Charles Sturtevant Randall

Charles Sturtevant Randall (February 20, 1824 – August 17, 1904) was a United States Representative from Massachusetts and a member of the Republican Party who served three consecutive terms in Congress from 1889 to 1895. He was born in New Bedford, Bristol County, Massachusetts, on February 20, 1824, in a community that was then a major center of the whaling industry and maritime commerce. Randall spent his life closely tied to his native city, which would remain both his home and the base of his political career.

Details of Randall’s formal education are not extensively documented in surviving records, but like many New Englanders of his generation he was educated in local schools in and around New Bedford. Growing up in a thriving seaport, he was exposed early to the commercial and civic life of the region, experiences that helped shape his later interest in public affairs and Republican politics. His early adulthood coincided with a period of industrial growth and political realignment in Massachusetts, providing a backdrop for his eventual entry into public service.

Before his election to Congress, Randall became active in local and state Republican circles as the party consolidated its influence in Massachusetts following the Civil War. He built a reputation as a reliable party man and community leader in New Bedford, participating in the civic life of the city and aligning himself with the pro-business, pro-industry outlook that characterized much of the state’s Republican establishment in the late nineteenth century. His standing in the community and within the party organization positioned him as a viable candidate for national office.

Randall was elected as a Republican to the United States House of Representatives and served three terms, from March 4, 1889, to March 3, 1895, representing Massachusetts during the Fifty-first, Fifty-second, and Fifty-third Congresses. His tenure in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history marked by debates over tariffs, monetary policy, veterans’ pensions, and the regulation of interstate commerce. As a member of the House of Representatives, Charles Sturtevant Randall participated in the democratic process and contributed to the legislative work of the chamber, representing the interests of his Massachusetts constituents within the broader national discussions of the Gilded Age.

During his years in Congress, Randall served as part of the Republican majority in the Fifty-first Congress and then as a member of the opposition during the Democratic control of the House in the Fifty-second and Fifty-third Congresses. In this capacity he supported the general Republican program of protective tariffs and economic development that was important to the industrial and commercial interests of Massachusetts. His service reflected the concerns of a district tied to manufacturing, maritime trade, and the evolving industrial economy of New England, and he worked within the committee and floor processes of the House to advance those interests.

After concluding his third term on March 3, 1895, Randall did not return to Congress. He resumed life in New Bedford, remaining a respected elder figure in the community and within local Republican circles. Having spent his entire life closely associated with his birthplace, he witnessed the transformation of New Bedford from a whaling port to an industrial city and retained ties to the civic institutions and social networks that had supported his political career.

Charles Sturtevant Randall died in New Bedford, Massachusetts, on August 17, 1904. In keeping with his lifelong connection to the city, he was interred in Rural Cemetery in New Bedford. His career as a three-term Republican Representative from Massachusetts placed him among the cohort of late nineteenth-century legislators who helped guide the nation through a period of rapid economic change and political realignment, while maintaining a strong identification with the local communities they represented.