Four
million people visit Arlington National Cemetery each year. They visit the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier,
the Kennedy Memorial and the Curtis Mansion on the hill. Few, however, venture past these famous sites
and on to some of the other graves that are throughout the cemetery. One of these graves is that of Mary Randolph,
an amazing woman of her time. Mrs.
Randolph was one of the most innovative, revolutionary and influential women of
18th and 19th century America. With her social position and region of
influence, she gained a reputation for the best hostess in Virginia. She used this experience to author a cookbook
that was known for nearly a half century to contain the only way to entertain
and dine. Today, you can still find her
cookbook in several places but few know the story behind the name of the woman on
the cover.
Mary
Randolph was born at Ampthill Plantation (the current site of the Spruance DuPont complex in Chester,
Virginia) on the 9th of August 1762, to one of the wealthiest and most
influential families in Virginia.
Growing up in Goochland County as the eldest daughter of Thomas Mann Randolph
and Anne Cary Randolph meant a
comfortable life and education for the young Randolph and her 12 other siblings. She was tutored by Peter Jefferson (father of
the 3th president Thomas Jefferson) of whom she was related by blood
and marriage. She was also a cousin of the
mother of George Washington. She received
a rich home education which extended to how to run a household and cook
elaborate meals for parties at a plantation.
In
December of 1780, she married her cousin, David Meade Randolph, and moved to a
750 acre family plantation near Bermuda Hundred known as Presquile. Bermuda Hundred was the port of entry for Virginia,
meaning everything going to Richmond, Petersburg or elsewhere went there first and
was then transferred to smaller vessels to make their way to their final
destination. So Mary Randolph was placed
in the center of Virginia’s colonial economy.
This gave her an incredible position over other plantation wives. It was here that she gained a reputation for being
a “lively hostess” and having an ability of setting an “exquisite table”. During this time, she gave birth to four
children. The plantation was plagued by
horrible smells that came from the huge swamp near the plantation. So the family moved to Richmond in 1798 to
their new home christened Moldavia
which is a combination of both her husband and her names. Once in Richmond, her reputation grew even
further. Her home even became the center
for the Federalist Party of Virginia.
The couple fell on economic
hardship but Mary Randolph was determined to see her family through it. She decided to open a boarding house, which
was a form of social suicide for an upper class woman in the 19th
century. So in March 1808, the following
advertisement appeared in the Richmond Virginia Gazette, “Mrs. RANDOLPH
Has established a Boarding House in Cary Street, for the accommodation of
Ladies and Gentlemen. She has comfortable chambers, and a stable well supplied
for a few Horses." By 1819, the couple’s
boarding house failed to bring in a profit so they, along with one of their
sons, moved to Washington D.C. It is
here that she compiles all of her culinary knowledge into the cookbook known as
“The Virginia Housewife” and it is published in 1824.
Her
story, I’m afraid, ends tragically. Her
youngest son was a sailor in the U.S. navy and fell off a mast one night
causing extensive injuries. It is said
that her devoted care of her crippled son hastened her death which occurred on
the 23 of January, 1828, a mere 4 years after her cookbook was published. She was buried at her cousin’s estate in D.C.
at the time known as Arlington House.
The site is now known as Arlington National Cemetery. She is the first person to be recorded as buried
there.
It
is her epitaph, which I think best describes her… “A victim to a maternal love and duty”. She was born into the social elite and was
called upon to fight for a better life for her children. A firm understanding and education of food
and its importance guided her on her way.
Mary Randolph is a role model to all with her determination and
courage.
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