Martha Jefferson Randolph
Martha Jefferson Randolph by Thomas Sully
Martha Jefferson Randolph (September 27, 1772 - October 10, 1836), known as "Patsy" in her youth, was the eldest child of Thomas Jefferson and Martha Wayles Skelton Jefferson. Educated in Philadelphia and Paris during the 1780s,[1] she married her third cousin, Thomas Mann Randolph, at Monticello on February 23, 1790.[2] The couple had 11 living children, whom Martha instructed at home.[3]
Closely following and supporting her father's career, Martha earned a reputation for her intellectual abilities. She served during 1802-03 and 1805-06 as "first lady" in the President's House, later known as the White House.[4] After Jefferson's retirement, Martha and her children spent their time primarily at Monticello, even while Thomas Mann Randolph was serving in Richmond as Virginia's governor.
The financial difficulties of both her father and husband were a continual strain on Martha. After her father's death in 1826, the family was forced to sell Monticello and Martha moved to Tufton to live with her eldest son, Thomas Jefferson Randolph. Martha reconciled with her estranged husband shortly before his death in 1828 and lived out the rest of her life with her children alternately in Boston, Washington, D.C., and Albemarle County, Virginia, where she lived at her Edgehill estate. Upon her death, she was buried alongside her husband and father at Monticello.[5]
Further Sources
- ANB.
- PTJ. Transcriptions for correspondence between Jefferson and his daughter before her marriage and transcriptions for correspondence after the marriage are both available at Founders Online.
- Gaines, William H., Jr. Thomas Mann Randolph: Jefferson's Son-in-Law. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State Univ. Press, 1966. See pages 28-30, 104-05, 185-86.
- Randolph, Sarah N. "Mrs. Thomas Mann Randolph." In Worthy Women of Our First Century, edited by Mrs. O. J. Wister and Miss Agnes Irwin, 9-70. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott, 1877.
- Rice, Howard C., Jr. Thomas Jefferson's Paris. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1977.
- Thomas Jefferson Foundation. Jefferson Quotes and Family Letters.
- Thomas Jefferson Foundation. The Monticello Classroom. "Martha Jefferson Randolph, Jefferson's Daughter." A brief biography of Martha Jefferson Randolph for elementary- and middle-school-level readers.
- Search for further sources in the Thomas Jefferson Portal.
References
- ^ Sarah N. Randolph, "Mrs. Thomas Mann Randolph," in Worthy Women of Our First Century, eds. Mrs. O. J. Wister and Miss Agnes Irwin (Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott, 1877), 12. For Patsy's schooling in Philadelphia, see Jefferson to Martha Jefferson, November 28, 1783, in PTJ, 6:359-61. Transcription available at Founders Online.
- ^ Worthy Women, 24; Shackelford, Descendants, 1:47. See Marriage Settlement for Martha Jefferson, February 21, 1790, in PTJ, 16:189-91. Transcription available at Founders Online. See also Jefferson to Thomas Mann Randolph, Sr., February 4, 1790, in PTJ, 16:154-55. Transcription available at Founders Online.
- ^ See Shackelford, Descendants, 1:50.
- ^ See Worthy Women, 35-36, 38-40.
- ^ See Shackelford, Descendants, 1:252.