The Randolph family is a prominent Virginia political family, whose members contributed to the politics of Colonial Virginia and Virginia after it gained its statehood. They are descended from the Randolphs of Morton Moreton, Warwickshire, England. The first Randolph to come to America was Henry Randolph in 1643.[1] His nephew, William Randolph later came to Virginia as an orphan in 1669. He made his home at Turkey Island along the James River. Because of their numerous progeny, William Randolph and his wife, Mary Isham Randolph, have been referred to as "the Adam and Eve of Virginia."
Descendants of William Randolph and Mary Isham Randolph include President of the First Continental Congress Peyton Randolph, U.S. President Thomas Jefferson (son of Jane Randolph, first cousin of Peyton Randolph), First Lady Edith Bolling, U.S. Attorney General Edmund Randolph, Chief Justice of the United States John Marshall,[2][3] Virginia Governor Thomas Mann Randolph, Jr. (son-in-law of Thomas Jefferson), and Confederate States Secretary of War George W. Randolph (grandson of Thomas Jefferson), as it was the Confederate General Robert E. Lee through his father Henry Lee III and his grandfather Henry Lee II. Historic homes associated with the family include Tuckahoe Plantation in Goochland County, the Peyton Randolph House in Williamsburg, the Wilton House Museum and the John Marshall House in Richmond, and Monticello near Charlottesville. Members of the Randolph family also intermarried with other prominent Virginia families including the Blands, Byrds, Carters, Fitzhughs, and Harrisons. Native American Pocahontas was directly related to members of the Randolph family through marriages of Robert Bolling's two granddaughters, Lucille and Jane Bolling. Some evidence suggests that the famous American frontiersman, politician and hero Davy Crockett was in fact of Randolph descent. Actor Lee Marvin and actress and producer Kimberley Kates are also Randolph descendants, in her case through her paternal grandmother.
Today, many Randolphs still hold political prestige in the United States. The Randolph family is considered to be one of the political families of America.