John Randall

John Randall (1750 – June 12, 1826) was an architect, American Revolutionary War soldier and officer, and was an early 19th-century mayor of Annapolis, Anne Arundel County, Maryland. He was also the Collector of the Port of Annapolis, which included responsibility for fortifying the harbor. Early life John Randall was born in 1750 in Westmoreland County, Virginia, now Richmond County, Virginia, to Thomas Randall and Jane (née Davis) Randall, daughter of a plantation owner. He was the youngest son of 14 children born to his parents. His father came to the colonies in the early 18th century and settled in what was then Westmoreland County, Virginia. Thomas was a large landowner, planter, Justice of the Peace for the Northern Neck of Virginia, and vestryman of North Farnham Parish. Randall was educated by William Buckland in Fredericksburg, Virginia, in the 1760s. Buckland was a reputed architect and builder who "designed some of the most celebrated many of the most celebrated colonial residences and public buildings in Virginia and Maryland." Career Randall owned a flour mill in Annapolis, Anne Arundel County, Maryland, and owned a schooner, trading between Annapolis & Baltimore. John's eldest son, John, was a partner with him in Randall & Sons.