Benjamin Randolph: Master Craftsman Turned Patriot

By Senior Museum Researcher and Interpreter Cynthia Winslow

“One Place, Many Stories” is the theme of Macculloch Hall Historical Museum’s programming during America’s 250th commemoration, and as part of this observance, the Museum is highlighting a remarkable piece from its collection attributed to cabinetmaker Benjamin Randolph. This mahogany two-chair-back settee, crafted circa 1765–1770 before the Revolutionary War, is part of the W. Parsons Todd Collection and is displayed in the Museum’s second-floor master bedroom.

Although best known for his work in 18th-century Philadelphia, Randolph was born in Monmouth County, New Jersey, into the Quaker Fitz-Randolph family. Beginning in 1767, his home and workshop, the Sign of the Golden Eagle on Chestnut Street, served an elite clientele that included several Founding Fathers. Randolph is perhaps best remembered for crafting the portable writing desk Thomas Jefferson used to draft the Declaration of Independence, based on Jefferson’s own design.

Randolph’s receipt book (1763–1777) and account book (1768–1787) provide a detailed record of his business, documenting clients, employees, commissions, and transactions. Using these records, furniture historian Andrew Brunk identifies and attributes surviving pieces to Randolph’s shop. As Brunk noted in Benjamin Randolph Revisited (2007), “The only objects bearing Randolph’s label are a card table and a small group of seating furniture; however, all of these pieces can be used as benchmarks for attributing other work to his shop.”

Randolph employed numerous joiners, carvers, gilders, and apprentices, including Hercules Courtenay (c. 1739–1769) and John Pollard (1740–1787), both of whom later established successful businesses of their own. Today, Randolph’s business records are preserved at The Winterthur Library, the New York Public Library, and the Library of Congress.

A committed supporter of the Revolutionary cause, Randolph’s shop produced and donated wooden crates for the war effort before he entered military service in November 1778. He also welcomed Thomas Jefferson and George and Martha Washington into his Chestnut Street home during their stays in Philadelphia in 1775 and 1776.

His patriotism extended to his business. In a January 1770 advertisement in the Pennsylvania Gazette, Randolph encouraged Americans to reject British imports and support domestic manufacturing. Promoting wooden buttons made in his shop, he expressed hope that “every lover of his country” would support American craftsmen at a time when dependence on British luxury goods was increasingly viewed as unpatriotic.

Randolph’s personal life also connects him to Morristown. In 1762, he married Anna Bromwich at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Philadelphia. They had two daughters, Mary and Anna, and raised a third child, Frances Gualdo, as their own. In 1790, Frances married Gabriel Ford and moved to the Ford Mansion, now part of Morristown National Historical Park. Anna Randolph later joined the Ford household in Morristown.

After the war, Randolph retired to Burlington County, New Jersey, where he died in 1791. Anna Randolph and Frances Gualdo Ford spent the remainder of their lives in Morristown and were buried side by side in the cemetery of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church.

Thanks to the foresight of MHHM founder W. Parsons Todd, the Museum preserves and displays this exceptional example of Early American craftsmanship. As the nation commemorates the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Randolph’s story—and this remarkable settee—offer a tangible connection to a gifted craftsman whose work and patriotism helped shape the American Revolution.

Sources:
Bjerkoe, Ethel Hall. Cabinetmakers of America: Their Lives and Works. Bonanza Books, 1957.
Brunk, Andrew. “Benjamin Randolph Revisited,” chipstone.org/article.php/568/American-Furniture-2007/Benjamin-Randolph-Revisited. Accessed 10 June 2026.

Image Credit:
Benjamin Randolph (unknown-1791), Two Chair Back Settee, 1700-1799, Mahogany, Macculloch Hall Historical Museum, 55.17.
Charles Willson Peale (1741-1827), “Benjamin Randolph”, c. 1782, watercolor painting, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1990.21.1.