Descendants of Mary Knower and Jonas Randall

Generation No. 1

1. MARY KNOWER was born about 1788 in Roxbury, Mass., and died in July 1855 in New York City. She married JONAS RANDALL on November 24, 1805 in Roxbury. He was probably a son of ABRAHAM RANDALL and ZIBIAH BLACKMAN, who were married in nearby Dorchester, Mass., on July 3, 1777. Jonas was born about 1784 in Roxbury and died there January 16, 1833.

Jonas Randall was probably related to other Randalls who figure in Roxbury Vital Records, as Abraham Randall was known to have several sons. Abraham Randall died April 6, 1834, at age 78. He may be the same man who according to Revolutionary War pension records was born May 17, 1755 at Watertown, Mass. He lived in Norfolk County at time of his enlistment. Zibiah Randall died March 18, 1833, at age 78.

Children of MARY KNOWER and JONAS RANDALL, all born in Roxbury, are:

2. i. WILLIAM HANNAFORD RANDALL, born May 8, 1806; died July 30, 1861, in St. Paul, Minn..

3. ii. JOHN RANDALL, born July 28, 1808; died August 6, 1869, New York City.

iii. MARY MCINTIRE RANDALL, born August 22, 1810; married CHARLES D. FIELD on September 15, 1830, in Roxbury.

If another Mary McIntire inspired Mary McIntire Randall's name, it could be a clue to the exact parentage of Elizabeth Weld Knower, mother of Mary Knower. Mary Weld, born Aug. 16, 1762, was a sister of an Elizabeth Weld born Feb. 2, 1754. Their parents were Noah and Sarah Weld of Roxbury. According to the Vital Records of Roxbury, Mary Weld married Timothy McIntire on July 6, 1786, the Rev. Eliphalet Porter officiating. Mary McIntire died Feb. 21, 1823, age 61, in Roxbury.

4. iv. ANN KNOWER RANDALL, born July 1, 1813 and died in November 1880. She married ELISHA D. KNOWER who was born April 8, 1810 in New York and died there July 22, 1881. The couple is buried in Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, N.Y. in the same lot as Mary Knower Randall. Although Elisha's parents are still unknown, he appears to be a close cousin of his wife. See Mystery Knowers: Elisha D. Knower.

Generation 2

2. WILLIAM HANNAFORD RANDALL was born May 8, 1806, in Roxbury, Mass., and died July 30, 1861 in St. Paul, Minn. He married ELIZABETH COLBURN on October 19, 1828, the Rev. William Leverett of the Roxbury Baptist Association officiating. Elizabeth was born in 1807 and died in 1877.

Mary Knower Randall lived with William on Franklin Street in New York City, shown by rent receipts and references to visits in Randall letters. Early in his career, William was clerk in the business of his brother, John. He later moved to St. Paul, Minn. where he became a man of consequence.

His descendant, David Randall, who compiled the following historical notes, adds that the Roxbury Baptist Association was founded in the Randall kitchen.

T. M. Newson describes him in "Pen Pictures of St. Paul, Minnesota, and Biographical Sketches of Old Settlers, Vol I. Published by the Author: St. Paul, 1886. pp. 50-51:

WILLIAM H. RANDALL This gentleman was born in Massachusetts in 1806; transacted business in New York for several years; came to St. Paul in 1846, or thirty-nine years ago, and died in 1861, aged 55 years. He succeeded Mr. Hartshorn in trade here, and having brought considerable money with him he invested largely in real estate, which is now very valuable, worth not less than $5,000,000. He was a public-spirited citizen, liberal, kind hearted, and had unbounded faith in the growth of St. Paul. No one person I remember more distinctly than the man whose name heads this article. He was a fine, gentlemanly, courteous citizen, a hail fellow well met, genial and generous. At the time I first saw him, in 1853, he was the "biggest man in town." He had various vehicles and drivers, any number of horses, dealt largely in real estate, and his note was good almost anywhere for almost any amount. Some of the property he then owned in this city is now worth untold thousands, I might say millions. He builded well, he planned well. But "man proposes, God disposes" and so, just in the midst of his prospective gains, the great crash of 1857 came, and his property, being mortgaged, went down and he went with it. Mr. Randall was a man of fine business qualities, honest in purpose and manly in act. Were he alive today and the possessor of the real estate in this city which he once owned, he would be the richest man in St. Paul. Litigation followed his death, and two sons, who ought to be well off, are paddling their own canoes and buffeting life's waves; and so goes the see-saw board of destiny--one is up while the other is down. Teeter-taunter! teeter-taunter! teeter-taunter! In personal appearance Mr. Randall was of medium size, with a florid complexion, and always finely dressed. He invariably carried a gold-headed cane and his movements on the street were of an energetic character. He had a soft, pleasant voice, and winning ways, and was always polite. He was social among his friends, generous to their wants, and yet wide-awake for business. We might say, he was the advance courier of gentlemanly culture and true civilization.

