James Fitz Randolph

James Fitz Randolph (June 26, 1791 – January 25, 1872) was a United States Representative from New Jersey and a prominent early nineteenth-century newspaperman and public official. He was also the father of Theodore Fitz Randolph, who later became governor of New Jersey and a United States senator. Randolph was born in Middlesex County, New Jersey, where he received only a limited formal schooling, a common circumstance in the largely rural state at the turn of the nineteenth century.

As a young man, Randolph learned the printing trade, a skill that provided both a livelihood and an avenue into public life. He became editor of the New Brunswick Fredonian, a newspaper published in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and held that position from 1812 to 1842. Through three decades as editor, he participated in the vigorous partisan press culture of the era, using the paper to engage with local and national political issues during the War of 1812, the Era of Good Feelings, and the rise of the second party system. His work in journalism helped establish his reputation in Middlesex County and the surrounding region.

In addition to his editorial work, Randolph entered federal service at an early age. He was appointed United States collector of internal revenue in 1815, a post he held until 1846, administering federal tax laws in his district in the years following the War of 1812 and during the expansion of the federal revenue system. He also served as clerk of the Court of Common Pleas, a county-level court of general jurisdiction, further entrenching him in local legal and administrative affairs. His growing prominence led to election to the New Jersey General Assembly, where he served as a member in 1823 and 1824, participating in state legislative business during a period of economic development and internal improvements in New Jersey.

Randolph’s state and local experience, combined with his visibility as a newspaper editor, paved the way for his election to Congress. He was elected as an Adams candidate to the Twentieth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Representative George Holcombe, aligning himself with the supporters of President John Quincy Adams and the National Republican movement. He took his seat on December 1, 1828. Randolph was subsequently reelected as an Anti-Jacksonian to the Twenty-first and Twenty-second Congresses, serving continuously from December 1, 1828, to March 3, 1833. During his tenure in the U.S. House of Representatives, he represented New Jersey at a time of intense national debate over tariffs, internal improvements, and the powers of the federal government under the emerging leadership of Andrew Jackson and his opponents.

After leaving Congress in 1833, Randolph returned to New Brunswick and resumed his involvement in local business and civic affairs. Drawing on his experience in finance as a long-serving federal revenue official, he became president of a bank in New Brunswick, New Jersey, a position that reflected both his standing in the community and the growing importance of banking institutions in the state’s commercial life. He continued to be regarded as a figure of influence in New Jersey politics and society, while his son Theodore Fitz Randolph rose to high office in the state and nation.

James Fitz Randolph died in Easton, Pennsylvania, on January 25, 1872. Although he had spent the central decades of his life in New Jersey, he was interred in Easton Cemetery in Easton, where his grave marks the resting place of a newspaperman, revenue official, state legislator, and three-term member of the United States House of Representatives whose career spanned the formative years of the early American republic and the development of New Jersey’s political institutions.