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Mary Randolph:
A Chesterfield County role model for women of the 19th century
Nancy Carter Crump
The government of a family bears a Lilliputian resemblance to the
government of a nation. The contents of the Treasury must be known,
and great care taken to keep the expenditures from being equal to the
receipts. A regular system must be introduced into each department,
which may be modified until matured, and should then pass into inviolable
law. The grand arcanum of management lies in three simple rules: "Let
every thing be done at the proper time, keep every thing in its proper
place, and put every thing to its proper use."
So began Mary Randolph's preface to The Virginia Housewife, a cookbook
that became so popular it has rarely been out of print since it was first
published in 1824.
Born in 1762 at Ampthill, her grandfather's Chesterfield County plantation,
now the site of the Dupont Company (the house itself was dismantled and
moved to Richmond in 1929), Mary Randolph was a member of the Virginia
elite, with roots extending back to the colony's formative years. As the
eldest child of Thomas Mann and Ann Cary Randolph of Tuckahoe in Goochland
County, she grew up surrounded with all the wealth and comforts enjoyed
by other members of her class. She and her numerous siblings were tutored
by Peter Jefferson, father of the nation's fourth president, to whom she
was related by both blood and marriage.
Along with her formal education, Mary was trained in the proper household
management expected of upperclass women of the time, women who were brought
up to supervise large manor houses with surrounding support buildings
and numerous servants. While women then were relegated to secondary positions
within the family hierarchy, they were in truth the mainspring that kept
the household running. These women had enormous responsibilities as well
as formidable knowledge, part of which was an awareness of food preparation
and elegant entertaining. This knowledge would sustain Mary Randolph throughout
her adult life.
In 1780, Mary married a cousin, David Meade Randolph, and they settled
in Chesterfield County near Bermuda Hundred at Presquile, a 750-acre plantation
that was part of the Randolph family's extensive property along the James
River. While David Randolph saw to the cultivation of his plantation,
gaining a reputation as "the best farmer in the country," as
well as a noted inventor, Mary assumed a conventional role, supervising
the household, entertaining their many guests and acquiring a reputation
as a lively hostess who set an exquisite table. While living at Presquile,
Mary bore four sons.
Over time, life at Presquile, situated along the swamp lands of the James,
proved difficult. According to a contemporary source, the swamps produced
noxious fumes that brought on "frequent and dangerous diseases. Mr.
Randolph is himself very sickly, and his young and amiable wife has not
enjoyed one month of good health since she first came to live on this
plantation." By 1798, the family had moved to Richmond, where they
built a house, christened "Moldavia" (a combination of their
two given names) by a friend. Presquile was sold out of the Randolph family
three years later.
Richmond welcomed the young couple. Mary, already well known for her
accomplishments, "charming manners, and ... masculine mind,"
quickly established a reputation as one of the city's leading hostesses.
As the United States marshal of Virginia under two administrations (that
of George Washington and John Adams), David gained attention as an outspoken
Federalist, and Moldavia became a center for Federalist society. The Randolphs
entertained lavishly. With Mary's knowledge of fine food and entertaining,
invitations to dine at the Randolphs' table were coveted.
Mary's skills as hostess and cook were so well known, in fact, that they
were brought to the attention of Gabriel Prosser, a slave who in 1800
attempted an unsuccessful revolt in northern Henrico County and Richmond.
Supposedly, his plans included wiping out as much of the area's white
population as possible, but according to local legend, Mary Randolph would
have been spared to serve as Prosser's queen -- and his cook! Perhaps
this is when she acquired the nickname, "Queen Molly," by which
she was affectionately known to her friends.
Thomas Jefferson's election to the presidency in 1800 marked the end
of David Meade Randolph's career as federal marshal. The two men were
on opposite sides of the political fence and Jefferson removed Randolph
from office immediately after his inauguration. This, along with business
reversals, caused a rapid decline in the Randolphs' fortunes and by 1802,
they had listed Moldavia for sale.
Within a few years, their financial situation had become critical, and
Mary stepped in. She was determined to see her family taken care of, and
took what was then a highly unorthodox step for an upperclass woman. In
March, 1808, an 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." Putting her abilities
as a hostess together with her knowledge of good food and elegant presentation,
Mary achieved instant success. The Randolphs' boarding house was considered
a place where "wit, humor, and good-fellowship prevailed, but excess
rarely."
By 1819, the Randolphs had given up their business enterprise and moved
to Washington, where they lived with one of their sons. There, Mary Randolph
decided to compile her culinary knowledge to paper, and in 1824, her book,
The Virginia Housewife, was published. It won immediate success: a second
addition followed within a year, and Mary was preparing yet another when
she died in January, 1828.
With Mary's advanced culinary knowledge, her splendid recipes, and detailed
advice to housewives, the book remained a standby, going into many editions
throughout the 19th century. It continues to appear in facsimile even
today.
While The Virginia Housewife is seen by some as a quaint reminder of
culinary traditions long gone by, the book is viewed by today's social
historians as an important historical document in which dining habits
of the Virginia elite can be examined. As noted culinary historian, Karen
Hess, wrote, "The most influential American cookbook of the 19th
century was The Virginia Housewife ... There are those who regard it as
the finest book ever to have come out of the American kitchen, and a case
may be made for considering it to be the earliest full-blown American
cookbook. [it] may be said to document the cookery of the early days of
our republic."
Chesterfield County can take pride in claiming Mary Randolph as a native
daughter, an exemplary woman, and role model. Her courage and determination,
her willingness to step off her pedestal to see that her family survived,
and her ability to plunge into the world of business, mark her as a pioneer
and role model to those who followed.
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