#70 Royal Descents, Notable Kin, and Printed Sources: Descendants of William Randolph and Henry Isham of Virginia

"First Families" matter in Virginia, and to some extent, unfortunately, throughout the entire South. Among the great plantation families mostly of "third-generation" Virginia (post-1660) - Byrds, Carters, Harrisons, Lees, Nelsons, Pages, Randolphs, and Washingtons - the last, in terms of notable descendants, were certainly the premier family of the state. Some biographers have considered the Randolphs the "greatest family" in American history, a claim I hope that my previous coverage of the Dudley, Marbury (in Notable Kin, Volume Two), Appleton, [A.F.T.] Parke, Livingston, Ligon (in NEXUS and New England Ancestors, 1999-2000), and Towneley (in covering Virginia ancestors and cousins of H.M. the late Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother) progenies has helped to disprove. Certainly, however, the Randolphs, like the Virginia Lees, left a sizable number of notable descendants who bore their surname. Peyton Randolph was the first president of the Continental Congress; Edmund Jennings Randolph was the first U.S. attorney general, and later secretary of state; John Randolph, Jr. of Roanoke was one of the greatest orators in the early nineteenth-century U.S. Senate. Somewhat absorbing several of the above-mentioned clans, the Randolphs also produced Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence and third U.S. president; John Marshall, probably the greatest chief justice in American history; and Robert Edward Lee, the Civil War commander and mythic "first gentleman" of the South, whose strategic brilliance probably delayed the end of the Civil War by at least two years. Among other signers of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Nelson was the son-in-law of a Randolph; among other Revolutionary statesmen, Gouverneur Morris of New York married a Randolph; among other U.S. attorneys general, John Jordan Crittenden married the great-granddaughter of a Randolph; and among other Civil War generals, the also mythic "Jeb" Stuart was the great-great-grandson of a Randolph, and FitzHugh Lee was the nephew of Robert E. Lee, Randolph descendants via Bland. Among presidents of Virginia's oldest college (William and Mary), William Stith, Jr. was both the son and husband of Randolphs (husband and wife were both grandchildren of William Randolph and Mary Isham).

Following the Civil War, however, much of the old Virginia tobacco plantation aristocracy was impoverished. Two Randolph descendants, Thomas Nelson Page and Ellen Glasgow, were popular novelists, the former author of Ole Virginia , which set in place the myth of the happy and prosperous antebellum South. Via Baltimore, Priscilla Randolph Barton became the second wife of her cousin, the historian Samuel Eliot Morison; and Mary Anne Harrison, daughter of Randolph Carter Harrison, married New York mayor John Vliet Lindsay. First Lady Edith Bolling Galt Wilson (second wife of Woodrow) was descended from a sister of Thomas Jefferson, from Pocahontas, and very possibly from Henry VIII (d. 1547), King of England, via a likely illegitimate daughter, Katherine Cary (Knollys), and her grandson, Gov. [the Hon.] John West of Virginia. Among leading senators of the "Bourbon South," segregationist Harry Flood Byrd married a Beverley of Carter, Byrd, Bland, and Randolph descent. Supreme Court Justice Byron Raymond White of Colorado married the great-great-granddaughter of a first cousin of Robert E. Lee (and a descendant of "signer" Richard Henry Lee), and Henry Parker Willis, first secretary of the Federal Reserve Board, married the daughter of a Corbin of Nelson, Byrd, Carter, and Randolph descent.

Among inventors and tycoons, Herman Hollerith, founder of IBM, married the great granddaughter of a Randolph, and the second wife of Jack Isidor Straus, president of R.H. Macy & Co., was Virginia Randolph Megear. Among nineteenth-century heiresses or Society "beauties" were the famed Langhorne sisters of Virginia (treated in the last column because the Astors were Livingston descendants), of whom Irene married the illustrator Charles Dana Gibson (II) of New York, creator of the "Gibson Girl," and Nancy, Viscountess Astor, was the first female British M.P. Nancy's husband and sons were much involved with both The Observer and The [London] Times . A second major international marriage was that of Elizabeth Tayloe Corbin, of Beverley, Carter, Byrd, Bland, and Randolph descent, to the French Louis Pol Henri, Comte de Dampierre; their son, the first Duc de San Lorenzo, was the father of the second Duc, father in turn of Emanuela de Dampierre, first wife of H.R.H. Infante Don Jaime of Spain, Duke of Segovia, considered by French legitimists to be the heir of both France and Spain, and uncle of King Juan Carlos of Spain. Emanuela and the Duke of Segovia left an elder son, the Duke of Cádiz, legitimist heir until his death in 1989, who married Franco's granddaughter. Their younger but only surviving son, Don Luís Alfonso de Bo [u] rbón y Martínez-Bordiu, b. 1974, a second cousin of Crown Prince Felipe of Spain, is the current legitimist heir.