Another view comes from Warren Upham and Rose Barteau Dunlap, compilers of Collections of the Minnesota Historical Society, vol. XIV. Minnesota Biographies 1655-1912. Published by the Society: St. Paul, 1912. p. 627:

RANDALL, WILLIAM H., pioneer, b. in Roxbury, Mass., May 8, 1806; d. in St. Paul, July 30, 1861. He engaged in business in New York until 1846, when he settled in St. Paul. He purchased an interest in the business of William Hartshorn, and also bought much real estate, which soon became very valuable; was one of the proprietors of St. Paul when the town was organized; but lost heavily in the panic of 1857.

His descendant David Randall, who compiled these notes, adds that the Baptist Church of Roxbury was organized in his kitchen. About 1835 he moved to New York and went into the wholesale gocery business. His store burnt down in a big fire. President Jackson appointed him Customs Officer for the Port of New York. Later, he and his brother John went into the fur business together and moved to Saint Paul in 1846. He had five children. John Henry Randall was his second son. Apparently named for his uncle, William Hannaford, husband of Elizabeth Knower

And a third view from "Pig's Eye Notepad: An Historical Encyclopedia of St. Paul, Minnesota, 1830-1850"

RANDALL, WILLIAM H. SR., Born in Roxbury, Mass. in 1806, he was in business with his brother, John, when William Hartshorn went there to purchase goods. Randall became quite interested in St. Paul, made a number of inquiries regarding it, and the following year, he and his brother accompanied Hartshorn back, resolved to settle there. Soon after arriving, he and his brother, along with Auguste Larpenteur, Augustus Freeman, and David Freeman, succeeded to Hartshorn's business, and became owner of a great deal of immensely valuable land in the center of St. Paul. Randall built the stone warehouse, later used by the Milwaukee Railroad, in 1848, and for its time it was a remarkable building. He also graded the levee, and improved many streets at his own expense. Just prior to the crash of 1857, Randall was considered a millionaire, but the financial panic ruined him, when real estate values dropped to prcariously low levels, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in loans were defaulted upon. On 30 July 1861, Randall died of heart disease, and was buried by the Masonic Fraternity and the Old Settlers of St. Paul. His real estate holdings in 1850 were valued at $5,000. He had at least three sons: John H., E.D.K., and William Randall Jr.

Children of WILLIAM RANDALL and ELIZABETH COLBURN are:

i. WILLIAM H.RANDALL, born 1829, Roxbury, Mass.; died October 1851, St. Paul, Minn. "Pig's Eye Notepad" includes this entry for him:

RANDALL, WILLIAM JR. - William was the eldest son of William Randall Sr. He was born in 1829 at Roxbury, Mass. and came to St. Paul with his father in 1846. He was an artist of no common ability, and was a very skilled caricaturist. Some of the political caricatures he made during the early days of the Territory are spoken of as being brim full of sarcasm. Unfortunately, he died in October of 1851, at age 22, cutting short a promising career.

5. ii. JOHN HENRY RANDALL, born November 20, 1831, Roxbury; died March 11, 1916, St. Paul.

6. iii. MARY E. RANDALL, born 1834; died 1884.

7. iv. ELISHA D. K. RANDALL, born 1839, New York City; died September 21, 1897, St. Paul; married SARAH E. -----.

T. M. Newson, in Pen Pictures of St. Paul, Minnesota, and Biographical Sketches of Old Settlers, vol I. St. Paul, 1886. p. 572 notes:

E. D. K. RANDALL [ELISHA DORR]: Mr. Randall was born in New York city in 1839, and is a son of William Randall, one of the early and prominent settlers of St. Paul; was well educated; came to this city in 1856 and engaged in a wholesale notion and toy business on Third Street, which he continued for a number of years. For some time past he has been engaged as a traveling man for Forepaugh & Tarbox. He is the oldest member of the present Baptist Church, and has been an important element in that society. He is a stirring man, full of energy, full of hope, full of good deeds.

He is also memorialized in Volume 14 of "Minnesota Biographies 1655-1912," compiled by Warren Upham and Rose Barteau Dunlap for the Minnesota Historical Society in 1912.

RANDALL, E. D. K., travelling salesman, b. in 1839; d. St. Paul, Sept. 21 1897. He settled in St. Paul in 1856; served in the Sixth Minnesota Regt. in the civil war, and became first lieutenant in the First Minnesota Heavy Artillery.

And in "Pig's Eye Notepad":

RANDALL, E. D. K. - The son of William Randall Sr., he was a St. Paul merchant. He also served as Senior First Lieutenant with the 1st Regt of Minnesota Heavy Artillery in 1865. This was the last body of troops raised from Minnesota to fight in the American Civil War. Source: Minnesota in the Civil and Indian Wars 1861-65 pub. 1890 E D.K. Randall, Minnesota, Enlisted 5 October 1864, 1st Lieut, Enlistment Age 25.; Served Minnesota Commission A Co. 1st HA Reg. MN. Resigned on 22 June 1865. His wife, Sarah E. Randall, sought a widow's pension in 1897.

