to see independence for the nation he led; Randolph died in Philadelphia, and was buried at Christ's Church. He was later re-interred at the College of William and Mary chapel. His nephew, Edmund Randolph, became the first United States Attorney General. Randolph County, North Carolina, formed in 1779, and two US Navy ships called USS Randolph were named in his honor. His wife was the sister of Benjamin Harrison V. His first cousin once removed was President Thomas Jefferson. {Thomas Jefferson's daughter Martha Jefferson Randolph's mother-in-law Ann (Carey) Randolph was a descendant of Peyton Randolph's uncle Richard Randolph and his wife Jane Bolling-a descendant of Pocahontas}. His first cousin twice removed was Supreme Court Justice John Marshall. His niece Lucy Grymes married Virginia Governor Thomas Nelson Jr; her aunt, also named Lucy Grymes, was the mother of Henry Lee the father of Confederate General Robert Edward Lee-{also related to Confederate Generals Fitzhugh Lee; Edmund Jennings Lee; Nelson Pendelton Lee; Richard Page; US Admiral Samuel P. Lee; Confederate General John Pegram married Hetty Cary, a cousin to the Randolphs.

[edit] Further reading

Klos, Stanley L. (2004). President Who? Forgotten Founders. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Evisum, Inc., 261. ISBN 0-9752627-5-0.
John Reardon; Peyton Randolph, 1721-1775: One Who Presided; 1981, Carolina University Press; ISBN 0-89089-201-6.

[edit] External links

Preceded by (none) - British Secretary of State for the Colonies William Legge, 2nd Earl of Dartmouth	President of the First Continental Congress September 5, 1774 – October 21, 1774	Succeeded by Henry Middleton
Preceded by Henry Middleton (as President of the First Continental Congress)	President of the Second Continental Congress May 10, 1775 – May 23, 1775	Succeeded by John Hancock