Thomas Mann Randolph was a member of the U.S. House of
Representatives (1803–1807) and a three-term governor (1819–1822). He also served in the
Senate of Virginia (1793–1794)
and the House of Delegates
(1819–1820, 1823–1825). Born at the family plantation in Goochland County and educated in Virginia and
Scotland, Randolph married Martha
Jefferson, Thomas
Jefferson's eldest
daughter, and they had eleven surviving children, including Thomas Jefferson
Randolph and George Wythe
Randolph. The family lived at Monticello for much of the time, with Randolph managing his own and
Jefferson's properties while Jefferson was in Washington, D.C. In the meantime,
Randolph served two terms in Congress, as an infantry colonel during the War of 1812, and as a founding member
of the Agricultural Society of Albemarle. He became governor in 1819 and supported
transportation infrastructure and the gradual emancipation and forced emigration
of enslaved people to Liberia. While
in Congress he nearly fought a duel with his cousin John Randolph of Roanoke. While governor he
publicly fought with the Council of
State and defended himself against accusations of being drunk on the job.
And, in his later years, financial difficulties and his drinking caused conflicts
with and a separation from his family. He died at Monticello in 1828Fri, 25 May 2018 10:04:27 EST
