Thomas Jefferson Randolph
American planter and politician, grandson of Thomas Jefferson (1792–1875)
Thomas Jefferson Randolph (September 12, 1792 – October 7, 1875) was a Virginia planter, soldier and politician who served multiple terms in the Virginia House of Delegates, as rector of the University of Virginia, and as a colonel in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. The favorite grandson of President Thomas Jefferson, he helped manage Monticello near the end of his grandfather's life and was executor of his estate, and later also served in the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1850 and at the Virginia Secession Convention of 1861.
Early life and education
Thomas Jefferson Randolph was the eldest son of Thomas Mann Randolph Jr. (who later became Virginia's governor) and Martha Jefferson Randolph (a/k/a "Patsy"). His mother was the eldest daughter, and he was the eldest grandson of United States President Thomas Jefferson. Born into the First Families of Virginia, Randolph was also a lineal descendant of Pocahontas. He had an elder sister and seven other siblings who survived infancy. Randolph received a private education suitable to his class, and partly grew up at Monticello as well as his grandfather's Poplar Forest plantation. His parents moved into Monticello in 1809, but they would separate (Randolph, his mother, and siblings remained at Monticello) because of his father's alcoholism.
When Jefferson was 15 (in 1807), his father sent him to Philadelphia for further studies, which Jefferson in part directed toward botany, other natural sciences and anatomy.
The public source identifies “Thomas Jefferson Randolph” as american planter and politician, grandson of Thomas Jefferson (1792–1875). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Thomas, Jefferson and Randolph.
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The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 25, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2425078. VIAF identifies the subject as 32354299. The Library of Congress control number is n85239123. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1792, 1875, 1850 and 1861.
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This entry incorporates text from “Thomas Jefferson Randolph” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.