Colonial Elite.

The Randolphs were Virginia's largest and most prominent family. The founders of the Randolph family, William Randolph and Mary Isham Randolph, arrived in North America around 1673 and are known as the "Adam and Eve" of Virginia. They had nine children and thirty-seven grandchildren. Both Thomas Jefferson and John Marshall could trace their roots to this "first couple."

Two Sisters.

Judith and Ann Cary were daughters of Thomas Mann Randolph. Their brother, Thomas Mann Jr., married Thomas Jefferson's daughter Martha. Ann Cary Randolph, known as Nancy, had a reputation as an independent and headstrong young woman. As one symbol of her rebelliousness, she moved out of her father's house to live with her sister and brother-in-law. Here she was courted by her brother-in-law's younger brother, Theodoric Randolph. This brought on a series of events that cast the...