3. JOHN RANDALL was born July 28, 1808 in Roxbury, Mass., and died August 6, 1869, in New York City. He married SARAH ANN LIMBERGER in 1833, daughter of JOHN LIMBERGER and RACHEL VAN BUREN. She was born September 16, 1813 in New York City, and died December 26, 1899, in Cooperstown, N.Y. She was baptized October 10, 1813, in the Dutch Reformed Church, Greenwich Village, New York.

John and his brother William Hannaford Randall went into the fur business together; John later formed other partnerships as William moved to Saint Paul in 1846. "Pig's Eye Notepad" has a brief entry for John, though John's descendants don't think he ever lived there:

RANDALL, JOHN - The brother of William Randall Sr., and participated with him in William Hartshorn's Company, which, by 1849 was listed in the Business Directory as John Randall & Company.

John went on several trips west -- in those days, west meant St. Louis and Cincinnati -- to purchase furs from trappers. We have a poignant exchange of letters between the couple in 1837; they miss each other desperately. She's coping with active toddlers; he's homesick and ready to give up his voyaging. To read the letters, click here

SARAH ANN LIMBERGER is remembered as very beautiful, as proved by her portrait, painted at 27, and photos of her at 83. To see pictures of her and her children, click here. She was amiable, humorous and easygoing. Judging from her books, she was very well-read, and from her belongings, a woman of rich tastes. For more information about her Limberger and Van Buren lineage, click here.

Her obituary, clipped from an unidentified Cooperstown newspaper, reads "Mrs. Sarah A. Randall died suddenly in this village on Tuesday last week at the home of her son-in-law Mr. David H. Gregory, in the 86th year of her age. Mrs. Randall's maiden name was Sarah A. Limberger, and she was married to Mr. John Randall in the city of New York in 1833. Most of her life was spent in the city; but in late years she has been much of the time with her daughter here. Mrs. Randall was a very pleasant lady to meet socially, and she retained to the last a wonderful recollection of early event ocurring in New York, and of its prominent residents, especially of the good old Dutch element. She leaves surviving her four daughters -- Mrs. David H. Gregory; Mrs. Fabbri, of Florence, Italy, Mrs. --- (torn)

A note from William L. Marcy, husband of John's cousin Cornelia Knower Marcy, whom he may never have met, thanks him for an act of kindness. What it was, we do not know exactly, but evidently Mrs. Marcy fetched up on the Randall doorstep in a time of distress, and was given shelter there.

Children of JOHN RANDALL and SARAH LIMBERGER, all born in New York City, are:

8. i. CHARLES KNOWER RANDALL, born September 19, 1834; died November 10, 1897, New York City; married HELEN LOUISE WHITLOCK, September 15, 1857, in St. Peter's Church, Albany, N.Y. She was born January 14, 1833 and died December 30, 1912. Family album

He was a stockbroker and censuses find him comfortably well off . The family spent much of its time at Richland Springs, N.Y. and the Jersey shore.

A son, Charles Knower Randall Jr., and a daughter, Sarah Louise, had both died in infancy. The only surviving child of the marriage, HELEN LOUISE RANDALL, called "Lulu," was to judge from family letters a much-loved only child, but had severe emotional problems. Her married name was Major. A letter from Ernesto G. Fabbri to Emily Holland reveals that her life ended in suicide in 1942.

An announcement of his death in the New York Times of Nov. 13, 1897 states that Charles died at his residence, the Amidon, 83rd St. at Boulevard. His funeral was from All Angels Church on Nov. 13.

ii. JOHN RANDALL, born September 2, 1836; died 1838. "Johney" was buried in the vault of St. Luke's Church, Hudson Street, New York City. His remains were later transferred to the Randall plot in Green-wood Cemetery, Brooklyn.

iii. EDWARD D. WEST RANDALL, born December 30, 1838; died 1890, Moorhead, Minn. He never married.

9. iv. SARAH ANN RANDALL, born July 10, 1841; died 1933, Florence, Italy.

10. v. AGNES ADELAIDE RANDALL, born November 18, 1843, died October 16, 1923, Brattleboro, Vt..

vi. CORNELIA MARCY RANDALL, born November 11, 1849; died January 29, 1909, Virginia Beach, Va. She never married.

11. vii. EMILY WELD RANDALL, born February 20, 1847; died 1936, Virginia Beach, Va. She married DAVID HENDERSON GREGORY.

Sara Ann Randall wrote her daughter a letter detailing proper deportment for a 13-year-old while visiting her Whitlock in-laws.

Generation No. 3

5. JOHN HENRY RANDALL was born November 20, 1831 in Roxbury and died March 11, 1916 in St. Paul, Minn. He married SARAH ARVILLA OAKES in 1866. She was born 1843 in St. Clair, Mich., and died in 1902 in St. Paul. David Randall writes: Her family came from Springfield, Vermont. She is supposed to be a great-granddaughter of Ethan Allen, but the links are a little hazy. She was large -- six feet tall -- strong-minded, fundamentalist, and wanted her sons to become missionaries. To read more about him, click here:

Children of JOHN HENRY RANDALL and SARAH ARVILLA OAKES are:

12. i. JOHN HERMAN RANDALL, born April 27, 1871, St. Paul, Minn.; died. May 15, 1946, New York City.