Post-Civil War, then, the Randolphs produced U.S. Senator H. F. Byrd and the wives of several other political figures (including President Woodrow Wilson), the wives also of two business leaders, the Langhorne sisters, two popular novelists, and the second wife of a major historian, plus the last two legitimist heirs of France and Spain. Although certainly of interest, this modern progeny of the Randolphs is by no means equal in distinction to its colonial predecessor. Like the Livingstons in New York, the Randolphs "ran" colonial and antebellum Virginia. After the Civil War, however, they become simply another Southern "First Family" revered in story, much analyzed by historians, but "past its prime."

Having concluded my coverage of most of those royally-descended "clans" whose descendants include over fifty, one hundred, or even more figures in the Dictionary of American Biography (once again, Dudley, Marbury, Appleton, Parke, Livingston, Ligon, and Towneley), I shall return in my next several columns to popular figures of the twentieth century. The subjects of the first two of these columns, courtesy of Michael Meggison and Rhonda McClure, will be the Beach Boys and 1930s movie icon Carole Lombard.

The twenty-five major notable descendants of William Randolph and Mary Isham are as follows, with their lines from all immigrants of royal descent, arranged in this column’s usual format. Covered firstly are the sixteen figures I have treated already, at least partly. Readers should find the remaining nine “new,” to my printed corpus at least.

