Beverley Randolph

Who was Beverley Randolph?

Beverley Randolph was an American politician from Virginia. He served as the eighth Governor of Virginia from 1788 to 1791.

Randolph was one of four children born to Peter Randolph, son of William Randolph II, and Lucille Randolph, at Turkey Island, a plantation in Henrico County, Virginia. One of Randolph's siblings was Ann Bolling Randolph Fitzhugh, wife of William Fitzhugh.

Randolph was educated at The College of William and Mary and married Martha Cocke in 1775. He served in the militia during the American Revolutionary War, was a member of the Virginia Assembly and was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates from 1777 to 1780. When George Wythe withdrew from the Philadelphia Convention of 1787, George Mason suggested that Randolph be appointed in his place. The Council and governor decided that in light of the abilities of Virginia's remaining delegates, Wythe did not need to be replaced. Randolph was elected Governor of Virginia in 1788, the first to be elected after Virginia ratified the United States Constitution. He died on his farm near Green Creek in Cumberland County, Virginia.