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Theodora Ayer Randolph

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Theodora Ayer Randolph

Birth	:	27 Sep 1905 Beverly Farms, Essex County, Massachusetts, USA
Death	:	11 Jun 1996 Upperville, Fauquier County, Virginia, USA
Burial	:	Wooster Cemetery, Danbury, Fairfield County, USA
Coordinate	:	41.4035988, -73.4503021
Description	:	Theodora was daughter of Charles Ayer of Ayer, Massachusetts, who made his fortune dealing in patent medicines and Sarsaparilla. She was the niece of General George S. Patton. Her first marriage, to NYC investment banker Robert Winthrop, ended in divorce. She met Dr. Archibald Cary Randolph during her time visiting her uncle and partaking in the local fox hunting. After the death of Dr. Randolph, many years later, she succeeded him as hunt master of the Piedmont Hunt, a 150 year old landowners' association. She was known as "First Lady of the Hunt." ~~~ By Robert Mcg.... Read More	Theodora was daughter of Charles Ayer of Ayer, Massachusetts, who made his fortune dealing in patent medicines and Sarsaparilla. She was the niece of General George S. Patton. Her first marriage, to NYC investment banker Robert Winthrop, ended in divorce. She met Dr. Archibald Cary Randolph during her time visiting her uncle and partaking in the local fox hunting. After the death of Dr. Randolph, many years later, she succeeded him as hunt master of the Piedmont Hunt, a 150 year old landowners' association. She was known as "First Lady of the Hunt." ~~~ By Robert Mcg. Thomas Jr. June 15, 1996, Section 1, Page 11 Theodora Ayer Randolph, who rode the Virginia hunt country long enough and well enough to become known as the first lady of fox hunting, died on Tuesday at her Oakley Farm home in Upperville, Va. She was 90. It had been years since Mrs. Randolph had donned her dark-blue, gold-collared coat, tucked her auburn hair under her helmet and galloped off over the vast expanse of farmland that makes up the grounds of the 150-year-old landowners' association known as the Piedmont Hunt. But as a master of the Piedmont, she had remained an indispensable presence in the affairs of the nation's oldest and largest fox-hunting entity. In an area 45 miles west of Washington, where generations-old farms are sometimes acquired by city-bred newcomers unaccustomed to seeing a horde of horsemen thunder across their front yards in pursuit of a pack of hounds in pursuit of a fox, no respecter of property lines, after all, it would be Mrs. Randolph's duty to pay the newcomers a call. Over a cup of tea, perhaps, she would acquaint them with the customs and traditions of the neighborhood, assuring them that the members of the Piedmont Hunt were always careful to close gates they might have opened and to not trample any flower beds near the house. As a clincher, she would note that as landowners, the newcomers would be eligible to join the Piedmont, an act that would instantly elevate them to the upper reaches of Virginia society. The widow of Dr. Archibald Cary Randolph, a landed surgeon whose family helped settle Virginia, Mrs. Randolph succeeded her husband as hunt master after his death in 1959. But she was something of a newcomer herself. In an area where the first families of Virginia can be downright condescending to those who trace their ancestry to only the second wave of settlers, Mrs. Randolph achieved social prominence and fox-hunting distinction despite the fact that she was an actual Yankee. Mrs. Randolph was born Sept. 27, 1905, in Beverly Farms, Mass., and learned to ride at the age of 3. Her father was master of the local Myopia Hunt, and she was fox hunting long before she saw Virginia. Even so, she readily acknowledged that she received some of her most vivid training in advanced fence-jumping during Virginia visits to her daredevil uncle, General George S. Patton. Mrs. Randolph -- whose first marriage, to the Massachusetts-born New York investment banker Robert Winthrop, ended in divorce -- married well twice and was born better. Her father, Charles Ayer, was a member of the family that settled Ayer, Mass., and made a considerable fortune dealing in woolens and patent medicines, including the 19th-century tonic rage, sarsaparilla. After her divorce, Mrs. Randolph, who had fallen in love with the Virginia hunt country during her years at Foxcroft, a Virginia boarding school, settled there and renewed her acquaintance with Dr. Randolph, whom she had known as the dashing master of the Piedmont Hunt during her boarding school days. After their marriage in 1941, she became active in every aspect of equestrian affairs, breeding show and steeplechase champions, leading a drive to ban the use of performance-enhancing drugs and receiving numerous honors for her work, including an honorary degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. But it was as a highly accomplished horsewoman, one who could take the lead in an organization that prides itself on being the nation's fastest hunt ("Keep up or go home" is one of its official rules), that she won greatest acclaim. It was a tribute to her standing, and her reputation for social observation, that in her later years newcomers tended to come to her. In an area of such sprawling acreage and long driveways that next-door neighbors tend to drive over when they visit, Mrs. Randolph lived next door to Paul Mellon, not that she could actually see the Pittsburgh banking heir's house from her own. But she could see his private landing strip from her parlor window and took wry delight in the extravagant idiosyncrasies of the very wealthy. Whenever she would see the Mellons's private plane land and then take off 10 minutes later, her step-granddaughter and farm manager, Becky Armstrong, recalled yesterday, Mrs. Randolph would take a sip of her tea and nod knowingly: It was only Mrs. Mellon, she would say, come home to fetch a scarf. Mrs. Randolph is survived by three children from her first marriage, Theodora Hooton of Glen Head, N.Y., Amory Winthrop of Millbrook, N.Y., and Cornelia Bonnie of Prospect, Ky.; five grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