13. ii. GRACE RANDALL, born 1867, St. Paul.

14. iii. HENRY HULBERT RANDALL, born 1874; died about 1933.

iv. RUTH RANDALL, born 1880; died 1880.

v. MARY RANDALL.

6. MARY ELIZABETH RANDALL was born July 16, 1834 in New York, N.Y., and died there March 19, 1884. She married HERMANN BERGMANN September 13, 1853. He was born about 1824, and died March 1, 1870 in New York.

Child of MARY RANDALL and HERMANN BERGMANN is:

15. i. AGNES ELIZABETH BERGMANN, born June 9, 1854; died May 27, 1931.

ii. CHARLES H. BERGMAN, born about 1857.

iii. WILLIAM BERGMANN, born about 1858.

iv. GEORGE ALFRED BERGMAN, born September 17, 1851; died October 28, 1931.

v. HERMAN ALBERT BERGMANN, born August 14, 1863; died May 29, 1933.

9. SARAH ANN RANDALL was born July 10, 1841 in New York City, and died 1933 in Florence, Italy. She married ERNESTO G. FABBRI, who was born March 17, 1830. in Florence. They had eight children; to view an album, click here. He died in July 3, 1884, while vacationing with his family at Lake Mahopac, N.Y. Ernesto's brother, Egisto Paolo Fabbri, a millionaire with no children of his own, adopted the family and in 1886 took the children and their mother to Italy, where they becames Italians. The rest of us, sadly, are not Italians, and thereby hangs a tale.

Children of SARAH RANDALL and ERNESTO FABBRI, all born in New York City, are:

i. EGISTO PAOLO FABBRI, born 1866; died 1933.

Educated at St. Paul's School, Concord, N.H., he was 18 when he moved to Italy with his uncle and aunt. He was interested in modern art and was a painter himself. He owned 16 Cezannes at one point, but sold them to buy the Palazzo Capponi, still standing in the Giardino Gherardesca, as a residence for his mother and sisters. Between 1896 and 1913 he lived and painted in Paris, and is rumored to have fathered a child with his favorite model. Shortly after that, he joined the rest of his family in Florence, making his home at Bagazzano, a 14th-century Medici hunting lodge, near Settignano. He made an extended visit to the United States during the years of the First World War, and during this time was involved in architectural design in New York City and Bar Harbor, Maine. In the mid 1920s, he experienced a deep conversion to the Roman Catholic faith. He designed, built and endowed a church, choir school and the Istituto San Gregorio, an industrial arts school, all in the impoverished mountain village of Serrevalle in the Casentino. Some years later, the Mantellate Sisters of Pistoia moved the operations of the school closer to Florence. To view an album of these people and places, click here.

16. ii. ERNESTINE FABBRI married COUNT UBERTO LUDOLF; she died after 1943.

iii. MARIE FABBRI, married COUNT GIUSEPPE LUDOLF, brother of UBERTO. Her homes were the Poggio Marina at Marina di Massa, and in Florence, 5 Via Cherubini. She had no children at the time of an extended visit by Cornelia Randall Holland in 1937.

iv. CORNELIA FABBRI, known as Cora, born 1871; died January 12, 1892. Unmarried. A volume of her poetry titled 'Lyrics' was published in the year of her death.

17. v. ALICE FABBRI, died 1939, married COUNT OTTAVIO DE PICOLELLIS.

18. vi. NATHALIE FABBRI, died 1931; married MARCHESE PIERO ANTINORI.

Egisto Fabbri remodeled the Villa Antinori outside Florence for his sister and brother-in-law, whose descendants remain prominent wine producers and exporters in Florence. Their son Niccolo was married and had a son at the time of Cornelia Holland's visit in 1937. She mentions also in her letters that Nathalie also had a daughter, Lotti. The Antinori family has been in the wine business since at least 1385, when Giovanni di Piero Antinori entered the Florence vintner's guild as an apprentice. To view their marriage announcement, click here

19. vii. ERNESTO GIUSEPPE FABBRI, born 1874; died April 22, 1943.

viii. ALESSANDRO FABBRI, died1922.

Educated at Westminster School, Simsbury, Conn. He maintained homes in Bar Harbor, Maine and at 7 East 95th St. in New York City. A scientific dilettante and inventor, he undertook archeological digs in Arabia and backed Giulielmo Marconi in his wireless experiments. According to his obituary in the New York Times, during the First World War he built and managed the U.S. Government's Eastern Seaboard wireless operations headquarters at Bar Harbor. He served in the U.S. Navy in WWI, rising to the rank of lieutenant. He died at 44 of pneumonia. He never married. To view an album, click here.

