Edmund Jennings Randolph (1753 - 1812)

Born 10 Aug 1753 in Williamsburg, Colony of Virginia

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 12 Sep 1812 at age 59 in Carter Hall, Clarke County, Virginia, United States

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Preceded by 1st Secretary Thomas Jefferson Office established September 24, 1789 Preceded by 6th Governor Patrick Henry

Edmund Randolph 2nd United States Secretary of State 1794—1795 1st United States Attorney General 1789—1794 7th Governor of Virginia 1786—1788

Succeeded by 3rd Secretary Timothy Pickering Succeeded by 2nd Attorney General William Bradford Succeeded by 8th Governor Beverley Randolph

Edmund Randolph participated in the American Revolution. Join: 1776 Project Discuss: 1776

Biography

Edmund Randolph is Notable.

Edmund Randolph was a Founding Father in the American Revolution.

Edmund Randolph is a DAR Patriot Ancestor, A094169.

Edmund Jennings Randolph Elected Office(s): Delegate, President

State: Virginia, Washington, New York

Country: USA, France

Relationship: Nephew of Peyton Randolph

Biography:^[1] (nephew of Peyton Randolph), a Delegate from Virginia; born in Williamsburg, Va., August 10, 1753; was graduated from the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Va.; studied law; was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Williamsburg; served in the Revolutionary Army and was aide-de-camp to General Washington; attorney general of Virginia in 1776; Member of the Continental Congress in 1779, 1781, and 1782; elected Governor of Virginia in 1786 but resigned in 1788 to serve in the State house of delegates in order that he might participate in the codification of the laws of Virginia in 1788 and 1789; delegate to the Federal Convention in Philadelphia in 1787; was appointed the first Attorney General of the United States, in the Cabinet of President Washington, on September 26, 1789; transferred to the State Department as Secretary of State on January 2, 1794, and served until August 19, 1795, when he was requested to resign following charges (subsequently found to be false) preferred by Minister Fauchet of France; was the principal counsel for Aaron Burr when the latter was tried for treason; died in Clarke County, Va., September 12, 1813; interment in the Old Chapel Cemetery, Millwood, Va.|Bibliography: Reardon, John J. Edmund Randolph.New York: Macmillan, 1975.

Biographies of the Secretaries of State: Edmund Randolph

Introduction

Edmund Jennings Randolph succeeded Thomas Jefferson as Secretary of State on January 2, 1794. Like Jefferson, Randolph resigned from office. Randolph departed on August 20, 1795, following a struggle to maintain a policy of neutrality in the war between Great Britain and Revolutionary France and accusations of corruption by the Federalists in President George Washington’s cabinet.

Edmund Randolph, Second Secretary of State

Rise to Prominence

Randolph was born into a leading Virginia family. He graduated from the College of William & Mary, studied law with his father John and his Uncle Peyton, joined the Virginia bar, and began practicing law in Williamsburg. Whereas his father reacted to the American Revolution by returning to Great Britain, Randolph served as an aide-de-camp to General George Washington in 1775.

After returning to Virginia upon the news of his uncle’s death, Randolph was elected to the Virginia Convention of 1776 that would establish the Commonwealth’s first constitution. He was also elected as the Commonwealth’s first Attorney General and Mayor of the town of Williamsburg (both in 1776). He was subsequently elected as a Delegate to the Continental Congress in 1779 and 1881. In 1786 Randolph was elected Governor of Virginia, but he resigned in 1788, preferring to serve in the Virginia House of Delegates where he could shape the state’s legal code.

He was an influential Delegate to the Annapolis Convention of 1786 and the Constitutional Convention of 1787, where he introduced the Virginia Plan and was a member of the Committee on Detail charged with framing the first draft of the Constitution. Randolph had handled much of President Washington’s personal legal work, and Washington appointed him as the first Attorney General of the United States in 1789 and then as Secretary of State in 1794. After leaving government service, Randolph represented Aaron Burr during Burr’s 1807 trial for treason.

Influence on U.S. Diplomacy

As Secretary of State, Randolph faced many of the same challenges that his predecessor, Thomas Jefferson, had attempted to address. Randolph managed the settlement of the Citizen Genêt Affair. He prompted a resumption of talks with Spain and assisted in the negotiations of the 1795 Treaty of San Lorenzo, which opened the Mississippi River to U.S. navigation and fixed the boundaries between Spanish possessions and the United States.

