- Joined
- May 12, 2010
- Location
- Now Florida but always a Kentuckian
This book, "The Virginia Housewife", holds the distinction of being first regional cookbook published in America. It was published in 1824, and emphasized Virginia recipes and ingredients and offered clear directions and reassuring advice for the novice housekeeper. As Mary Randolph wrote: "let everything be done at a proper time, keep every thing in the proper place, and put every thing to its proper use."
"The Virginia Housewife" began appearing in all fashionable households and has gone through many editions and is still in print today. In the book, Mary popularized more than 40 vegetables and introduced to the southern public dishes from abroad, such as gazpacho.
Mary Randolph was the eldest of thirteen children of Thomas Mann and Anne Cary Randolph. She married her cousin, David Meade Randolph and first lived in Richmond. They operated a boarding house on Cary Street. She soon acquired a reputaion as a gracious hostess and a talented cook. In 1819, the Randolphs moved to Washington. It was 5 years later that the book "The Virginia Housewife" became very popular.
Mary Randolph was a cousin of Mary Lee Fitzhugh Custis, the wife of George Washington Parke Custis, the builder of Arlington House. Her paternal ancestors included Pocahontas. One of the twelve siblings was Thomas Mann Randolf,Jr who was son-in-law of Thomas Jefferson.
Mary Randolph is buried in what became Arlington National Cemetery. She had the distinction of being the first recorded person to be buried there.
"The Virginia Housewife" began appearing in all fashionable households and has gone through many editions and is still in print today. In the book, Mary popularized more than 40 vegetables and introduced to the southern public dishes from abroad, such as gazpacho.
Mary Randolph was the eldest of thirteen children of Thomas Mann and Anne Cary Randolph. She married her cousin, David Meade Randolph and first lived in Richmond. They operated a boarding house on Cary Street. She soon acquired a reputaion as a gracious hostess and a talented cook. In 1819, the Randolphs moved to Washington. It was 5 years later that the book "The Virginia Housewife" became very popular.
Mary Randolph was a cousin of Mary Lee Fitzhugh Custis, the wife of George Washington Parke Custis, the builder of Arlington House. Her paternal ancestors included Pocahontas. One of the twelve siblings was Thomas Mann Randolf,Jr who was son-in-law of Thomas Jefferson.
Mary Randolph is buried in what became Arlington National Cemetery. She had the distinction of being the first recorded person to be buried there.