Peyton Randolph was a Democrat-Republican politician from Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

. Following the death of Governor George William Smith

George William Smith (politician)

George William Smith was Acting Governor of Virginia, briefly between the terms of John Tyler, Sr. and James Monroe in January 1811 and the 17th Governor of Virginia from April to December of the same year when Monroe resigned to become United States Secretary of State...

, and 68 others, in the burning of the Richmond Theater on December 26, 1811, Randolph served as the Acting Governor of Virginia

Governor of Virginia

The governor of Virginia serves as the chief executive of the Commonwealth of Virginia for a four-year term. The position is currently held by Republican Bob McDonnell, who was inaugurated on January 16, 2010, as the 71st governor of Virginia....

, from December 26, 1811 until January 3, 1812.

Peyton Randolph was the son of Edmund Jenings Randolph who had been a delegate to the Continental Congress

Continental Congress

The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....

 from 1779 until 1782, Governor of Virginia from 1786 to 1788, and the first U.S. Attorney General from September 26, 1789 to January 26, 1794.

Peyton Ranndolph was an attorney in Richmond, Virginia

Richmond, Virginia

Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...

. He was the official reporter for the Virginia Reports from 1821 until his death in 1828. Virginia Reports is the official case reporter for the Virginia Supreme Court.

Randolph County, West Virginia

Randolph County, West Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 28,262 people, 11,072 households, and 7,661 families residing in the county. The population density was 27 people per square mile . There were 13,478 housing units at an average density of 13 per square mile...

was formed in 1787 and named in Governor Randolph's honor.