Randolph attempted to continue Jefferson’s efforts to maintain close relations with France and minimize Alexander Hamilton’s influence over President Washington. However, Washington chose to endorse Jay’s Treaty, an agreement that secured commercial ties with Great Britain. Randolph, along with the Senate, strongly objected to provisions that would disrupt the trade of neutral countries, particularly U.S. shipping to France. Political intrigue against Randolph ended his term as Secretary of State. Hoping to neutralize Randolph’s opposition to the favorable Jay Treaty, the British Government provided his opponents in Washington’s Cabinet with documents written by French Minister Jean Antoine Joseph Fauchet that had been intercepted by the British Navy. The documents were innocuous, yet Federalists in the Cabinet claimed they proved that Randolph had disclosed confidential information and solicited a bribe. Randolph was innocent, but his standing with Washington was permanently weakened. Randolph resigned in 1795.^[2]

Legacy

• Randolph County, Illinois and Randolph County, West Virginia are named in his honor.

Sources

1. ↑ "Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-2005"
   United States. Congress. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-2005. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 2005
   Ancestry Record 1064 #8996 (accessed 15 February 2023)
   Name: Edmund Jenings Randolph; Birth Date: 10 Aug 1753; Residence Place: Virginia, USA; Death Date: 12 Sep 1813; Relationship: Nephew of Peyton Randolph; Elected Office(s): Delegate, President; Biography: (nephew of Peyton Randolph), a Delegate from Virginia; born in Williamsburg, Va., August 10, 1753; was graduated from the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Va.; studied law; was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Williamsburg; served in the Revolutionary Army and was aide-de-camp to General Washington; attorney general of Virginia in 1776; Member of the Continental Congress in 1779, 1781, and 1782; elected Governor of Virginia in 1786 but resigned in 1788 to serve in the State house of delegates in order that he might participate in the codification of the laws of Virginia in 1788 and 1789; delegate to the Federal Convention in Philadelphia in 1787; was appointed the first Attorney General of the United States, in the Cabinet of President Washington, on September 26, 1789; transferred to the State Department as Secretary of State on January 2, 1794, and served until August 19, 1795, when he was requested to resign following charges (subsequently found to be false) preferred by Minister Fauchet of France; was the principal counsel for Aaron Burr when the latter was tried for treason; died in Clarke County, Va., September 12, 1813; interment in the Old Chapel Cemetery, Millwood, Va.|Bibliography: Reardon, John J. Edmund Randolph.New York: Macmillan, 1975.
2. ↑ Entered by Lynda Hull.

See also:

• 1790 Census: "1790 United States Federal Census"
  The National Archives in Washington, DC; Washington, DC; First Census of the United States, 1790.; Year: 1790; Census Place: Water Street East Side, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Series: M637; Roll: 9; Page: 147; Family History Library Film: 0568149
  Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 5058 #344105 (accessed 15 February 2023)
  Edmund, Esqr (Atty Genl of U S) Randolph in Water Street East Side, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Held 9 enslaved people)
• Possible 1810 Census: "1810 United States Federal Census"
  Year: 1810; Census Place: Richmond, Richmond (Independent City), Virginia; Roll: 70; Page: 381; Image: Vam252_70-0718; FHL Roll: 0181430
  Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 7613 #711300 (accessed 15 February 2023)
  Edmond Randolph in Richmond, Richmond (Independent City), Virginia, USA. (held 7 enslaved persons)
• Marriage: "U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900"
  Source number: 77.000; Source type: Electronic Database; Number of Pages: 1; Submitter Code: LDF
  Ancestry Record 7836 #993468 (accessed 15 February 2023)
  Edmund Jennings Randolph marriage to Elizabeth Nicholas in 1776 in VA.
• Original data: United States. Congress. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-2005. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 2005.
• http://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/randolph-edmund-jennings

Bibliography

• Wikipedia:Edmund Randolph.
• William Randolph.
• Bemis, Samuel Flagg, ed. The American Secretaries of State and Their Diplomacy. Vol. 2. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1928.
• Brant, Irving. “Edmund Randolph, Not Guilty!” William and Mary Quarterly 7 (April 1950): 179-198.
• Conway, Moncure Daniel, Omitted Chapters of History Disclosed in the Life and Papers of Edmund Randolph. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1888.
• “Edmund Randolph on the British Treaty, 1795.” American Historical Review 12 (April 1907): 587-599.
• Reardon, John J. Edmund Randolph. New York: Macmillan, 1975.
• Tachau, Mary K. Bonsteel. “George Washington and the Reputation of Edmund Randolph.” The Journal of American History 73 (June 1986): 15-34.
• Wynne, Thomas H. Memoir of the Bolling Family, Appendix A, p. 51.
• Edmund Randolph on Wikipedia
• Find A Grave: Memorial #20977 for Edmund Jennings Randolph (1753–1813).

Acknowledgements

Contributors Theresa Ellenwood, Lynda Hull, Leslie Ridley