Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1885-08-01
JOHN RANDOLPH OF ROANOKE.
a Characteristic Speech to an Audience
of His Slaves.


OF this strange figure in the history of
half century ago a writer IN the Phlla-
deIphia Record saws - l did not know I'M
til this week that there was in existence an
autographed statement by John Ran
dolph, of Roanoke, of his relationship to
Pocahontas. Here ii is as il appears in his
ewn handwriting in the possession OF q
gentleman in Virginia 'Pocahontas (whose
true name was Matoaca) baptized by the
name Of Rebecca, married John Role,
Esq, and left an only son, Thomas, whose
only daughter married Robert Boiling OF
Boiling Hall, West Riding, York, who lett
a son, John Boiling, one of whose daugh-
tiers married Richard Randolph, of CurleS,
whose youngest son, John Randolph, of
Roanoke married Frances Bland. Your
humble servant is one OF the only survlV-
ing issue of that marriage, and sixth in de-
scent from Pocahontas. John Randolph
was proud of his Indian blood He used 10
say in his fiery moods that he came Of race
which neither forgave not forgot Kan
dOlph had as many moods as Washington
weather His variability IS well illustrated
in this anecdote, told by the Rev. DR.. Clop-
ton, Baptist clergyman, who sometimes
preached to Ran iolph 5 slaves at Ran
dolphs request DR.. Clopton. had closed
his discourse on one occasion, when Ran
dolph rose TO preach a little sermon OF his
own to the waiting negl oes. He spoke of
the gratitude due to God for His beneti-
cence to man. BY way of illustration he
spoke of the gratitude due to himself from
his slaves for all hrs kindness 10 them. He
! then dwelt upon the ingratitude of man to
God, and illustrated by the ingratitude of
his slaves to him. Ny ancestors, he said.
during this part of the sermon, raised all
of you, save one, whom ! bought from a
hard master out of sympathy. ! have
cherished and nursed you like children.
| have fed and clothed you better than my
neighbors have fed and clothed their SER
! wants. l have allowed you more privileges
than others have allowed. But oh the
! ingratitude of the depraved heart After
all my kindness, when | was in very feeble
| health, and was sent as Minister to Russia,
! you all thought | would not return, and
| you and the overseeTs with a char
acteristic oath wasted and stole
all you could, and came well
| nigh running me. But come back and l
viii forgive and so if you come back to
! God he will forgive II was after that par
| ticular service, so Dr.. ClOptOn relates, that
! Randolph took him into his library, and,
sitting down with him in a corner, where
on the same shelf stood a handsome Bible
and number of books attacking and de-
tending its authenticity, said: Dr. Clop-
! ION, L was raised by plOQS mOther-GOd
bless her memory-who taught me the
Chris ian religion in all its requirements.
But, a'as l grew up an intidel if not an
infidel complete, VI decided deist. But
when became q man, in this as well as in
political and other matters ] resolved to ex-
anime for myself, and never to pin my
faith to any other mans cOat-sleeye. So
boughtthat Bible. pored over it. | ex-
amined it carefully / sought aud perused
these books for and against it and when
my labors ended found myself at this in
eyitable conclusion The Bibe is true. Il
would have been as easy. sir, for mole tC
have written Sir Isaac Newton's Treatise
on Optics as for uuinspired men to have
written the Bible.