Biography
Randolph was born in 1818 at Monticello near Charlottesville, Virginia, to Martha Jefferson Randolph, the daughter of U.S. President Thomas Jefferson, and Thomas Mann Randolph, Jr., a descendant of Pocahontas and John Rolfe' son, Thomas Rolfe. Their youngest son, he was named in honor of George Wythe, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and law professor of his grandfather Thomas Jefferson. He was also related to Edmund Randolph, who served in George Washington's cabinet as the first Attorney General of the United States, as well as colonist William Randolph through both his mother's and father's sides of the family.
Randolph briefly attended preparatory schools in Cambridge, Massachusetts and Washington, DC, where his mother sent him for distance from family troubles. His father had incurred much debt. He served as a midshipman in the United States Navy and began attending the University of Virginia while in the service.
Read more about this topic: George W. Randolph
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