10. AGNES ADELAIDE RANDALL was born November 18, 1843 in New York City, and died October 16, 1923 in Brattleboro, Vt.. She married (1) CHARLES HADDEN TOMES April 12, 1864, at St. George's Church, New York, the Rev. Stephen H. Tyng officiating. He was born 1842 in New York City, and died November 28, 1871 in Englewood, N.J. She then married ADDISON HALL. To view an album of family pictures, click here.

CHARLES HADDEN TOMES was a son of the Rev. Charles Tomes, born about 1812, who married Isabella Hadden on Oct. 16, 1838. The name Hadden, of Scottish origin, recurs among Agnes' grandchildren. Isabella died February 18, 1842, probably as a consequence of her son's birth. Rev. Tomes remarried, November 24, 1846, Henrietta Coleman Otey, daughter of Bishop James Harvey Otey, who was born July 15, 1826 and died February 22, 1897.

While on her wedding trip in Europe in the summer of 1872, Emily Randall Gregory encountered the second Mrs. Tomes are her very ill daughter, Sara, in Dresden, Germany. She wrote to her mother:

"We dined at the table d'hote at five after which we went to call upon Mrs. Tomes, saw both she and Sara who has changed so very much I don't really think she will live long, is a skeleton & the doctor has drawn the irritation from her throat to her cheek so there is a large sore on the outside. She is better than I expected to find her, was sitting up doing some fancy work, she drives out some. They both were delighted to see me, it took them very much by surprise & I could see the excitement fall upon Sara. She nearly lost her voice after a little. Poor girl she has not the least idea that Charlie is dead. They have kept it from her, as the doctor says the shock would be fatal. She told Dave that she thought both Charlie & Agnes were real mean, she had written so often to them & not received any answer & when anyone did write they never so much as mentioned Charlie. It made me very nervous for fear I should let out something. I did say Agnes was with us all winter when Mrs. Tomes called me out the room to see something so as to warn me not to say anything. I only stayed a few minutes."

Charles Hadden Tomes was mustered out of the National Guard October 1864 with the rank of full lieutenant, with distinguished service. His death was noted in the New York Herald of Dec. 1, 1871. The funeral was held that day from the Episcopal Church, Englewood. His widow was left with four small children.

Children of AGNES RANDALL and CHARLES TOMES, the first three in New York, are:

20. i. CHARLES FRANCIS TOMES, born January 22, 1865.

21. ii. AGNES ADELAIDE (ADELE) TOMES, born September 17, 1866.

22. iii. JOHN RANDALL TOMES, born November 8, 1867.

iv. EMILY RANDALL TOMES, born September 5, 1869 in Englewood. Her married name was Flagg.

Child of AGNES RANDALL TOMES and ADDISON HALL is:

iv. JEANNIE HALL, married name Foster.

11. EMILY WELD RANDALL was born February 20, 1847 in New York City, and died 1936 in Virginia Beach, Va.. She married DAVID HENDERSON GREGORY June 11, 1872 in New York City, son of DUDLEY SANFORD GREGORY and ANNA MARIA LYON. The 14th and youngest child, he was born October 27, 1844 in Jersey City, N.J., and died June 17, 1932 in Virginia Beach, Va. For more information about the family of Dudley Sanford Gregory, click here. To view the Sanford descent of Dudley Sanford Gregory, click here. To read an extensive obituary for Anna Maria Lyon Gregory, click here.

Child of EMILY WELD RANDALL and DAVID GREGORY is:

23. i. EMILY RANDALL GREGORY, born May 23, 1873, Jersey City, N.J.; died 1949, Virginia Beach, Va.

ii. a boy, stillborn March 14, 1877.

Generation No. 4

12. JOHN HERMAN RANDALL was born April 27, 1871 in St. Paul, Minn., and died May 15, 1946 in New York City. He married MINERVA BALLARD 1896 in Chenoa, Ill. She died June 13, 1948 in New York City.

David Randall writes of JOHN HERMAN RANDALL: Born and raised in St. Paul. BA Colgate College. Bachelor of Divinity from University of Chicago Divinity School, then new and shockingly liberal, destroyed his faith in a personal God. Barely got ordained by the Baptists. Pastorate in Chenoa, Illinois, where he met and married Minerva Ballard in 1896. Secured excellent post in Grand Rapids, Michigan, at the Fountain Street Baptist Church, then liberal, later President Ford's church. Getting too liberal even for this congregation, he moved, 1906, to New York and the Mount Morris Baptist Church, and became a prominent liberal, literary minister, always lecturing and writing. A kind of pacifist during World War I, he left his church in 1919 to join John Haynes Holmes at the new Community Church, a somewhat stormy decade until 1929. Became head of World Unity Foundation, 1929, and editor of World Unity Magazine. They collapsed in the Depression, 1931. He retired into a kind of depression himself, until his death in 1946. Trips to Europe, 1910, 1912, 1914, 1924, 1926.

Children of JOHN RANDALL and MINERVA BALLARD are:

24. i. JOHN HERMAN RANDALL JR., born February 14, 1899, Grand Rapids, Mich.; died December 1, 1980, New York City.

