Martha "Patsy" Randolph (née Jefferson; September 27, 1772 – October 10, 1836) was the eldest daughter of Thomas Jefferson (the third president of the United States) and his wife, Martha Wayles Skelton Jefferson. She was born at Monticello, near Charlottesville, Virginia.

Randolph's mother died when she was nearly 10 years old, when only two out of her five siblings were alive. Her father saw that she had a good education. She spoke four languages and was greatly influenced by the education she received in a Paris convent school with daughters of the French elite. By 1804, she was the lone surviving child of Martha and Thomas Jefferson, the only one of the couple's children to survive past the age of 25.

Martha Jefferson married Thomas Mann Randolph Jr., who was a politician at the federal and state levels and was elected as governor of Virginia (1819–1822), which made her the first lady of Virginia. They had twelve children together.

Randolph oversaw the operation of Varina and Edge Hill with her husband, and Monticello with her father. She was in regular correspondence with her father when they were not together. She provided emotional stability for Jefferson, which helped him weather his tumultuous political career. Besides overseeing Monticello, she lived with Jefferson at the White House, serving as an informal First Lady.

After the White House, Randolph and her children lived at Monticello and cared for her father. Due to debt, the Randolphs sold Varina and lost Edge Hill plantation to foreclosure in 1825. Randolph inherited Monticello and Jefferson's debts when her father died in 1826. Many of the enslaved people at Monticello were sold to cover some of the debt.

Early life and education (1772–1790)

Virginia

Martha Jefferson was born on September 27, 1772, at Monticello, her father's estate in Virginia (then in British America). Her parents were Thomas Jefferson and Martha Wayles Skelton. Her maternal grandparents were John Wayles (1715–1773) and his first wife, Martha Eppes (1712–1748). Wayles was an attorney, slave trader, business agent for Bristol-based merchants Farrell & Jones, and prosperous planter. During her parents' ten-year marriage, they had six children. Randolph was their first born. She was followed by Jane Randolph (1774–1775); a son who lived for only a few weeks in 1777; Mary "Polly" (1778–1804); Lucy Elizabeth (1780–1781); and another Lucy Elizabeth (1782–1784). Only Randolph and Mary survived more than a few years. As a young child, Randolph saw her mother suffer during difficult pregnancies and both parents mourn the deaths of four infant children.

The family lived a genteel lifestyle and Randolph was initially schooled at home. Her studies included dance lessons. British troops advanced to Richmond in May 1781 and, due to advance warning, the Jeffersons escaped to their country home, Poplar Forest. on September 6, 1782, four months after the birth of the Jeffersons' last child. Randolph later wrote about this period and her father's grief, stating "in those melancholy rambles I was his constant companion, a solitary witness to many a violent burst of grief." Her mother asked her father to never marry again, and he never did. Her request has been attributed to protective feelings for her children, in view of her mother's own disagreeable relationships with her step-mothers.

Philadelphia

thumb|John Rogers, after portrait by [[Thomas Sully, Mrs. Thomas M. Randolph (Martha Jefferson), 1880, three-quarter-length engraving. Martha Jefferson Randolph was tall and slim with angular features and red hair, and was said to have closely resembled her father, to whom she was devoted. Between December 1782 and May 1784, she boarded with a family and studied French, dancing, drawing, and music with private tutors, who received prescribed, strict daily schedules and instructions regarding how her education should be conducted from Thomas Jefferson.

thumb|left|[[Pentemont Abbey (), was an exclusive convent school in Paris, France that Randolph attended when her father was U.S. Minister to France

When she socialized at the Abbey, she learned about women's role in political affairs, the dissension leading to the French Revolution, and palace intrique. Her father had influenced the drafting of the Declaration of the Rights of Man in France. Randolph said of her time in France was "the brightest part of a life much shaded & saddened by care & sorrows."

Mary traveled with Sally Hemings to Paris and joined her sister at the convent school in July 1787. Over the course of her studies, Randolph learned to speak four languages. She enjoyed a social life that included balls and concerts during the summer.

| image2 = VARINA FARMS, HENRICO COUNTY, VA.jpg

| caption2 = Varina, Thomas Mann Randolph and Martha Jefferson Randolph's estate, Henrico County, Virginia

On February 23, 1790, at the age of 17, she married Thomas Mann Randolph Jr., a planter, at Monticello. He was her third cousin, and a descendant of Pocahontas. Critta Hemings, sister of Sally Hemings, helped Randolph care for the children for many years at Monticello and Edge Hill.

The couple first lived at Randolph's estate, Varina, in Henrico County and Martha had twelve children.

  • Thomas Jefferson Randolph (1792–1875), who married Jane Hollins Nicholas (1798–1871) daughter of Wilson Cary Nicholas.
  • Ellen Wayles Randolph (1794–1795), died young during a trip that Randolph and her husband took July 1795 to October 1795 to improve his health.
  • Cornelia Jefferson Randolph (1799–1871). In the 1830s, she established a school at Edge Hill, then her brother's estate, where she taught painting, sculpture, and drawing. She translated and published, The Parlor Gardener: A Treatise on the House Culture of Ornamental Plants. Translated from the French and Adapted to American Use. Cornelia never married.
  • Virginia Jefferson Randolph (1801–1881), who married Nicholas Trist (1800–1874).
  • Mary Jefferson Randolph (1803–1876). She lived at Edge Hill and helped her sister-in-law, Jane, supervise the household of her brother Thomas Jefferson Randolph. She and her sister Cornelia also visited the houses of their siblings during times of sickness. She never married.
  • James Madison Randolph (1806–1834) was born at the President's House, now called the White House, on January 17, 1806.
  • Meriwether Lewis Randolph (1810–1837), who married Elizabeth Anderson Martin (1815–1871). After his death, Martin married Andrew Jackson Donelson, a nephew of President Andrew Jackson.
  • Septimia Anne Randolph (1814–1887), who married Dr. David Scott Meikleham (1804–1849), becoming Septimia Randolph Meikleham.
  • George Wythe Randolph (1818–1867), who briefly in 1862 was Secretary of War of the Confederate States of America, and who married Mary Elizabeth Adams Pope (1830–1871).

