Randolph Jefferson

Randolph Jefferson (October 1, 1755 – August 7, 1815) was the younger brother of Thomas Jefferson and a planter.

He was Thomas' only brother to survive infancy. He was a twin to Anna Scott Jefferson, Thomas' youngest sister. Randolph and Anna were 12 years younger than Thomas. He married his first cousin, Anne Lewis, on 30 July 1781 in Albemarle County. They had five sons and a daughter who survived. They resided at Snowden in Buckingham County.

Anne died some time after the birth of their last son in 1796-97, and before Randolph's May 1808 will. Randolph remarried after May 1808 and before December 1809 to Mitchie B. Pryor of Buckingham County. She conceived a son before Randolph died in August 1815.

Born at Shadwell, the Jefferson family plantation in Albemarle County, Virginia, Randolph Jefferson spent his entire life in Virginia. He attended The Grammar School at the College of William and Mary and was tutored in higher subjects by Thomas Gwatkin, who taught Mathematics and Natural Philosophy at the College. Records show he resided at the College of William and Mary from Oct 1771 until Sept 1772. Additionally, he took violin lessons from Frances Alberti, the same instructor as his brother. Prior to that, he attended Ben Snead's English School in Albemarle County, as did his sisters. The historian Dumas Malone writes in his book, Jefferson and His Time: The Sage of Monticello, that Randolph did not share his older brother's eloquence. His letters to Thomas show a disregard of grammar and the use of colloquialisms such as "tech" instead of "touch."

Randolph Jefferson served in the Revolution and in the local militia, and he furnished provisions for Virginia troops, pasture for cavalry horses, and Negro laborers at Scotts Ferry to help remove military stores. Along with his brother, Jefferson signed an Oath of Allegiance to the Commonwealth of Virginia on 21 April 1779. He seems to have been an amiable man. A court record states that Randolph did not "possess the skill for the judicious management of his affairs, and that in all the occasions of life a diffidence in his own opinions." It said he was a kind man, but he was easily influenced by others.

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