Read Part 1 of this story here PART ONE
Read Part 2 of this story here PART TWO
Read Part 3 of this story here PART THREE
Read Part 4 of this story here PART FOUR
So Nancy Randolph became Nancy Randolph Morris, had a son with Gouverneur Morris, became a wealthy widow in 1816 and lived out her life in comfort on her Morrisania Estate.
Gouverneur Morris Jr. went on to have an illustrious career in railroading. He was Vice President of the New York and Harlem River Railroad and was instrumental in building the railroad line that runs along Park Avenue in Manhattan today. He went on the serve and retire as President of the Vermont Valley Railroad.
Morris was also an active entrepreneur, involved with development in the 19th century of what is today the Bronx.
Not a powerhouse of politics like his father, nonetheless Gouverneur was a founding member of the Republican Party and attended it's first convention back in 1854.
Gouverneur Jr. married Martha Jefferson Cary, his first cousin, the daughter of his mother's older sister, Virginia Randolph Cary. Virginia also had married a cousin(not sure of the degree of cousin with them yet), Wilson Jefferson Cary, and became a published author after her husband's death.
Meanwhile, back in Virginia......
Judith Randolph, her sons and brother in-law John Randolph's lives were spinning out of control.
Being of the landed gentry class meant Judith, the widow of Richard Randolph had the weight of the plantation and it's business upon her shoulders. Woman weren't taught but the womanly arts back in that time and thus Judith had no skills in the business arena so she relied on her brother's only surviving sibling, John Randolph, to keep their lives afloat.
John Randolph of Roanoke was by far the most famous and accomplished member on this branch of the Randolph tree in the late 1700's/early 1800's.
He was a Virginia planter, served in the House of Representatives as well as the Senate. He was spokesman for his cousin, Thomas Jefferson, when Jefferson served as POTUS. John also served as Minister to Russia under President Andrew Jackson.
He served on/chaired important committees while in Congress and was known for his wit and oratory abilities.
John had a falling out with Jefferson over what he perceived as a veering of the President from traditional Jeffersonian principles and growing nationalism, John also resented how he was treated as prosecutor during the impeachment of Salmon P. Chase. John Randolph was vehemently against the Missouri Compromise of 1820 and the War of 1812. All this drove a wedge between John and cousin Thomas.
John was of two minds about the issue of slavery....as a Virginia planter his livelihood depended on owning slaves but he believed in the gradual abolition of the peculiar institution and was one of the founding members of the American Colonization Society of 1816.
Despite all he accomplished in his career he was a political outsider. He did not suffer fools gladly, was a man of his own mind, had a flamboyant personality and clashed with many of his fellow Congressmen. Henry Clay challenged John Randolph to a duel(at least twice)and John had physical altercations with Rep. Willis Alston of NC. Once they brawled in a Washington DC boarding house and on another occasion they came to blows in a Congressional stairwell with Randolph beating Alston bloody with his cane.
John Randolph never married as it's thought that due to what we call Klinefelter's Syndrome today, Randolph never went through puberty. It's thought that the latent pulmonary tuberculosis in his body(his oldest brother and his nephew both died from TB)caused his body too never change and develop. Later in life the TB manifested itself and he ended up relying on opium and alcohol to soothe his extreme pain. Randolph lived alone in a near hermit like state in his small cabin on his Roanoke estate in Charlotte Courthouse County, VA when he wasn't away on congressional business. John Randolph died in 1833 in Philadelphia, PA while serving in the 23rd Congress.
John Randolph of Roanoke was reburied in 1879 in the Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia.
Judith and Richard Randolph's older son, St. George Tucker Randolph known as "St. John" to the family was born deaf. He was sent to Braidwood Academy in London in 1805 when he was 14. Founded by Thomas Braidwood, a Scottish educator in 1783, it was the first school for the deaf in England. "St. John" later attended Sicard's Deaf School in Paris, traveling there in 1807, escorted to school by James Monroe(yes that James Monroe). Monroe was a Senator at that time and had to travel to Paris on business.