25. ii. ROBERT HULBERT RANDALL, born July 1, 1901, Grand Rapids, Mich..

13. GRACE RANDALL, born 1867 in St. Paul, Minn.. She married GEORGE P. LYMAN.

Children of GRACE RANDALL and GEORGE LYMAN are:

i. GORDON LYMAN, born 1897.

ii. NORMA RANDALL LYMAN, born 1901.

14. HENRY HULBERT RANDALL was born 1874, and died about 1933.

David Randall notes that he lived in St. Paul and worked for a railroad.

Child of HENRY HULBERT RANDALL is:

i. NORMA RANDALL, married name Knoche.

15. AGNES ELIZABETH BERGMANN was born June 9, 1854, and died May 27, 1931. She married CHARLES GORDON DOBBS in 1874. He was born November 22, 1841, and died September 19, 1913.

Children of AGNES BERGMANN and CHARLES DOBBS are:

26. i. MARY DOBBS, born about 1875.

ii. MAY B. DOBBS, born about 1876.

16. ERNESTINE FABBRI died after 1943. She married COUNT UBERTO LUDOLF.

Possibly the second-most photographed Randall descendant in the history of the world, beaten out only by her sister, Cornelia Marcy Randall, whom she strongly resembled in strength of jaw. For her, Egisto Fabbri designed the Casa Bianca at Massa Carrara, on the coast near Florence.

Child of ERNESTINE FABBRI and UBERTO LUDOLF is:

27. i. TECLA LUDOLF.

17. ALICE FABBRI married COUNT OTTAVIO DE PECCOLELLIS. She died in 1939. Sara Ann Randall kept an album of photos of the de Piccolellis family.

Child of ALICE FABBRI and OTTAVIO DE PECCOLELLIS is:

28. i. ELISABETTA DE PECCOLELLIS. To judge by photographs preserved by Cornelia Marcy Randall, Elisabetta was a beautiful child who grew into a beautiful woman, and the mother of children equally lovely. Evidence that she had a narrow escape in the early days of World War I comes from a letter circulated among the American Randalls and described as "Elisabetta's last letter to her mother." She must have survived the ordeal, as her children were born in the 1920s.

 ii. JEANNE DE PECCOLELLIS, married Count Benno Bourbieci.

iii. NICOLETTA DE PECCOLELLIS, married Count Walfredo della Gherardesta

18. NATHALIE FABBRI died in 1931. She married MARCHESE PIERO ANTINORI.

Egisto Fabbri remodeled the Villa Antinori outside Florence for his sister and brother-in-law. Their son Nicolo was married and had a son himself at the time of Cornelia Holland's visit in 1937. Nathalie also had a daughter, Lotti. According to an article in a wine magazine, the Antinori family has been in the wine business since at least 1385, when Giovanni di Piero Antinori entered the Florence vintner's guild as an apprentice. The present Piero Antinori, probably a grandson of Nathalie's husband, is the son of Niccolo Antinori and the father of a daughter, Albiera, who bears a striking reemblance to Sarah Ann Randall.

Known children of NATHALIE FABBRI and PIERO ANTINORI are:

29. i. CORA

 ii. NICCOLO

 iii. LOTTI

.

19. ERNESTO G. FABBRI was born 1874, and died April 22, 1943. He married (1) EDITH SHEPARD October 27, 1895 in Scarborough, N.Y. He married (2) MARY VALENTINE DARRAGH, about 1927 in Overbrook, Pa. She died 1934 in Florida. In letters to Emily Holland in the 1940s he refers to a third wife named Anne, but she is not mentioned in his obituaries. Ernesto was educated at the Westminster School, Simsbury, Conn., then emigrated to Italy with his family. As required by Italian law, he performed his compulsory military service in Italy before his marriage. At the outbreak of the Great War, Ernesto sucessfully evaded service in the Italian Army but was later pardoned by the king. Nevertheless, we have a photo of him in a fine U.S. Army uniform. He later shuttled between his homes at 23 Piazzo d'Azeglio and Bar Harbor, Maine. After 1937 his residence was La Calana, at Rancho Sante Fe, California. He was a traveler and a linguist, and was president of the Society of Italian Immigrants in New York. His first wife, Edith Shepard, was a daughter of Elliott P. Shepard and a granddaughter of 'Commodore' William H. Vanderbilt. Egisto Fabbri designed palatial residences for her in New York City and Bar Harbor. Edith, then living in Paris, divorced Ernesto in 1923; he married again soon after. Mary Valentine Darragh was said in New York Times announcement of her marriage to be of Overbrook, Pa., and Bar Harbor.

Child of ERNESTO FABBRI and EDITH SHEPARD is:

30. i. TERESA FABBRI.

