Family
of Alexander Augustus Randolph and Maria Anna Stölzel
of New Orleans, Louisiana
Prepared 26 May 2012
Revised 10 June 2021
by Norman and Patricia Hellmers
of New Orleans, Louisiana
Prepared 26 May 2012
Revised 10 June 2021
by Norman and Patricia Hellmers
A number of Public Member Trees on Ancestry.com show varying information on this couple and their children. This report is intended to clarify the data on them and their children and offer clues for further research on the Randolph ancestry.
Marriage
Alexander A. Randolph and Maria Stölzel
(Stoelzel) were married on 1 Sep 1864 at what is today St. Paul
Lutheran Church (Port and Burgundy Streets, New Orleans, LA). They
obtained a marriage license on 31 Aug 1864 from the Fifth Justice of
the Peace. The church marriage witnesses included a Jacob Stölzel, who
may have been Maria’s father or brother.The original church record (No. 1025) can be viewed here.
Note: This marriage record and all baptism records in this report are from this website:
http://rootslinks.com/nola-st-paul-lutheran-records/
Research suggestion: A copy of the Justice of the Peace marriage license can be obtained from the Louisiana Division of the New Orleans Public Library. See: http://nutrias.org/info/louinfo/louinfo2.htm The license may give the names of the parents (the bride’s father if she was under age).
Children
From church baptism records and civil birth
records, it appears that
the Randolphs had 13 children. All births are presumed to have been in
New Orleans. The names given here are the names they were given at
their baptisms.
In all cases where there is a civil birth record and a baptism record,
the birth dates agree. The known children are:1. Alexander Friedrich Randolph
Born: 12 Jun 1866
Civil birth record from Ancestry.com (Listed as Alexander Frederick Randolph)
Baptized: 26 Aug 1866
Baptism record No. 2674
2. Augustus Ignatius Randolph
Born: 29 Jan 1869
Civil birth record from Ancestry.com (No given name listed; based on other evidence.)
Baptized: A baptism record has not yet been found.
3. Maria Margaretha Randolph
Born: 4 Dec 1870
Civil birth record from Ancestry.com (Listed as Mary Randoff)
Baptized: 12 Feb 1871
Baptism record No. 3877
4. David Jakob Randolph
Born: 8 Nov 1872
Civil birth record from Ancestry.com (Listed as David Jacob Randolph)
Baptized: 11 [?] Feb 1873
Baptism record No. 4382
Died: 11 Sep 1878
Civil death record from Ancestry.com (Listed as Jacob David Randolph)
5. John Devron Randolph
Born: 30 Jan 1875
Civil birth record from Ancestry.com (Listed as John Deveron Randolph)
Baptized: 28 Feb 1875
Baptism record No. 4807
Died: 3 Sep 1878
Civil death record from Ancestry.com (Listed as John Devron Randolph)
6. Wilhelm Jefferson Randolph
Born: 21 May 1876
Civil birth record from Ancestry.com (Listed as William Jefferson Randolph)
Baptized: 10 Sep 1876
Baptism record No. 5102
Died: 15 Sep 1878
Civil death record from Ancestry.com (Listed as William Jefferson Randolph)
7. Philipp Eduard Randolph
Born: 6 Aug 1878
Civil birth record: Not found.
Baptized: 7 Sep 1878
Baptism record No. 5498
8. Herman Lewis Randolph
Born: 10 Mar 1881
Civil birth record from Ancestry.com (Listed as Herman Lewis Randolph)
Baptized: A baptism record has not yet been found.
9. Katharina Randolph
Born: 15 Feb 1883
Civil birth record: Not found.
Baptized: 17 May 1883
Baptism record No. 6373
Died: 19 May 1883
Civil death record from Ancestry.com (Listed as Kate Randolph)
10. Clara Bulah Randolph
Born: 18 Jun 1884
Civil birth record: Not found.
Baptized: 22 Jul 1884
Baptism record No. 6586
11. Albert Sidney Randolph
Born: 4 Mar 1886
Civil birth record: Not found.
Baptized: 18 Apr 1886
Baptism record No. 6891
Died: 31 May 1888
Civil death record from Ancestry.com (Listed as Albert Sidney Randolph)
12. Anna Lucy Louisa Randolph
Born: 27 Dec 1887
Civil birth record: Not found.
Baptized: 26 Feb 1888
Baptism record No. 7239
13. Henry Clarence Randolph
Born: 1 Jan 1890
Civil birth record: Not found.
Baptized: 2 Feb 1890
Baptism record No. 7512
A larger image of the obituary can
be viewed or downloaded here.
