Miniatures from the Collection

Peyton Randolph was born in 1748 to William Randolph III and Anne Carter Harrison Randolph. He was raised at Fighting Creek Plantation in Goochland County before Wilton was constructed. He inherited Wilton at age 13 in 1761, as well as Fighting Creek, Buffalo, and Bush River Plantations.

In May 1775 he married his cousin Lucy Harrison and lived with her and his mother at Wilton. They had four children: William, Peyton, Richard Kidder, and Betty.

Peyton served as an aide-de-camp to the Marquis de Lafayette during his Virginian campaigns, likely prompting Lafayette to make Wilton his headquarters for ten days in May 1781.

Peyton died in 1784 due to an unknown health problem. He had 261 people enslaved to him at the time of his death. In his will he manumitted his personal servant, Warwick, and left Wilton to his son William Randolph, IV.

Lucy Harrison Randolph (1755-1809) was born at Berkeley Plantation, just down the river from Wilton's original site. Lucy married Peyton Randolph in 1775 and had four surviving children, named above.

Sister to President William Henry Harrison, Lucy is not known for much aside from her role as sister, wife, and mother. However, she was intimately connected to some of the most influential people in early American history. She certainly was witness to, if not involved with, the birth of the nation.

Elizabeth Randolph, called Bettie and/or Betsey, was the first born child to Peyton and Lucy Randolph, in 1778. She was six years old when her father died. Although the family could have moved to Fighting Creek, they remained at Wilton with the matriarch, Anne Harrison Randolph.

When her mother remarried, the children likely moved to live in their stepfather's home on South Fifth Street in Richmond.

In 1797, Bettie married William Berkeley, the Treasurer of Virginia. They had Elizabeth, Catherine, William IV, Richard Kidder, and Peyton.

William Berkeley (1769-1849) was born in Middlesex, Virginia. He married Elizabeth R. Randolph (above) on January 5, 1790, in Hanover. They were the parents of 5 surviving children.

William served as Treasurer of Virginia and died on 23 April 1843, in Prince Edward County at the age of 74.

William and Bettie's silhouettes show discoloration from having been framed at one point. They may very well have been displayed in their home before passing down through the family.

Richard Kidder Randolph (1781-1849) was the third son of Peyton and Lucy Randolph, and brother to Bettie (above). Although he looks older, he would have been only about 18 when this silhouette was made. Three years later he would marry Anne Maria Lyman, and father 10 surviving children: Lucy, William, Daniel, John, Benjamin, Richard Kidder, Elizabeth, Thomas, and Julia.

We have very little information about this silhouette, other than the pencil writing at the bottom that reads, "Richie Randolph". He resembles the Richard Kidder Randolph silhouette above, but there were numerous Richard's in the Randolph family tree, so its hard to say which one this may have been.

The dark brown striations radiating out from his profile are likely from water/mold damage in the past buckling the paper. It is important to keep museum objects at a steady humidity and temperature to prevent this type of damage.

This Peyton Randolph is the son of the Peyton Randolph pictured at the top of the page, and brother to William IV, Richard Kidder, and Betty, also pictured above. This piece is a fine example of a Saint-Mémin. Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin was a well-known French portrait painter and engraver working in the United States in the early 19th century. He preferred portraying subjects in profile, like the image above of Peyton Randolph of Wilton. He created numerous excellent portraits of prominent American figures, such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.

The paper above is just 4.5 by 3.5 inches, with the engraving a small fraction of that. The diagonal lines coming out from the image were likely cut in order to make the piece fit in a circular frame, since lost.