20. CHARLES FRANCIS TOMES was born January 22, 1865. The 1880 U.S. Census finds 15 year-old Charles and his younger brother John at Nazareth Hall, a boarding school at Nazareth, Pa. He married EMMA LAFITTE of New Orleans, La. on May 4, 1889, the Rev. Fr. Fitzgerald officiating. He died Oct. 12, 1938; Emma died June 2, 1951, both in New Orleans.

Children of CHARLES F. TOMES and EMMA LAFITTE, all born in New Orleans, are:

i. CHARLES HADDEN LOUIS TOMES, known as Hadden Charles Tomes, was born August 25, 1891. He married Enola Fernandez on June 9, 1928, in Donaldsonville, La. He died in August 1960.

ii. JACQUES LAFITTE TOMES, September 13, 1892 in Brattleboro, Vt.. He married Alma Victoria Danielson on Feb. 15, 1927, Sacred Heart Church. Jack died Oct. 12, 1965; Alma died February 3, 1975. The couple had five children, living.

iii. AGNES ADELE TOMES, born March 16, 1896. She married Dr. Henry Cone Magee in New Orleans.

21. AGNES ADELAIDE TOMES, known as Adele, married ARTHUR WINCHESTER CHILDS October 28, 1885, at St. Michael Church, Brattleboro, Vt., the Rev. William Colliers officiating.

Children of ADELE TOMES and ARTHUR CHILDS, all born in Brattleboro, Vt., are:

i. WALTER HADDEN CHILDS, born April 5, 1888. He was photographed with his mother, Adele; his grandmother, Agnes, and his daughter, Persis, shortly before Agnes' death in 1923.

ii. HELEN LOUISE RANDALL CHILDS, born April 30, 1890.

iii. CHARLES KNOWER RANDALL CHILDS, born July 15, 1898.

22. JOHN RANDALL TOMES married HULDA ------. The 1930 U.S. Census finds John, who is hardly mentioned in family letters, in the village of Aurora Township, St. Louis County, Minnesota. He under-reports his age slightly, claiming to be 59 when he is closer to 62; his occupation is telegraph operator. According to the census, Hulda is Finnish-born and her mother tongue is Swedish. Most of the surrounding names in the census are also Finnish. John died December 15, 1932; Hulda died June 16, 1946.

Children of JOHN and HULDA TOMES are:

i. JOHN RANDALL TOMES JR., known as Jack, born June 2, 1910. He married Dorthea Helenius June 2, 1940.

ii. HELEN ADELE TOMES, born August 31, 1913. She married Clifford LaKosky in May 1935

iii. A son, living, born about 1921.

23. EMILY RANDALL GREGORY was born May 23, 1873 in Jersey City, N.J., and died 1949 in Virginia Beach, Va.. She married BERNARD PEABODY HOLLAND SR. in 1895 in Cooperstown, N.Y. He was a son of REV. JOHN LYTTLETON TAZEWELL HOLLAND and EMMA WALTON. He was born March 13, 1867 at Osceola, the family home near Farmville, Va., and died January 1960 in Virginia Beach. The couple is buried in Eastern Shore Cemetery, Va. Beach. The marriage of the Yankee child of privilege and the poor but ambitious southern boy was a remarkable one. Read "The Odd Couple," an essay by their granddaughter, who remembers them well.

The couple and all their descendants gathered for a family portrait on the occasion of their 50th wedding anniversary in 1945

To view a gallery of Holland family portraits and places, click here

Children of EMILY GREGORY and BERNARD HOLLAND, all born in Virginia Beach, are:

31. i. WALTON GREGORY HOLLAND, born August 30, 1896; died there December 1970.

ii. CORNELIA RANDALL HOLLAND, born 1898; died in Virginia Beach February 12, 1988. She never married, but taught school and helped her mother in The Variety Shop, eventually taking it over. As a young woman she helped to raise her younger brothers while their mother was occupied by the illness of her husband, and as an older woman she cared for her father, who died at home at the age of 92. Much of our information about our Italian cousins is gleaned from the letters she sent home during an extended visit to Italy in 1937. She was a wonderful aunt to two generations of children, a great preserver of family artifacts and stories, and will never be forgotten

32. iii. DAVID GREGORY HOLLAND, born February 25, 1901; died November 1960, Virginia Beach.

33. iv. BERNARD PEABODY HOLLAND JR., born August 12, 1902; died 1970, Richmond, Va.

34. v. JOHN LYTTLETON TAZEWELL HOLLAND, born about 1909; died about 1977, Waycross, Ga.

Generation No. 5

24. JOHN HERMAN RANDALL JR. was born February 14, 1899, in Grand Rapids, Mich., and died December 1, 1980, in New York City. He married MERCEDES IRENE MORITZ there December 23, 1922. She was born September 11, 1895, in Guatemala, and died March 9, 1977, in New York City. David Randall notes that he attended Mount Morris High School; at Columbia University he earned BA, MA and PhD degrees in philosophy and taught philosophy at Columbia from 1918 to 1968. Many publications, including "The Making of the Modern Mind," and "The Career of Philosophy." Mercedes Irene Moritz also attended Mount Morris High School and at Barnard College of Columbia University, earned an MA in History. She was a High School English teacher, then an officer of Women's International League of Peace and Freedom.