frequently asked questions (FAQ):

Where is Theodora Ayer Randolph's memorial?
Theodora Ayer Randolph's memorial is located at: Wooster Cemetery, Danbury, Fairfield County, USA.
When did Theodora Ayer Randolph death?
Theodora Ayer Randolph death on 11 Jun 1996 in Upperville, Fauquier County, Virginia, USA
Where are the coordinates of the Theodora Ayer Randolph's memorial?
Latitude: 41.4035988
Longitude: -73.4503021

Family Members:

Parent

Charles Fanning Ayer

(1865 - 1956)

Spouse

Dr Archibald Cary Randolph III

(1885 - 1960)

Siblings

Children

Flowers:

Nearby Cemetories:

1. Wooster Cemetery
Danbury, Fairfield County, USA
Coordinate: 41.4035988, -73.4503021

2. Old North Main Street Cemetery
Danbury, Fairfield County, USA
Coordinate: 41.4044000, -73.4600000

3. Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery
Danbury, Fairfield County, USA
Coordinate: 41.4110489, -73.4499207

4. Saint James Episcopal Church Memorial Garden
Danbury, Fairfield County, USA
Coordinate: 41.3932750, -73.4528310

5. Saint Platons Russian Orthodox Cemetery
Danbury, Fairfield County, USA
Coordinate: 41.4129500, -73.4382900

6. Wooster Street Cemetery
Danbury, Fairfield County, USA
Coordinate: 41.3899540, -73.4495420

7. Old Saint Peters Cemetery
Danbury, Fairfield County, USA
Coordinate: 41.3909760, -73.4381104

8. Great Plain Cemetery
Danbury, Fairfield County, USA
Coordinate: 41.4174000, -73.4354000

9. Saint James Church Cemetery
Danbury, Fairfield County, USA
Coordinate: 41.3863830, -73.4437250

10. Comes Cemetery
Danbury, Fairfield County, USA
Coordinate: 41.4068604, -73.4876099

11. Pembroke Cemetery
Danbury, Fairfield County, USA
Coordinate: 41.4333000, -73.4772034

12. Westville Cemetery
Danbury, Fairfield County, USA
Coordinate: 41.4082910, -73.4996830

13. New Saint Peter Cemetery
Danbury, Fairfield County, USA
Coordinate: 41.3859700, -73.4962280

14. Kenosia Cemetery
Danbury, Fairfield County, USA
Coordinate: 41.3857994, -73.4974136

15. United Jewish Cemetery
Danbury, Fairfield County, USA
Coordinate: 41.3694100, -73.4769000

16. Children of Israel Cemetery
Danbury, Fairfield County, USA
Coordinate: 41.3690681, -73.4772110

17. Miry Brook Cemetery
Danbury, Fairfield County, USA
Coordinate: 41.3686790, -73.4773636

18. Congregational Church Cemetery
Bethel, Fairfield County, USA
Coordinate: 41.3729591, -73.4085693

19. Center Cemetery
Bethel, Fairfield County, USA
Coordinate: 41.3698692, -73.4129486

20. Stony Hill Cemetery
Bethel, Fairfield County, USA
Coordinate: 41.4055252, -73.3881607

21. 66 Nashville Road Cemetery
Bethel, Fairfield County, USA
Coordinate: 41.3653710, -73.4090270

22. Cemetery of the First Baptist Church
Danbury, Fairfield County, USA
Coordinate: 41.4379005, -73.4989624

23. Saint Marys Cemetery
Bethel, Fairfield County, USA
Coordinate: 41.3591995, -73.4167023

24. Christian Church Cemetery
Danbury, Fairfield County, USA
Coordinate: 41.4311218, -73.5077133