The entire page (PDF) can be viewed or downloaded here.
Obituaries for her appeared in the following newspapers:
Times Democrat, 1902-05-26, Pg. 2 col. 7
Times Democrat, 1902-06-01, Pg. 2 col. 7
Daily Picayune, 1902-05-26, Pg. 4 col. 5
Daily Picayune, 1902-06-01, Pg. 4 col. 6
States, 1902-06-01, Pg. 4 col. 7
The entire page (PDF) can be viewed or downloaded here.
Obituaries for her appeared in the following newspapers:
Times Democrat, 1902-05-26, Pg. 2 col. 7
Times Democrat, 1902-06-01, Pg. 2 col. 7
Daily Picayune, 1902-05-26, Pg. 4 col. 5
Daily Picayune, 1902-06-01, Pg. 4 col. 6
States, 1902-06-01, Pg. 4 col. 7
A larger image of the obituary can be viewed or downloaded here.
The entire page (PDF) can be viewed or downloaded here.
Obituaries for him appeared in the following newspapers:
Daily Picayune, 1909-02-09, Pg. 6 col. 5
Daily Picayune, 1909-02-10, Pg. 5 col. 4
Daily Picayune, 1909-02-14, Pg. 6 col. 5 sec. 2
In addition to the obituaries, The Daily Picayune ran an article about his death on 10 Feb 1909 (p 5, c 5):
Death certificate of Alexander Augustus Randolph, who died on 7 February 1909 in New Orleans.
(Courtesy of Phyllis Randolph Edwards)
(Courtesy of Phyllis Randolph Edwards)
A larger image of this death certificate can be downloaded here.
https://www.tsl.state.tx.us/exhibits/navy/privateers.html
Some of the history of the schooner Terrible says:
"August 16, 1836. New Orleans newspapers report that the Texas privateer Terrible under Captain John M. Allen (who would later become mayor of Galveston) is patrolling the Gulf. The one-gun Terrible would capture the Mexican merchant sloop Matilda and rendezvous with the Texas Navy warship Invincible before being captured by the U.S.S. Boston and taken to Pensacola on piracy charges. Interestingly, a young lieutenant aboard the Boston, Lt. Edwin Ward Moore, would later become the commander of the Texas Navy."
Alex Diens in his book, The Navy of the Republic of Texas, 1835-1845, notes:
“The third Texan privateer was the Terrible, commanded at different times by Captain John M. Allen, later mayor of the City of Galveston, and by Lieutenant Randolph. The Terrible sailed under a letter of marque procured on the 8th of November, 1835, by A. C. Allen, as already related. Little of her history is known, save that she patrolled the Gulf, and by her watchfulness, if not numerous prizes, made herself useful to Texas. From the New Orleans papers I find that while cruising she was taken in charge by the United States war vessel Boston, and carried to Pensacola; but the offense with which she was charged having been committed on waters beyond the jurisdiction of the court, she was turned over to John H. Holland, Esq., marshal of the district of Louisiana. These charges were: 1st, that the Terrible was fitted out at New Orleans to wage war against a government with whom the United States was at peace; 2nd, that the commander, Lieutenant Randolph, had manifested the intention of committing an act of piracy upon a Sardinian vessel, the Pelicana Mexicana; 3rd, that Randolph had sailed from New Orleans without the authorization of the collector.”
At Pensacola, Lieutenant Randolph was absolved of the charges and with his crew was returned to New Orleans. In The Army and Navy Chronicle, Volume III, William Quereau Force records:
"The schooner Grampus arrived last night from Tampa Bay. The commodore’s signal is up for her to prepare for sea; her destination is believed to be the Balize, to carry back the officers and crew of the Texian Schooner Terrible. The following are their names: A. A. Randolph, Lieut. Com’g. [commanding] C. H. Gallagher and A. Hathaway, Lieuts. Geo Sweet, sailingmaster. J. Radcliffe, surgeon. T. B. Baker, midshipman.”
The Army and Navy Chronicle, Volume III is available online at Google books here. For additional details, see pages 249, 250, 267, 268, 298.
All of the privateering events involving A. A. Randolph took place in 1836. By 1840, he should have been in New Orleans, but he has not yet been found in the 1840 census. He may have been married in about 1840, as the 1850 census indicates that he had a wife named Christine and a nine-year-old son, named Augustus.
