The Wills of Randolph Jefferson
Randolph Jefferson was the younger (and only) brother of President Thomas Jefferson.
Randolph Jefferson
Randolph Jefferson was just two years old when his father passed away.
He became the responsibility of John Harvie for two years before falling under the care of his older brother...Thomas Jefferson.
Thomas was twelve years older than Randolph and made sure he received a stellar education.
Revolution
Randolph came of age in 1776, just as his brother was writing the Declaration of Independence.
He also joined the Patriot Cause, fighting in the Virginia Light Dragoons.
After the war, Jefferson took up life as the owner of Snowden, a large plantation he had inherited from his father.
Family
In 1781, Randolph married his cousin Anna Jefferson Lewis. The pair had six children before her death.
Later in life, Jefferson married Mitchie Ballow Pryor. At the time, Randolph was in his mid-50’s and Mitchie was less than half his age, possibly not yet 21.
Randolph’s children (some of whom were about Mitchie’s age) not not get along with their new mother-in-law, causing a good deal of strife within the family.
Estate Controversy
When Jefferson passed away in 1815, his will was contested by his sons.
Older brother Thomas was called in to give a disposition during the settling of the estate.
During this time it was established that Mitchie had been spending Randolph’s money wildly, to the point where he started using a secret code for the merchants in town to make sure purchases were under his authority.
Shortly before his death, Randolph had signed a new will giving essentially all of his holdings to Mitchie.
Thomas’ testimony indicated that all of Randolph’s legal decisions throughout his life (including an 1808 will) were handled by the older brother.
The new will, it seemed, was signed under extreme pressure from his wife.
In the end, the property was sold off and divided up among Mitchie and the children.
Do you want to learn more about the Jefferson Family?
Check out these articles:
The Changing Names of Mary Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson’s Pet Grizzlies
Thomas Jefferson Makes a Name for Himself
Randolph Jefferson’s life was quite the opposite of his brother.
I highly recommend ‘The Jefferson Brothers’ to get a better understand of both President Jefferson and his younger sibling.
Pick up a copy through the Amazon affiliate link below (you’ll support this site, but don’t worry, Amazon pays me while your price stays the same).
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