Randolph, Edmund, 1753-1813

RANDOLPH, Edmund Jenings, (Nephew of Peyton Randolph), a Delegate from Virginia; born in Williamsburg, Va., August 10, 1753; was graduated from the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Va.; studied law; was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Williamsburg; served in the Revolutionary Army and was aide-de-camp to General Washington; attorney general of Virginia in 1776; Member of the Continental Congress in 1779, 1781, and 1782; elected governor of Virginia in 1786 but resigned in 1788 to serve in the state house of delegates in order that he might participate in the codification of the laws of Virginia in 1788 and 1789; delegate to the Federal Convention in Philadelphia in 1787; was appointed the first Attorney General of the United States, in the Cabinet of President Washington, on September 26, 1789; transferred to the State Department as Secretary of State on January 2, 1794, and served until August 19, 1795, when he was requested to resign following charges (subsequently found to be false) preferred by Minister Fauchet of France; was the principal counsel for Aaron Burr when the latter was tried for treason; died in Clarke County, Va., September 12, 1813; interment in the Old Chapel Cemetery, Millwood, Va.

<ul><b>RACES</b>
<li>01/02/1794 U. S. Secretary of State Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li>09/26/1789 US Attorney General Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li>06/01/1788 Virginia Ratifying Convention Won 49.21% (+23.09%)</li>
<li>11/30/1787 VA Governor Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li>11/30/1786 VA Governor Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li>12/31/1781 VA Continental Congress Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li>12/31/1780 VA Continental Congress Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li>12/31/1778 VA Continental Congress Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
</ul>

<p>Edmund Jennings Randolph (August 10, 1753 – September 12, 1813) was an American attorney and politician. He was the 7th Governor of Virginia, and, as a delegate from Virginia, he attended the Constitutional Convention and helped to create the national constitution while serving on its Committee of Detail. He was the 1st United States Attorney General and subsequently the 2nd Secretary of State during George Washington's presidency.</p>

<p>Randolph was born on August 10, 1753, to the influential Randolph family in Williamsburg in the Colony of Virginia. He was educated at the College of William and Mary. After graduation he began reading law with his father John Randolph and uncle, Peyton Randolph. In 1775, with the start of the American Revolution, Randolph's father remained a Loyalist and returned to Britain. Edmund Randolph returned to America where he joined the Continental Army as an aide-de-camp to General George Washington.</p>

<p>Upon the death of his uncle Peyton Randolph in October 1775, Randolph returned to Virginia to act as executor of the estate, and while there was elected as a representative to the Fourth Virginia Convention. He was later mayor of Williamsburg, and then Attorney general of Virginia, a post he held until 1786. He was married on August 29, 1776, to Elizabeth Nicholas, the daughter of Robert C. Nicholas, and had a total of six children, including Peyton Randolph, Governor of Virginia from 1811 to 1812.</p>