St. John came home to Virginia and lived a quiet life near his family, dying between the ages of 65 and 66 in 1857 and was buried in the Village Church Cemetery in Charlotte Courthouse, Virginia, near where my great grandparents lived at "Roxabel".
Judith and Richard's second son, Theodorick Tudor Randolph had gone to Harvard to study in 1814 but came down with consumption while there and slowly withered and died before accomplishing anything in life. He was about 20 years old at his death and his burial place is unknown.
The plantation house at Bizarre burned down in 1813 and Judith had to relocate. The present day town of Farmville, Virginia is on part of what was the "Bizarre" plantation. Judith was dealt another blow 2 years later when Theodorick Tudor Randolph died from consumption.
Judith lasted another year, until March of 1816, dying in Richmond Virginia at the age of 43. She is buried at Tuckahoe Plantation where she was born and raised. Married at 17 to her cousin, the scandal/trial of her husband and sister in 1792, made a widow at the age of 24, the fire that consumed the family home in 1813 and the death of her son Theodorick Tudor Randolph in 1815 I suppose was the last blow of many for Judith.
So this ends my tale of Anne Cary "Nancy" Randolph Morris.
But this is just the beginning of another part of the Randolph saga.
Sluggy
Read Part 2 of this story here PART TWO
Read Part 3 of this story here PART THREE
Read Part 4 of this story here PART FOUR
So Nancy Randolph became Nancy Randolph Morris, had a son with Gouverneur Morris, became a wealthy widow in 1816 and lived out her life in comfort on her Morrisania Estate.
Gouverneur Morris Jr. went on to have an illustrious career in railroading. He was Vice President of the New York and Harlem River Railroad and was instrumental in building the railroad line that runs along Park Avenue in Manhattan today. He went on the serve and retire as President of the Vermont Valley Railroad.
Morris was also an active entrepreneur, involved with development in the 19th century of what is today the Bronx.
Not a powerhouse of politics like his father, nonetheless Gouverneur was a founding member of the Republican Party and attended it's first convention back in 1854.
Gouverneur Jr. married Martha Jefferson Cary, his first cousin, the daughter of his mother's older sister, Virginia Randolph Cary. Virginia also had married a cousin(not sure of the degree of cousin with them yet), Wilson Jefferson Cary, and became a published author after her husband's death.
Meanwhile, back in Virginia......
Judith Randolph, her sons and brother in-law John Randolph's lives were spinning out of control.
Being of the landed gentry class meant Judith, the widow of Richard Randolph had the weight of the plantation and it's business upon her shoulders. Woman weren't taught but the womanly arts back in that time and thus Judith had no skills in the business arena so she relied on her brother's only surviving sibling, John Randolph, to keep their lives afloat.
John Randolph of Roanoke was by far the most famous and accomplished member on this branch of the Randolph tree in the late 1700's/early 1800's.
He was a Virginia planter, served in the House of Representatives as well as the Senate. He was spokesman for his cousin, Thomas Jefferson, when Jefferson served as POTUS. John also served as Minister to Russia under President Andrew Jackson.
He served on/chaired important committees while in Congress and was known for his wit and oratory abilities.
John had a falling out with Jefferson over what he perceived as a veering of the President from traditional Jeffersonian principles and growing nationalism, John also resented how he was treated as prosecutor during the impeachment of Salmon P. Chase. John Randolph was vehemently against the Missouri Compromise of 1820 and the War of 1812. All this drove a wedge between John and cousin Thomas.
John was of two minds about the issue of slavery....as a Virginia planter his livelihood depended on owning slaves but he believed in the gradual abolition of the peculiar institution and was one of the founding members of the American Colonization Society of 1816.
