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File contributed to the Fulton County ILGenWeb Project
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Source: Portrait and Biographical Album of Fulton County
Biographical Publishing Co., Chicago, 1890

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The Biography of Lewis F. RANDOLPH 

Pages 817, 818 & 821, Transcribed in full by Karen CRANE Goggin 

[Surnames: ANDREWS, RANDOLPH, RAWALT] 

    
LEWIS F. RANDOLPH is possessed of those advanced ideas and progressive principles regarding agriculture which invariably lead to success when attended by the strict integrity and will power that characterize him, and these have placed him amongst the principal farmers of Joshua Township. 
    
Our subject was born at Utica, Ind., July 4, 1835. He is a son of John F. and Nancy (Rawalt) Randolph. His father was born January 1, 1796, in Yates county, N. Y., and his mother was born February 1, 1804. Of the eight children born to the parents of our subject all are at the present time residents of Fulton County. The father was an intellectual and highly cultured man, and after completing his education taught school in his native State until he was twenty-four years old. He was married in 1820 in Utica, Ind., and engaged in a mercantile business there for several years, carrying on in connection with it the manufacture of school supplies such as globes, maps and charts, which he sold extensively in Indiana and Kentucky, deriving from that source a fine income. Although he was so prosperous in that State he does not seem to have liked it for a permanent residence as in September, 1835, after living there fifteen years, he came to Fulton County, and became associated with its pioneers. Immediately after his arrival here he purchased three hundred and twenty acres of land on section 13, Joshua Township, and a like amount on section 18, Canton Township. He became one of the most extensive farmers and stock-raisers in the county, and in time accumulated a large amount of property. At the time of his death he owned twelve hundred acres of land and was among the leading stock dealers of this section, as he made a specialty of raising hogs and good cattle, from the sale of which he had derived large sums of money. He built the first gristmill in the township where he resided, and for seven years was actively engaged in milling. 
    
Mr. Randolph was a man of many original and progressive ideas and of marked energy and decision of character. He believed in the theory that has been advanced from time to time by some of the great thinkers of this and other countries, that a community of interest in any undertaking was for the highest good of all concerned and was more likely to make such an enterprise successful. He therefore organized an association consisting of fifteen members with their families, on the Fourier plan, and in 1845 he deeded a tract of land to the association, with the stipulated condition that at the disintegration of the society the land would revert to his wife and heirs-at-law. The shares of the association were placed at $50 each, and every member was permitted to have as many shares as he wished. The society, like many another of its kind, was short lived, as it was found not to be a practical undertaking. Mr. Randolph had been elected president of the association and held that position during its existence. 
    
Mr. Randolph possessed much mechanical skill and could turn his hand to anything. He was a good carpenter, and he built the first schoolhouse ever erected in the township of Joshua. He took much interest in educational matters and otherwise contributed to advance education. He was also prominent in public life and in social and religious circles. He was a member of the Board of County Commissioners for several years, and in that capacity was potent in advancing the interests of the county. He and his brother-in-law organized the first Swedenborgian Church that was established in Canton, and he erected the house of worship with his own hands in 1836. He and his wife were members of that church and he was active in its every good work until the time of his death, February 8, 1845. His widow died in 1864, and both are buried in the old homestead cemetery. 
    
After the death of the father of our subject his mother was left with the care of eight children, and nobly did she perform the task of rearing them to good and useful lives. It was only by her keen business tact and superior management that the property left by her husband was secured to the family. She was compelled to have her title made good to the land he had conveyed to the association of which we have made mention, and it was only by legal proceedings in court that the title was restored to her. She managed to procure a good farm for each of her children and in other ways contributed to their prosperity. Our subject continued to live with his mother until the time of her death. When he began his career as a farmer on his own account he bought two hundred and fifty acres of land on section 13, where he now resides and two hundred and twenty acres in Canton Township on section 16. Since that time he has made other additions to his real estate, and at present owns over five hundred acres of land, worth $100 an acre, and he is also the proprietor of some twenty-four lots of valuable realty in Chicago, which has increased in value and has greatly added to his wealth,. So that he is now one of the richest men in Joshua Township. His farm is one of the finest in this part of the county, is supplied with substantial and well ordered buildings and is replete in all its appointments. It is finely adapted to stock-raising purposes, in which branch of industry our subject is much interested. He imported the first Norman draft horses that were ever owned in this county, and on his farm will be found the best blooded horses in this part of the State. He also raises a number of cattle and hogs, of which he sells a carload each every year, besides having a sale of his horses which bring him in a large sum of money. 
    
Mr. Randolph and Miss Elizabeth Andrews were united in marriage in Canton, January 28, 1864. Mrs. Randolph was born February 12, 1842. Her parents were pioneer settlers of Fulton County, coming here in 1820. Mr. And Mrs. Randolph are people whose many pleasant personal attributes attract to them many friends and they are prominent in the society of the county. Their home is in one of the many substantial, comfortable dwellings of this locality, and is the seat of true hospitality. The pleasant home circle is completed by the three children, which have blessed their wedded life, and of whom the following is the record; Mary, born September 30, 1871; Jeptha, June 7, 1877; and Lewis, October 26, 1879. Mary is a student at the Normal School at Valparaiso, Ind., and will soon complete her education in that institution. 
    
Mr. Randolph has been a very important factor in advancing the stock-raising interests of this county as well as in promoting its advancement in other directions, and he holds a prominent position among the leading members of his class in this portion of Illinois. He is a man of broad mind and enlightened views, of forcible character and of fine business talents. He is warm-hearted and generous and uses his wealth for the good of his community. He has decided opinions of his own especially in regard to politics, and he advocates that good and responsible men be elected to office regardless of their political affiliations. He maintains very warmly that the old Greenback party, with which he was formerly connected, should never have been retired. He gives his support to the Republican party. He was an active member of the Patrons of Husbandry during the existence of that organization.