Two children of JOHN HERMAN RANDALL and MERCEDES MORITZ are living.

25. ROBERT HULBERT RANDALL married MILDRED PITNER in 1929. She was born in Washington, Ga.. David Randall notes that he earned his BS and PhD in physics at Columbia University, and was a professor of Physics, with a specialty in acoustics, at City College.

A daughter of ROBERT RANDALL and MILDRED PITNER is living.

26. MARY DOBBS was born about 1875. She married RAYMOND LYNDE WADHAMS. He was born about 1873. Children of MARY DOBBS and RAYMOND WADHAMS are:

i. DOROTHY LINDE WADHAMS, born April 28, 1902; died August 18, 1995, Chicago, Ill.; She married HAROLD ST. CLAIR WRIGHT, June 27, 1925; he was born December 16, 1894, in Pensacola, Fla..

Two sons of her first marriage are presumably living, as are six grandchildren and five known great-grandchildren. She remarried twice after the death of her first husband; no children are known from her later marriages.

ii. AGNES ELIZABETH WADHAMS, born about 1903.

27. TECLA LUDOLF married FILIPPO CAFARELLI, Italy's ambassador to Venezuela. The couple had at least two daughters; one is known to be living:

28. ELISABETTA DE PECCOLELLIS married LUCIEN HENRAUX. The couple had at least three children, presumed to be living.

29. CORA degli ANTINORI married MICHELANGELO CAETANI. One daughter was known to Cornelia Randall Holland on her visit in 1937. She sent her wedding pictures to her cousins in America.

30. TERESA FABBRI married (1) GEORGE MCMURTRY, a holder of the Congressional Medal of Honor. He died in 1958. She married (2) JAMES CAMERON CLARK, on December 16, 1917. A daughter of Teresa and George McMurtry may be living; she is mentioned in letters from her grandfather to Emily Holland:

31. WALTON GREGORY HOLLAND was born August 30, 1896 in Virginia Beach, Va., and died there December 1970. He married LYNDELLE POSTON. She was born August 16, 1897, and died in March 1986. He lived all of his life at Virginia Beach, serving in the Navy during World War I. He attended the University of Virginia where he earned a law degree, but during the Depression he became a carpenter, building his own home and eventually owning his own construction company. Later he became the building inspector for Virginia Beach, and is remembered as a gadfly advocate of sane beachfront development. Lyndelle Poston invented the famous Va Beach Life Guard swimsuit.

Children of WALTON HOLLAND and LYNDELLE POSTON are:

37. i. EMILY SMITH HOLLAND, born December 27, 1927; died July 15, 1987. Her husband, a son and a daughter, and two grandchildren are living.

38. ii. A daughter, living, with three children and several grandchildren

32. DAVID GREGORY HOLLAND was born February 25, 1901, in Virginia Beach, Va., and died there November 1960.. He married Wrennie Jollett, daughter of CHARLES JOLLET and NANNIE FOGG. She was born June 22, 1900, in Portsmouth, Va., and died August 1977 in Virginia Beach. He studied engineering at the University of Virginia and worked for the park service until illness and the loss of his house on Lake Holly -- it burned down-- forcing him and his family to move back with his parents.

Child of DAVID HOLLAND and WRENNIE JOLLET is:

39. i. DORA CORNELIA HOLLAND was born September 14, 1937 and died September 2, 1998. Three daughters, a son and several grandchildren are living.

33. BERNARD PEABODY HOLLAND JR. was born August 12, 1902, in Virginia Beach, Va., and died July 1970 in Richmond, Va. He married CLAUDIA MILDRED EMMERSON on April 28, 1928, youngest child of JOHN CLOYD EMMERSON and CLAUDIA VAUGHAN of Portsmouth, Va. She was born December 8, 1903 and died July 25, 1986 in Richmond. He earned a law degree from the University of Virginia and worked for the Seaboard railroad, the Reconstruction Finance Corporation in Washington DC, and then for the Smaller War Plants bureau. After the war he moved to Richmond and worked for Reynolds Metals. He was a master bridge player. Claudia Mildred Emmerson was educated in Portsmouth Public Schools and Stuart Hall, Staunton, Va.; author, "The Primrose Path," 1947; "Center Aisle," 1949, both published by Rhinehart & Co., New York.

To view her Emmerson lineage and a photo album, click here.

The two children of BERNARD PEABODY HOLLAND JR. and CLAUDIA MILDRED EMMERSON are living, two grandchildren and five grandchildren.

34. JOHN LYTTLETON TAZEWELL HOLLAND was born about 1909 in Virginia Beach, and died about 1977 in Waycross, Ga. He married MAY MURRAY in Savannah, Ga. "Alphabet" Holland was a mechanic, loved Limberger cheeses and is remembered by his niece as a sweet man. John and May adopted a son, JOHN LYTTLETON TAZEWELL HOLLAND JR., who died age 9 of cancer.