1. Thomas Jefferson, third U.S. president – AAP, pp. 7-10, 181-83
2. Mrs. Edith Bolling Galt Wilson, second wife of [Thomas] Woodrow Wilson, twenty-eighth U.S. president – AAP, pp. 228-29
3. Gouverneur Morris, 1752-1816, Revolutionary statesman, diplomat and U.S. senator (wife, Anne Cary Randolph; Thomas Mann Randolph & Anne Cary; William Randolph & Maria Judith Page, Archibald Cary & Mary Randolph; Thomas Randolph & Judith Fleming [parents of William], Mann Page & Judith Wormeley, Richard Randolph & Jane Bolling [parents of Mary]; William Randolph & Mary Isham [parents of Thomas and Richard], Ralph Wormeley, Jr. & Elizabeth Armistead; Henry Isham & Katherine Banks, Ralph Wormeley & Agatha Eltonhead).
4. John Randolph, Jr., of Roanoke, 1773-1833, congressman, U.S. senator and orator; John Randolph & Frances Bland; Richard Randolph & Jane Bolling, above, Theodoric Bland & Frances Bolling; William Randolph & Mary Isham, above (parents of Richard and Elizabeth), Richard Bland & Elizabeth Randolph, Drury Bolling & Elizabeth Meriwether (parents of Frances); Francis Meriwether & Mary Bathurst; Lancelot Bathurst & ____ ____.
5. John Jordan Crittenden, 1787-1863, congressman, U.S. senator and attorney general, governor of Kentucky (third wife, Mrs. Elizabeth Moss Wilcox Ashley; James Wynn Moss & Mary Woodson; Josiah Woodson & Elizabeth Woodson; John Woodson & Dorothy Randolph [parents of Josiah]; Isham Randolph & Jane Rogers; William Randolph & Mary Isham).
6. John Vliet Lindsay, 1921-2000, (wife, Mary Anne Harrison; Randolph Carter Harrison & Mary McCaw Hawes; John W. Harrison & Mary K. Wil [l] son; Carter Henry Harrison & Alice Burwell Williams; Carter Harrison & Janetta Fisher, John G. Williams & Mary A. Grinan; Randolph Harrison & Mary Randolph, William Catlett Williams & Alice Burwell; Carter Henry Harrison & Susanna Randolph, Thomas Randolph & Jane Cary, Lewis Burwell, Jr. & Judith Page; Benjamin Harrison & Anne Carter, Isham Randolph & Jane Rogers [parents of Susanna and Thomas], see above #5, Archibald Cary & Mary Randolph, see above #3, Lewis Burwell, gov. of Virginia, & Mary Willis, Mann Page, Jr. & Alice Grymes; Robert “King” Carter & Elizabeth Landon [parents of Anne], Nathaniel Burwell & Elizabeth Carter, Francis Willis & Anne Rich, Mann Page & Judith Carter, John Grymes, Jr. & Lucy Ludwell; John Carter & Sarah Ludlow [parents of “King” Carter], Robert “King” Carter & Judith Armistead [parents of Elizabeth and Judith], John Grymes & Alice Towneley; Lawrence Towneley & Sarah Warner, a first cousin; Augustine Warner & Mary Towneley).
7. Thomas Nelson, 1738-1789, signer of the Declaration of Independence, governor of Virginia, & Lucy Grymes, his wife; William Nelson, governor of Va., & Elizabeth Burwell, Philip Grymes & Mary Randolph; Thomas Nelson & Margaret Reade, Nathaniel Burwell & Elizabeth Carter, see above #6, John Grymes, Jr. & Lucy Ludwell, see above #6, Sir John Randolph & Susanna Beverley; Robert Reade & Mary Lilly, William Randolph & Mary Isham, Peter Beverley & Elizabeth Peyton; George Reade & Elizabeth Martiau, Henry Isham & Katherine Banks, Robert Peyton & Mary ----.
8. Thomas Nelson Page, 1853-1922, diplomat, novelist, author of Ole Virginia; John Page & Elizabeth Burwell Nelson; Francis Page & Susan Nelson, Thomas Nelson & Judith Nelson; John Page, governor of Va. & Frances Burwell, “signer” Thomas Nelson & Lucy Grymes, see above #7 (parents of Susan and Judith), Hugh Nelson & Judith Page (parents of Thomas); Mann Page, Jr. & Alice Grymes (parents of John), see above #6, Robert Burwell & Sally Nelson, William Nelson, governor of Va. & Elizabeth Burwell, see above #7, John Page & Jane Byrd (parents of Judith); Nathaniel Burwell & Elizabeth Carter, see above #6, Mann Page & Judith Carter, see above #6, William Byrd II & colonial official and diarist, & Maria Taylor; William Byrd, Indian trader, & Maria Horsmanden; Warham Horsmanden & Susanna Beeching; Daniel Horsmanden & Ursula St. Leger.
9. Robert Edward Lee, 1807-1870, the Confederate commander; Henry “Lighthorse Harry” Lee (III) & Anne Hill Carter; Henry Lee, Jr. & Lucy Grymes, Charles Carter & Anne Butler Moore; Henry Lee & Mary Bland, Charles Grymes & Frances Jennings, John Carter & Elizabeth Hill, Bernard Moore & Anne Catherine Spotswood; Richard Lee, Jr. & Letitia Corbin, Richard Bland & Elizabeth Randolph, John Grymes & Alice Towneley, Edmund Jennings, acting gov. of Va., & Frances Corbin, Robert “King” Carter & Judith Armistead, Augustine Moore & Elizabeth Todd, Gov. Alexander Spotswood & Anne Butler; Henry Corbin & Alice Eltonhead (parents of Letitia and Frances), William Randolph & Mary Isham, Lawrence Towneley & Sarah Warner, John Carter & Sarah Ludlow, Thomas Todd, Jr. & Elizabeth Bernard; Henry Isham & Katherine Banks, Augustine Warner & Mary Towneley, Thomas Todd & Anne Gorsuch, William Bernard & Lucy Higginson, Rev. John Gorsuch & Anne Lovelace of Md.
10. Fitzhugh Lee, 1835-1905, Confederate general, governor of Virginia; Sidney Smith Lee, full brother of Robert Edward Lee, #9 above, & Anna Maria Mason; John Mason & Anna Maria Murray; George Mason (IV) of Gunston Hall, colonial and Revolutionary statesman, & Anne Eilbeck; George Mason (III) & Anne Thomson; George Mason, Jr. & Mary Fowke; Col. Gerard Fowke & Anne Thoroughgood.
