Randolph Yarborough was born in Goochland County, Virginia on June 15, 1756. He later settled in Halifax County, North Carolina. He served as a private in the Halifax County Regiment of the North Carolina Militia. He married Mary Bailey in Brunswick County, Virginia on March 28, 1781 and the couple had at least four children together. In early May 1781 Yarborough was shot in the chest near the spine when the British Army occupied Halifax in early May 1781. A British surgeon removed the bullet and his wife Mary nursed him back to health. Once he recovered from his injury, he reenlisted in the Halifax County Militia and served an additional year of service. He died in Fleming County, Kentucky on July 27, 1804.