John H. Randolph, probate jurge[sic] of Meade county, first came to Kansas in 1879 and for over thirty years has been closely identified with the interests of the southwestern part of the state, especially in Meade county, of which he is a most respected pioneer. He was born Dec. 21, 1852, on a farm in Jefferson county, Tennessee. His parents, Andrew Jackson Randolph and Rebecca Mills, were both Tennesseans by birth. The father died in September, 1853, when their only child was not yet a year old. The mother survived until August, 1872, when she, too, passed away. The paternal grandfather of the subject was a Baptist minister and a Virginian by birth, a descendant of one of the Old Dominion's oldest families that proudly traces its descent from the Indian maiden, Pocahontas.

Judge Randolph was reared in Tennessee and was educated in the public schools and in French Branch Academy, in Jefferson county of that state, graduating from the latter institution in 1870. In 1871 he removed to Lawrence county, Missouri, where he successfully engaged in farming until 1879, in which year he removed to Kansas, locating on government land in Harper county. There he took part in the memorable fight between Anthony and Harper for the location of the county seat, in which contest Anthony was the victor. In 1884 he sold his Harper county holdings and removed to Meade county, where he took up a homestead and a timber claim in the Crooked creek valley between Meade and Fowler. The land he improved and made into a fine homestead, on which he resided until 1905, when he removed to the town of Meade. In connection with farming he also raised cattle and horses extensively and was very successful in both respects. After selling his farm he visited the Pacific coast with a view of locating there, but being disappointed in the country he returned to Meade, satisfied to live in Kansas. In 1906 he was elected as a Democrat to the office of probate judge of Meade county, which office he still holds. From 1886 to 1890 he was county commissioner and also served as treasurer of Fowler township four years.

Judge Randolph has been twice married. On Jan. 20, 1871, he wedded Miss Paulina Sanders, of Jefferson county, Tennessee, the daughter of Rev. Maryarter Sanders, a Baptist minister and a farmer of that county. She was born May 22, 1850, and died on Oct. 21, 1891. To this union were born eleven children, viz: Carrie E., who was born March 23, 1872; Isaac Andrew, born Oct. 3, 1873, who died May 5, 1874; Sarah Elizabeth, born Feb. 1, 1875, who is now the wife of John W. Crane, of Topeka, Kan.; Willis Arthur Sanders, born June 27, 1877, who is now a stockman and farmer at Meade, Kan;; John Dillo, who was born Aug. 12, 1878; Luther A., born Sept. 1, 1879; Ora M., born March 2, 1882, who is now a farmer and stock raiser at Meade, Kan.; Rebecca Louise, born Oct. 29, 1883, who is single and resides with her father; James H., born May 3, 1886, who died on Aug. 15, 1886; Lester Therne, born Aug. 16, 1889, now a stenographer at Meade, Kan; and the eleventh child, a son, born Sept. 29, 1891, died Oct. 28 of that same year. The second marriage of Judge Randolph occurred on Oct. 22, 1908, when Mrs. Margaret M. Trotter, nee Bryan, became his wife. Mrs. Randolph was born in Sevier county, Tennessee, on April 22, 1863.

There is no better known or more popular citizen in Meade county than Judge Randolph, who for over twenty-five years has dwelt among its people, and by honorable, useful and upright living has won the universal respect of his fellow citizens. Enterprising and energetic in business affairs, his efforts not only promoted his own success, but also contributed largely to the development of Meade county and of that section of the state. Fraternally he is a member of two of the oldest orders, the Masonic order and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.