Peter Randolph

Who was Peter Randolph?

Peter Randolph was a United States federal judge.

Born in Nottoway County, Virginia, Randolph attended the College of William and Mary, and read law to enter the bar in 1806. He was in private practice in Nottoway County from 1806 to 1812, during which time he also served as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Virginia State Militia from 1807 to 1810, and as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates. He was a judge on the General Court of Virginia, 5th Circuit, from 1812 to 1820. He then moved to Woodville, Mississippi, where he was a planter, and continued his private practice from 1820 to 1823.

On June 25, 1823, Randolph received a recess appointment from President James Monroe to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Mississippi vacated by William Bayard Shields. Formally nominated on December 5, 1823, Randolph was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 9, 1823, and received his commission the same day. He served thereafter until his death, in 1832, in Woodville, Mississippi.