In 1840, Alexander Augustus Randolph was involved in a lawsuit, which was chronicled in The Daily Picayune. The following item appeared in the September 15, 1840, edition:
A. A. Randolph appeared to be well-known in the city because of his service on the Terrible. (Why the newspaper would use the word "horrible" is unclear, as his service as a privateer under a letter of marque from the Republic of Texas was apparently a legitimate activity.) His work as a "merchant in Key West" remains to be researched, as is his business manufacturing and marketing a beverage -- presumably alcoholic -- known as a "Pig and Whistle."
Two days later, a follow-up article appeared:
Larger size images of the above articles and the complete pages (PDFs) can be found here:
The Daily Picayune, 15 Sep 1840, page 2, column 1
The Daily Picayune, 15 Sep 1840, page 2
The Daily Picayune, 17 Sep 1840, page 2, column 1
The Daily Picayune, 17 Sep 1840, page 2
Records of A. A. Randolph in New Orleans appear scant. The 1842 city directory does show a "Randolph" (no first name given), whose occupation was "attorney at law" at "20 Front Levee."
An 1846 city directory, the New Orleans Annual and Commercial Register for 1846, page 483, lists: "Randolph, A. A., attorney at law, 20 Condé st."
A brief notice in the Jeffersonian Republican (a New Orleans newspaper) of 11 March 1846 (page 2, column 1) reported that an Alexander Augustus Randolph "was yesterday sworn, and admitted a member of the bar, by Judge Canonge, having produced his license from the Supreme Court."
The entire page (PDF) can be viewed or downloaded here.
Alexander Augustus Randolph and his family appear in the 1850 census of New Orleans, living in the 3rd Representative District. The family consists of the following:
Augustus Randolph, 42
Christine Randolph, 30
Augustus Randolph, 9
The father, Augustus, was listed as a lawyer and born in Virginia. The mother Christine was listed as being born in Kentucky. Three others lived in the same household. This 1850 census record is available on Ancestry.com.
The son, Augustus, would have been born about 1841.
Was Alexander Augustus Randolph (ca 1808-1860) the father of Alexander Augustus Randolph (ca 1845-1909)?
That there is a person living in New Orleans in the generation before Alexander Augustus Randolph with the exact same name would seem to be significant and deserves further research.
Circumstantial evidence that supports this possibility:
The Augustus Randolph in the 1850 census was listed as being born in Virginia. The 1880 census shows that Alexander Augustus Randolph's father was born in Virginia. (However, the possible mother Christine was listed in the 1850 census as being born in Kentucky, but the 1880 census shows that Alexander Augustus Randolph's mother was born in Maryland. Also the 1900 census shows that the parents of Alexander Augustus Randolph were born in St. Louis.)
According to the 1850 census, the son, Augustus, would have been born about 1841. Other records suggest that Alexander Augustus Randolph was born about 1845, but such a discrepancy would not be unusual in a census record.
The 1850 census indicates that [Alexander] Augustus Randolph and his wife Christine only had one child at that time. No records have been found of any other children born to this couple. There are no Randolphs who served as sponsors for the children of Alexander A. Randolph and Maria Anna Stölzel.
Randolph descendant and family researcher Maryann Randolph Fikes reports that there is an “oral history passed down that his father was a pirate with Jean Lafitte & that he was pardoned by President Madison. It has been told that a Randolph family member has a copy of the pardon.” Family legends, while often incorrect, can contain a kernel of truth. It is almost certain that A. A. Randolph was not associated with Jean Lafitte. Jean and his brother Pierre were pardoned by President Madison in 1815, when A. A. Randolph would have been about seven years old. However, Randolph’s time as a privateer about 1836 may have been the basis of this family tradition.
Is there any other direct or circumstantial evidence supporting this theory?
Research
Some avenues of research include the following:1. Are there records of attorneys admitted to practice in Louisiana from the mid-19th-century?
2. The widow of Alexander Augustus Randolph, Christine, and her as yet unmarried son, also named Alexander Augustus Randolph, should be in the 1860 census of New Orleans, but have not yet been found.
3. As noted above, a copy of the Justice of the Peace marriage license for Alexander A. Randolph and Maria Anna Stölzel can be obtained from the Louisiana Division of the New Orleans Public Library. See: http://nutrias.org/info/louinfo/louinfo2.htm The license may give the names of the parents (especially the bride’s father if she was under age).
4. In the newspaper article at the time of his death it was said that he was humorously referred to as "Randolph of Roanoke." This nickname refers to John Randolph known as "John Randolph of Roanoke." The Randolph family was a large and in many cases influential family in Virginia, but there is no evidence that he was closely related to John Randolph of Roanoke.
norm.hellmers (at) gmail.com