Randolph-de Potestad Family Papers(1826–1913)

• MS 1993.1
• 33 items

Correspondence between Mary G. Randolph and her sister Margaret H. Randolph, as well as personal letters and papers of Robert and Alice de Potestad. Included with the de Potestad materials are a poultry breeding catalog, a check, and two obituaries. The Randolph correspondence contains a poem entitled “All the World’s in Paris.” The bulk of the undated material relates to the Randolph sisters.

The Randolph materials relate to family matters and social events taking place at Tuckahoe Plantation (Goochland County), Prospect Hill, Richmond, and Williamsburg, Virginia. Some events alluded to include: various social gatherings and discussion regarding those attending, family illnesses, and the sale of Tuckahoe Plantation. Some of the personalities discussed include: Thomas Roderick Dew (1802–1846), Vice President Calhoun, Ella Wickham, Mrs. Ambler, William Lightfoot, Hon. Mr. Madison, Mr. Peyton, Judge Brockenbrough, the Robinsons, Mrs. Cabell, Louisa Patterson, Mrs. Fitzhugh, the Ritchies, Mr. Galt, Mary Taylor, Mr. Harrison and family members Louisa, Harriet, Aunt Eliza, Uncle (Charles) Wingfield, “Billy” and Margaret’s mother.

The de Potestad correspondence between Robert and Alice discusses family matters, events at “Dalton” (Ellicot City, Maryland), descriptions of a business trip to Madrid and Lisbon by Robert, and the birth of a daughter to Alice’s father. Some names mentioned in the letters and other materials include: Mildred, Marques de Guell (Spanish Chargé d’Affaires), King of Spain, Sevillard, Lopez Roberts, Charlie Dorsey, Madame La Douairiere, Alexandre della Faille de Leverghem (Marie-Jeanne-Adolphine-Mols), Comtesse Douairiere de Turck de Kersbeek (Valerie Lothaire Catherine Marie Joseph della Faille de Leverghem), Samuel Kno (?) George, and Edith Van de Ware.

Materials in this collection were obtained through donation at the time of the dispersal of a family estate in Maryland.

Biographical information relating to the Randolph and de Potestad families can be found in Southern Women and Their Families in the 19th Century: Papers and Diaries. Series A, Holding of the Southern Historical Collection, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Part 6: Virginia Collections.

Inventory

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