Marriage and children
On February 23, 1790, Randolph married Martha Jefferson, daughter of Thomas Jefferson and his wife Martha Wayles Skelton Jefferson. The Jefferson and Randolph families had shared progenitors; They were third cousins. Thomas Jefferson was a second cousin to Randolph. Randolph's father spent part of his childhood with Jefferson at Tuckahoe. They had lands next to one another in Albemarle County. Thomas and Martha Randolph often stayed at Monticello, where Randolph oversaw business when Thomas Jefferson was away. At his father-in-law's suggestion, Randolph was a captain of the Virginia militia and a local justice of peace. The men had shared interests and viewpoints.
The Randolphs were parents to twelve children:
Ann Cary Randolph (1791–1826), who married Charles Lewis Bankhead (1788-1833).
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 Patsy and her husband took from July 1795 to October 1795 to improve his health.
Ellen Wayles Randolph (1796–1876), who was named after a deceased sister, and was married to Joseph Coolidge (1798-1879)
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.
Benjamin Franklin Randolph (1808–1871), who married Sarah Champe "Sally" Carter (1808-1896).
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).
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).
Martha and Thomas Randolph lived at Belmont from November 1797 until the summer of 1799. Belmont was owned by John Harvie Sr., who was a friend of the Jeffersons and father-in-law of Thomas Mann Randolph Sr. who took Gabriella Harvie as his second wife. They had decided to settle primarily in Albemarle County while maintaining the Varina estate. In January 1800, the Randolphs moved into Edge Hill (near Shadwell). After her father retired, Martha and their children lived at Monticello beginning in 1808 and including the period when Randolph was governor.
