William Randolph (1651-1711) the first of the "Turkey Island Randolphs" was the son of Richard Randolph (1621-1671) of Morton Hall, Warwickshire; grandson of William Randolph (1572-1650) of Little Haughton, Northampton-shire; great grandson of Richard Randolph, of Hams, Sussex, Gentleman. Henry Randolph (1623-1673), an uncle of William Randolph, also settled in Henrico County (Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. III, p. 261 and WILLIAM AND MARY QUARTERLY, Vol. IV, p. 125. Thomas Randolph (1605-1639), the poet, was a half-brother of Henry Randolph (who came to Virginia) and of Richard Randolph (father of William, of "Turkey Island").).1276

Received land on the north side of Swift Creek from Governor Berkeley. He owned 10,000 acres of land located throughout Tidewater, VA when he died. He was on the Royal Council of Virginia and one of the founders of William & Mary College.1275

Every official position in Henrico County, VA was filled by a Randolph between 1670-1690. (Inez Waldenmaier's Genealogical News Letter 'Did You Know')1275

1276Now that we have recorded what is proved as to the English ancestry of these early settlers in Henrico County let us consider the facts presented by the records as to the status of these people from the time of their earliest appearances, and with these FACTS as a standard we shall not go far wrong in "placing" these Henrico families.

The most powerful of the Henrico families (during the period under discusion) were the Randolphs, Cockes, Eppses and Byrds.

William Randolph (1651-1711) was the descendant, on both sides of the house, of generations of gentlefolk. Henry Randolph (the uncle of William) had gone to Virginia about the middle of the seventeenth century. He occupied the not unimportant political office of Clerk of Henrico from about 1656; and was clerk of the Virginia House of Burgesses from about 1660 to his death in 1673. William Randolph was "well introduced" at his coming into the colony. He succeeded his uncle as clerk of the county holding the office until 1683 when he was in turn succeeded by Henry Randolph (son of the first Henry). William Randolph occupied during the years of his residence in Virginia nearly every office of either prominence or financial worth in Henrico County: magistrate, clerk, coroner, militia officer (of various grades) member of the House of Burgesses, moreover, he was speaker of the House and clerk of the House and for a short time in 1695 was attorney general of Virginia.

William Randolph married Mary, daughter of Henry Isham (see ante) who settled in Henrico County, was a merchant, militia officer and bore the distinctive "gentleman" affixed to his name. Mrs. Randolph was also the sister of another Henry Isham, who engaged extensively in merchandizing, and of Mrs. Ann Eppes the wife of Colonel Francis Eppes (the third of his name) who was a grandson of the first of the Eppes family in Henrico.

William Randolph left, at his death, a most comfortable fortune and the succeeding generations of his house formed, wtih him their "founder", a constellation of ability seldom rivalled in the history of the American Colonies.1276