Edmund Jenings RANDOLPH, Congress, VA (1753-1813)

RANDOLPH, Edmund Jenings, (nephew of Peyton Randolph), a Delegate from Virginia; born in Williamsburg, Va., August 10, 1753; was graduated from the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Va.; studied law; was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Williamsburg; served in the Revolutionary Army and was aide-de-camp to General Washington; attorney general of Virginia in 1776; Member of the Continental Congress in 1779, 1781, and 1782; elected governor of Virginia in 1786 but resigned in 1788 to serve in the state house of delegates in order that he might participate in the codification of the laws of Virginia in 1788 and 1789; delegate to the Federal Convention in Philadelphia in 1787; was appointed the first Attorney General of the United States, in the Cabinet of President Washington, on September 26, 1789; transferred to the State Department as Secretary of State on January 2, 1794, and served until August 19, 1795, when he was requested to resign following charges (subsequently found to be false) preferred by Minister Fauchet of France; was the principal counsel for Aaron Burr when the latter was tried for treason; died in Clarke County, Va., September 12, 1813; interment in the Old Chapel Cemetery, Millwood, Va.

Bibliography

Reardon, John J. Edmund Randolph. New York: Macmillan, 1975.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present