Martha Jefferson Randolph

Martha Jefferson Randolph
1836 portrait by Thomas Sully
Acting First Lady of the United States
In role March 4, 1801 – March 4, 1809
President	Thomas Jefferson
Preceded by	Abigail Adams
Succeeded by	Dolley Madison
First Lady of Virginia
In role December 1, 1819 – December 1, 1822
Governor	Thomas Mann Randolph Jr.
Preceded by	Ann Barraud Taylor Preston
Succeeded by	Susanna Lawson Pleasants
Personal details
Born	Martha Jefferson (1772-09-27)September 27, 1772 Monticello, Virginia, British America
Died	October 10, 1836(1836-10-10) (aged 64) Albemarle County, Virginia, U.S.
Resting place	Monticello Cemetery
Spouse	Thomas Mann Randolph Jr. ​ ​ (m. 1790; died 1828)​
Children	12, including Thomas, Ellen, Cornelia and George
Parents	Thomas Jefferson Martha Wayles Skelton
Signature

Martha "Patsy" Randolph (née Jefferson; September 27, 1772 – October 10, 1836) was the eldest daughter of Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, and his wife, Martha Wayles Skelton Jefferson. She was born at Monticello, near Charlottesville, Virginia.

Randolph's mother died when she was nearly 10 years old, when only two out of her five siblings were alive. Her father saw that she had a good education. She spoke four languages and was greatly influenced by the education she received in a Paris convent school with daughters of the French elite. By 1804, she was the lone surviving child of Martha and Thomas Jefferson, the only one of the couple's children to survive past the age of 25.

Martha Jefferson married Thomas Mann Randolph Jr., who was a politician at the federal and state levels and was elected as governor of Virginia (1819–1822), which made her the first lady of Virginia. They had twelve children together.

Randolph oversaw the operation of Varina and Edge Hill with her husband, and Monticello with her father. She was in regular correspondence with her father when they were not together. She provided emotional stability for Jefferson, which helped him weather his tumultuous political career. Besides overseeing Monticello, she lived with Jefferson at the White House, serving as an informal First Lady.

After the White House, Randolph and her children lived at Monticello and cared for her father. Due to debt, the Randolphs sold Varina and lost Edge Hill plantation to foreclosure in 1825. Randolph inheritied Monticello and Jefferson's debts when her father died in 1826. Many of the enslaved people at Monticello were sold to cover some of the debt.