Despite all he accomplished in his career he was a political outsider. He did not suffer fools gladly, was a man of his own mind, had a flamboyant personality and clashed with many of his fellow Congressmen. Henry Clay challenged John Randolph to a duel(at least twice)and John had physical altercations with Rep. Willis Alston of NC. Once they brawled in a Washington DC boarding house and on another occasion they came to blows in a Congressional stairwell with Randolph beating Alston bloody with his cane.
John Randolph never married as it's thought that due to what we call Klinefelter's Syndrome today, Randolph never went through puberty. It's thought that the latent pulmonary tuberculosis in his body(his oldest brother and his nephew both died from TB)caused his body too never change and develop. Later in life the TB manifested itself and he ended up relying on opium and alcohol to soothe his extreme pain. Randolph lived alone in a near hermit like state in his small cabin on his Roanoke estate in Charlotte Courthouse County, VA when he wasn't away on congressional business. John Randolph died in 1833 in Philadelphia, PA while serving in the 23rd Congress.
John Randolph of Roanoke was reburied in 1879 in the Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia.
Judith and Richard Randolph's older son, St. George Tucker Randolph known as "St. John" to the family was born deaf. He was sent to Braidwood Academy in London in 1805 when he was 14. Founded by Thomas Braidwood, a Scottish educator in 1783, it was the first school for the deaf in England. "St. John" later attended Sicard's Deaf School in Paris, traveling there in 1807, escorted to school by James Monroe(yes that James Monroe). Monroe was a Senator at that time and had to travel to Paris on business.
St. John came home to Virginia and lived a quiet life near his family, dying between the ages of 65 and 66 in 1857 and was buried in the Village Church Cemetery in Charlotte Courthouse, Virginia, near where my great grandparents lived at "Roxabel".
Judith and Richard's second son, Theodorick Tudor Randolph had gone to Harvard to study in 1814 but came down with consumption while there and slowly withered and died before accomplishing anything in life. He was about 20 years old at his death and his burial place is unknown.
The plantation house at Bizarre burned down in 1813 and Judith had to relocate. The present day town of Farmville, Virginia is on part of what was the "Bizarre" plantation. Judith was dealt another blow 2 years later when Theodorick Tudor Randolph died from consumption.
Judith lasted another year, until March of 1816, dying in Richmond Virginia at the age of 43. She is buried at Tuckahoe Plantation where she was born and raised. Married at 17 to her cousin, the scandal/trial of her husband and sister in 1792, made a widow at the age of 24, the fire that consumed the family home in 1813 and the death of her son Theodorick Tudor Randolph in 1815 I suppose was the last blow of many for Judith.
So this ends my tale of Anne Cary "Nancy" Randolph Morris.
But this is just the beginning of another part of the Randolph saga.
Sluggy
This is very interesting to me as I live in Morris Twp, next to Morristown, near Morris Plains, all in Morris County NJ. There’s also a town named Randolph nearby. I’ve heard these names a million times, but never a detailed description of their lives. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteMorristown NJ was named for Gouverneur Morris's(Nancy Randolph's husband Gouverneur Morris)grandfather, Lewis Morris(Gouverneur's father was also named Lewis Morris and G also had a brother named Lewis Morris). Lewis was appointed Chief Justice for NY in 1715 and served as the 8th royal Colonial Governor of NJ(before the revolution). The brother Lewis was a member of the Continental Congress from NY and signed the Declaration of Independence.
DeleteRandolph NJ(I have been there a few times)is not however named for my Randolph family. It is named for Hartshorne Fitz-Randolph, one of the pioneering Quakers who settled the area. Hartshorne purchased 1000 acres what is now called Mine Hill.
You need to write a book my friend.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kim, you should write a book. Your broad knowledge is amazing, and the fact that you have learned a lot of personal details about their lives would make it very readable to people who are less interested in the war than in the people (don’t get me wrong, the war is interesting too, but you could contribute a different perspective.
ReplyDelete