Life at Varina, Monticello, and Edge Hill (1790?–1800)

Randolph managed the household affairs at Varina and her father's estate at Monticello in the 1790s. Randolph was a rare southern woman who had significant authority in managing plantation as well as domestic activities. It was at Monticello that Jefferson found "that society where all is peace and harmony". Her role as hostess and mistress of the plantation helped to prepare Randolph for her role at the White House.

Thomas Jefferson sold the couple land for the Edge Hill plantation so that they could be nearer to him at Monticello in Albemarle County. The Randolphs built a house and resided there beginning in January 1800. Randolph was accompanied on her first visit by two of her children (Ann and Jeff), her sister Mary (known in adulthood as Maria), and Maria's son Francis. While in Washington the president’s hostess and her sister socialized with politicians and society figures during morning visits, balls, church services, races, and President's House dinners and receptions. On her second visit Randolph was accompanied by her entire family and her activities were more focused on family life and managing "gloomy" politics of the time. Randolph's eighth child, James Madison Randolph, was born at the President's House on January 17, 1806. Author Catherine Allgor notes that she was her father's confidante and well respected in Washington. Known for her intelligence and role in the social ladder, "whenever she was in the capital, Mrs. Randolph became the head of whatever occasion she attended. No matter what the social skirmish, no one disputed her right of precedence."

Biographer Billy L. Wayson states that she was not a hostess or a confidant, but was a close companion to her father and "was the emotional foundation" that supported Jefferson's role as president. Whether physically with him or through ongoing correspondence, she helped her father maintain his equilibrium throughout his tumultuous political life. Wayson states that Randolph was a significant influence to the president. "The 'first daughter' was foremost and continuously present in her father's heart, especially during his most difficult political trials."

A few years before becoming president, Jefferson said:

Randolph was devoted to her father.

Randolph's sister, Mary "Polly", was also a hostess at times, until she died in 1804 during childbirth. Jefferson found that when women attended gatherings at the White House, the conversation would be less contentious and interjected women's viewpoints on government affairs.

After the White House (1809–1825)

thumb|left|Interior Drawing Room, [[Monticello]]

Randolph and her children lived primarily at Monticello after Thomas Jefferson's retirement By the summer of 1825, Tom Randolph lived in a small house he owned in North Milton.

Debt (1825–1826)

Randolph dealt with the strain of financial concerns over the debts of her husband, her father-in-law Thomas Mann Randolph Sr., and her father upon their deaths. They became indebted due to declining land values, risky investments, failed crops and needy relatives. or Aiken of Petersburg. Edge Hill plantation, along with its crops, buildings, animals, and slaves, was foreclosed in 1825 and the sale proceeds failed to pay back all the family's creditors. The purchaser at the foreclosure auction, who took possession in January 1826, was Randolph's eldest son, Thomas Jefferson Randolph.

Later years and death (1826–1836)

thumb|right|James Westhall Ford, Martha Jefferson Randolph, 1823, [[Monticello, Thomas Jefferson Foundation. At the time of the portrait, Randolph was 51 years of age and was the mother of eleven children.]]

Jefferson describes Randolph as the "cherished companion of his youth and the nurse of his old age". Shortly before his death, he said that the "last pang of life was parting with her." or James T. Barclay in 1831. After having been on the market for five years, the plantation sold for $7,000, one-tenth of its $71,000 value. For instance, Nicholas Trist, her son-in-law, was secured the position with Henry Clay, the Secretary of State under President John Quincy Adams.

After Jefferson's death, Randolph lived with Thomas, her eldest son, at Tufton.

A school was established at Edge Hill by her unmarried daughters, Mary and Cornelia, and Patsy, who taught music there at times. Randolph also traveled to the homes of her married children in her later years.

In 1831, her son Thomas unsuccessfully lobbied for a plan for Virginia to abolish slavery gradually and colonize slaves in Africa, a proposal that Randolph supported. She also considered moving to a free state. Although she freed several slaves in her wills, she relied on their efforts throughout her life.

In the 1995 film Jefferson in Paris, Martha Jefferson was portrayed by actress Gwyneth Paltrow.

In the 2000 four-hour CBS miniseries Sally Hemings An American Scandal written by Tina Andrews, Martha Jefferson was portrayed by actress Mare Winningham.

See also

  • Bibliography of United States presidential spouses and first ladies

References

Notes

References

Sources

Further reading

  • Billy L. Wayson, " 'Considerably different for her sex': A Plan of Reading for Martha Jefferson," The Libraries, Leadership, and Legacy of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, Robert C. Baron and Conrad Edick Wright, eds. (Fulcrum Publishing and Massachusetts Historical Society, 2010)
  • Martha Jefferson Randolph at C-SPAN's First Ladies: Influence & Image
  • Who Is a First Lady , Smithsonian Institution