John Randolph (politician)

Sir John Randolph of Tazewell Hall, Williamsburg (1693 – March 7, 1737) was a Speaker of the House of Burgesses, an Attorney General for the Colony of Virginia, and the youngest son of William Randolph and Mary Isham.

Biography and family

Randolph was born in Charles City County, Virginia. He attended the College of William & Mary and completed his studies in 1711. In 1712, the Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, Alexander Spotswood, appointed Randolph as Deputy Attorney General for Charles City County, Prince George County, and Henrico County. On May 17, 1715, Randolph was admitted to Gray's Inn at the Inns of Court, then called to the bar on November 25, 1717.

Randolph was the only native of Colonial Virginia to receive a knighthood.

Randolph married Susanna Beverley (the daughter of Peter Beverley, a Speaker of the House of Burgesses and Treasurer of Virginia, and Elizabeth Peyton, and sister of Elizabeth Beverley, the wife of his brother William Randolph II) around 1718 and the couple had at least four children who reached adulthood:

• Beverley Randolph (male)
• Peyton Randolph
• John Randolph
• Mary Randolph

He died in 1737 and was interred at the chapel of the Wren Building at the College of William & Mary. His will had been witnessed in 1735 by Charles Bridges.

His nephew, Peter Randolph (William Randolph II and Elizabeth Beverley's son) married Lucille Bolling (Robert Bolling Jr.'s daughter) on July 20, 1738. Through this marriage, the Randolphs were lineal descendants of Pocahontas.

Randolph was a grand-uncle of U.S. President Thomas Jefferson.