Shadwell, a census-designated place by the Rivanna River in Albemarle County, Virginia near Charlottesville, was the birthplace of Thomas Jefferson. It was so named after Shadwell parish in London by his father, Peter Jefferson, a colonist and planter in central Virginia. Shadwell is the parish where his wife Jane Randolph had been christened. Peter Jefferson and Jane Randolph had six children, among them Thomas, who would become the third president of the United States. Active in county meetings Peter was appointed Justice of the Peace of Albemarle county, taking his oath in September 1744. The following month he was appointed lieutenant colonel to the Albemarle county militia.