Mary Randolph
Encyclopedia
Mary Randolph wrote The Virginia House-Wife (1824), one of the most influential housekeeping and cook books of the nineteenth century. She was the first recorded person to be buried at what became Arlington National Cemetery
, and was a cousin of Mary Lee Fitzhugh Custis
, wife to George Washington Parke Custis
, Arlington's builder.
She was a descendant of Thomas Rolfe
, Pocahontas
and John Rolfe
's son. Randolph was the daughter of Thomas Mann Randolph (1741–1794), a member of the Virginia Convention of 1776, and his first wife, Ann Cary Randolph. Her twelve siblings included Thomas Mann Randolph, Jr. (1768–1828), son-in-law of Thomas Jefferson
, who served in the House of Representatives from 1803 until 1807 and as governor of Virginia from 1819 through 1822; and Virginia Randolph Cary
(1786-1852), who wrote Letters on Female Character, Addressed to a Young Lady, on the Death of Her Mother (1828).
Mary Randolph married her cousin, David Meade Randolph, of Chesterfield County, Virginia
, in December 1780. Moldavia, their Richmond City home, became a center of Federalist Party social activity.
Randolph's influential housekeeping book The Virginia House-Wife (1824) went through many editions until the 1860s. Randolph tried to improve women's lives by limiting the time they had to spend in their kitchens. The Virginia House-Wife included many inexpensive ingredients that anyone could purchase to make impressive meals. Besides popularizing the use of more than 40 vegetables, Randolph's book also introduced to the southern public dishes from abroad, such as gazpacho.
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...
, and was a cousin of Mary Lee Fitzhugh Custis
Mary Lee Fitzhugh Custis
Mary Lee Fitzhugh Custis was an Episcopal lay leader in Alexandria County...
, wife to George Washington Parke Custis
George Washington Parke Custis
George Washington Parke Custis , the step-grandson of United States President George Washington, was a nineteenth-century American writer, orator, and agricultural reformer.-Family:...
, Arlington's builder.
She was a descendant of Thomas Rolfe
Thomas Rolfe
Thomas Rolfe was the only child of Pocahontas by her English husband, John Rolfe. His maternal grandfather was Wahunsunacock, the chief of Powhatan tribe in Virginia.-Early Life:Thomas Rolfe was born in Virginia...
, Pocahontas
Pocahontas
Pocahontas was a Virginia Indian notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She was the daughter of Chief Powhatan, the head of a network of tributary tribal nations in Tidewater Virginia...
and John Rolfe
John Rolfe
John Rolfe was one of the early English settlers of North America. He is credited with the first successful cultivation of tobacco as an export crop in the Colony of Virginia and is known as the husband of Pocahontas, daughter of the chief of the Powhatan Confederacy.In 1961, the Jamestown...
's son. Randolph was the daughter of Thomas Mann Randolph (1741–1794), a member of the Virginia Convention of 1776, and his first wife, Ann Cary Randolph. Her twelve siblings included Thomas Mann Randolph, Jr. (1768–1828), son-in-law of Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
, who served in the House of Representatives from 1803 until 1807 and as governor of Virginia from 1819 through 1822; and Virginia Randolph Cary
Virginia Randolph Cary
Virginia Randolph Cary was the author of Letters on Female Character, Addressed to a Young Lady, on the Death of Her Mother , an influential advice book.-Life:...
(1786-1852), who wrote Letters on Female Character, Addressed to a Young Lady, on the Death of Her Mother (1828).
Mary Randolph married her cousin, David Meade Randolph, of Chesterfield County, Virginia
Chesterfield County, Virginia
Chesterfield County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia, a state of the United States. In 2010, its population was estimated to be 316,236. Chesterfield County is now the fourth-largest municipality in Virginia . Its county seat is Chesterfield...
, in December 1780. Moldavia, their Richmond City home, became a center of Federalist Party social activity.
Randolph's influential housekeeping book The Virginia House-Wife (1824) went through many editions until the 1860s. Randolph tried to improve women's lives by limiting the time they had to spend in their kitchens. The Virginia House-Wife included many inexpensive ingredients that anyone could purchase to make impressive meals. Besides popularizing the use of more than 40 vegetables, Randolph's book also introduced to the southern public dishes from abroad, such as gazpacho.