Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 5).djvu/197

Capt. Randall became a member in 1771 of the Marine society of New York for the relief of in- digent and distressed masters of vessels, their wid- ows and orphan children, and in 1780 was elected a member of the chamber of commerce. In 1790 he purchased from Baron Poelnitz the property known as the Minto farm, or Minthorne, consisting of more than twenty-one acres of land in what is now the 15th ward of New York city, the southern boundary of which was then the upper end of Broad- way. This, together with four lots in the 1st ward of "New York, and stocks valued at $10.000, he be- queathed to found the home called the Sailors' Snug Harbor, " for the purpose of maintaining aged, decrepit, and worn-out sailors." It was his inten- tion to have the home erected on the family estate, but, in consequence of suits by alleged heirs, the control of the property was not absolutely obtained until 1831. Meanwhile the growth of the city made it more advantageous to rent the farm and pur- chase a site elsewhere, and 130 acres were bought on Staten island near New Brighton. In October, 1831, the corner-stone was laid, and the dedication ceremonies took place two years later. In 1834 Capt. Randall's remains were removed to Staten island, and in 1884 a heroic statue of him, in bronze, by Augustus St. Gaudens, was unveiled, with appropriate ceremonies, on the lawn adjoin- ing the buildings. At present (1898) the property has increased by purchase to 180 acres, on which there are eight large dormitory buildings capable of accommodating 1,000 men, besides numerous other buildings, thirty-eight in all, including a hospital, church, and residences for the officers.

RANDALL, Samuel Jackson, statesman, b. in Philadelphia, Pa., 10 Oct., 1828; d. in Washington, D. C.. 12 April. 1890. He was the son of a well- known lawyer of Philadelphia, was educated as a mer- chant, and, after being four times elected to the city council and once to the state sen- ate, was sent to congress, taking his seat on 7 Dec., 1863. He after- ward represented without intermis-

s i n the only

Democratic district in Philadelphia. He served on the committees on banking, rules, and elections, distinguished himself by his speeches against the force bill in 1875, was a can- didate for speaker in the next year, and was ap- pointed chairman of the committee on appropria- tions. He gained credit by his success in curtailing expenditures by enforcing a system of proportional reduction in the appropriations, and, on the death i if .Michael C. Kerr, was elected speaker, 4 Dec., IsTii. He was re-elected speaker in the two follow- ing congresses, serving in that capacity till 3 March, 1881. Mr. Randall bore a conspicuous part in the debates on the tariff as the leader of the protec- tionist wing of the Democratic party. His widow is a 'laughter of Aaron Ward, of New York.

RANDALL, Samuel S., author, b. in Nor- wich. N. Y.. 27 May. 1809: d. in New York city, 3 June, 1881. He was educated < ixldrd academy and at Hamilton college, and in 1830-'6 practised law in C'henango county. In 1836-'7 he was deputy clerk of the state assembly, in May, 1837, he was appointed clerk in the department of common schools, and in 1838 he became general deputy superintendent of common schools, which office he held till 1854. After serving for a short time as superintendent of Brooklyn public schools, he was appointed to a similar post in New York city, and si-nvd till June, 1870, when he resigned. Prom 1845 till 1852 he edited the " District School Jour- nal," and he was the associate editor of the " Amer- ican Journal of Education and College Review," and of the " Northern Light." published at Albany. Among other works he published " Digest of the Common-School System of the State of New York " (Troy, 1844); "Incentives to the Cultivation of Geology " (New York, 1846); " Mental and Moral Culture and Popular Education " (1850); " First Principles of Popular Education" (1868); and " History of the State of New York " (1870). His cousin, Henry Stephens, author, b. in Madison county, N. Y., in 1811; d. in Cortland, N. Y., 14 Aug., 1876, was graduated at Union college in 1830, studied law, and was admitted to the bar, but never practised. He became secretary of state and superintendent of public instruction "of New York state in 1851, and was the author of the bill that created the separate department of public instruc- tion and the office of superintendent. In 1871 Mr. Randall was elected to the assembly, and appointed chairman of the committee on public education. He was one of the editors of " Moore's Rural New Yorker," contributed to agricultural, scientific, and literary periodicals, and published " Sheep Husbandry'" (Philadelphia, 1849); "The Life of Thomas Jefferson" (New York, 1858); "Pine-Wool Sheep Husbandry" (1863); "Practical Shepherd" (Rochester, 1864); and "First Principles of Popular Education and Public Instruction " (1868).

RANDOLPH. Alfred Magill, P. E. bishop, b. in Winchester, Va., 31 Aug., 1836. He is the fourth child of Robert Lee Randolph, who. .-it in studying law, devoted himself to farming on his inherited estate. Eastern View, Fauquier co., Va. After graduation at William and Mary in 1855, the son studied at Virginia theological seminary, Alexandria, where he was graduated in 1858. In the autumn of the same year he was appointed rector of St. George's church, Fredericksburg, Va. After the bombardment of the town, in December, 1862, by which the church edifice was much injured, the congregation dispersed, Dr. Randolph left, and from 1863 until the close of the civil war served as a chaplain in the Confederate army, in hospitals, and in the field. He was appointed rector of Christ church, Alexandria (erected in 1772, see illustration), in 1865, and in 1867 liecaine the pastor of Emmanuel church. Baltimore, where he remained

until he was

elected, in 1883, assistant bishop of Virginia. He received the degree of D. D. from William and