11. Harry Flood Byrd, 1887-1966, newspaper publisher, U.S. senator and governor of Va. (wife, Annie Douglas Beverley; James Bradshaw Beverley & Annie Douglas Gray; William Beverley & Frances Westwood Gray; James Bradshaw Beverley & Jane Peter; Robert Beverley, Jr. & Jane Tayloe; Robert Beverley & Maria Carter, John Tayloe, Jr. & Frances Plater; William Beverley & Elizabeth Bland, Landon Carter & Maria Byrd, John Tayloe & Elizabeth Gwyn; Robert Beverley, Jr., historian of Va., & Ursula Byrd, Richard Bland & Elizabeth Randolph, see above #9, Robert “King” Carter & Elizabeth Landon, see above #6, William Byrd II, colonial official and diarist, & Maria Taylor, see above #8, William Tayloe & Anne Corbin; Peter Beverley & Elizabeth Peyton, see above #7, William Byrd, Indian trader, & Maria Horsmanden, see above #8, Henry Corbin & Alice Eltonhead).
12. Samuel Eliot Morison, 1887-1976, the historian (second wife, Priscilla Randolph Barton; Randolph Barton, Jr. & Eleanor Addison Morison; Randolph [Jones] Barton & Agnes Priscilla Kirkland, Robert Brown Morison & Elizabeth Hawkins Williams; David Walker Barton & Fanny L. Jones, George Hawkins Williams & Eleanor Addison Gittings; Richard Peters Barton & Martha Walker, William Strother Jones, Jr. & Anna Maria Marshall, George Williams & Elizabeth Bordley Hawkins; Robert Walker & Elizabeth Stark, William Strother Jones & Frances Thornton, Charles Marshall [brother of U.S. Chief Justice John Marshall, #20 below] & Lucy Pickett, Joseph Williams (III) & Susanna May; William Stark & Mary Bolling, Gabriel Jones, lawyer and pioneer, & Margaret Strother, Francis Thornton (IV) & Anne Thompson, Joseph Williams, Jr. & Martha Howell, Benjamin May & Mary Williams; Robert Bolling, Jr. & Anne Cocke, William Strother (III) & Margaret Watts, Francis Thornton (III) & Frances Gregory, Joseph Williams & Abigail Davis [parents of Joseph, Jr.], Stephen Williams, Jr. & Mary Capen [parents of Mary]; Richard Cocke, Jr. & Elizabeth ----, William Strother, Jr. & Margaret Thornton, Francis Thornton, Jr. & Mary Taliaferro, Roger Gregory & Mildred Washington, Stephen Williams & Sarah Wise [parents of Joseph and Stephen, Jr.]; Richard Cocke & Mary Aston, William Strother [possible RD] & Dorothy ----, Francis Thornton & Alice Savage [parents of Margaret and Francis, Jr.], John Taliaferro & Sarah Smith, Lawrence Washington & Mildred Warner, Joseph Wise & Mary Thompson; Col. Walter Aston & Hannah Jordan, Anthony Savage [likely RD] & Sarah Constable, Lawrence Smith & Mary Debnam, John Washington [of Westmoreland Co.] & Anne Pope, Augustine Warner, Jr. & Mildred Reade, John Thompson [PW] & Alice Freeman [PW] of Mass. and prob. Conn.; Augustine Warner & Mary Towneley, Col. George Reade & Elizabeth Martiau.
13. Byron Raymond White, 1917-2002, Supreme Court justice (wife, Marion Lloyd Stearns; Robert Lawrence Stearns, educator, foundation executive, & Amy Pitkin; John Lloyd Stearns & Ella Powell, Robert James Pitkin & Amy Moore; John Stearns & Anne Harriotte Lloyd, Frederick Walker Pitkin, gov. of Colorado, & Fidelia Maria James; John Lloyd & Anne Harriotte Lee, Eli Pitkin & Hannah Miller Torrey; Edmund Jennings Lee [brother of Henry “Lighthorse Harry” Lee (III), see above #9] & Sarah Lee, Caleb Torrey & Mary Miller; Richard Henry Lee, signer of the Declaration of Independence, & Anne Gaskins [parents of Sarah], William Torrey & Mehitable Crane; Thomas Lee, governor of Va., & Hannah Ludwell, Philip Torrey & Mary Marsh; Richard Lee, Jr. & Letitia Corbin, see above #9, William Torrey, Jr. & Deborah Greene; William Torrey & Jane Haviland of Mass.).
14. Henry Parker Willis, 1874-1937, economist, editor, educator, first secretary of the Federal Reserve Board (wife, Rosa Johnston Brooke; John Mercer Brooke, naval officer, scientist, & Catherine Carter Corbin; James Parke Corbin & Jane Catherine Wellford; Richard Corbin & Rebecca Parke Farley, John Spotswood Wellford & Fanny Page Nelson; John Tayloe Corbin & Mary Waller, James Parke Farley & Elizabeth Hill Byrd, Robert Wellford & Catherine Yates, William Nelson & Lucy Chiswell; Richard Corbin & Elizabeth Tayloe, Benjamin Waller & Martha Hall, William Byrd [III] & Elizabeth Hill Carter, Robert Yates & Mary Randolph, Thomas Nelson, Jr. & Lucy Armistead, John Chiswell & Elizabeth Randolph; Gawin Corbin & Jane Lane, John Tayloe & Elizabeth Gwyn, see above #11, Col. John Waller & Dorothy King, William Byrd [II], colonial official and diarist, & Maria Taylor, see above #8, John Carter & Elizabeth Hill, see above #9, Edward Randolph & Elizabeth Graves, Thomas Nelson & Margaret Reade, see above #7, William Randolph, Jr. & Elizabeth Beverley, siblings of Sir John Randolph’s wife Susanna, see above #7; Henry Corbin & Alice Eltonhead [parents of Gawin and Mrs. Tayloe], William Randolph & Mary Isham [parents of Edward and William, Jr.]).
15. Lady Nancy [Witcher Langhorne Shaw] Astor, (Viscountess Astor) – see column #69, figure 25(3).
16. Mrs. Charles Dana Gibson (II), sister of #15 – as above, plus NK2:25.