Robert Richard Randall was a noted

sea captain A sea captain, ship's captain, captain, master, or shipmaster, is a high-grade licensed mariner who holds ultimate command and responsibility of a merchant vessel.Aragon and Messner, 2001, p.3. The captain is responsible for the safe and efficie ...

in life, and, after his death in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

on June 5, 1801, an important

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

, caring for thousands of retired seafarers.

Life

Captain Robert Richard Randall was born in New Jersey in 1750. Randall's father, Captain Tom Randall, emigrated from

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

in the 1740s, and was a

privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

who amassed an extremely large estate. He was a member of the Committee of 51 which enforced the boycott of British goods up to the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

. He was also a shareholder in the

Tontine Coffee House The Tontine Coffee House was a coffeehouse in Manhattan, New York City, established in early 1793. Situated at 82 Wall Street, on the north-west corner of Water Street,Nathans, p. 133 it was built by a group of stockbrokers to serve as a meeting p ...

, was one of the original 12 members of the

New York Chamber of Commerce The New York Chamber of Commerce was founded in 1768 by twenty New York City merchants. As the first such commercial organization in the United States, it attracted the participation of a number of New York's most influential business leaders, in ...

, and served as Vice Counsel to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. Captain Randall served as coxswain for the boat that carried

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

from

Elizabethtown, New Jersey Elizabeth Township, also called Elizabethtown, was a township that existed in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, from 1664 until 1855. The area was initially part of the Elizabethtown Tract, purchased from the Lenape on October 28, 166 ...

Lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan (also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York) is the southernmost part of Manhattan, the central borough for business, culture, and government in New York City, which is the most populated city in the United States with ...

for his first inauguration. After Captain Tom retired from sailing, he set up a merchant shop on Hanover Street, while his son took over his fleet. He died in 1797 and is buried in the graveyard at

Trinity Church Cemetery The parish of Trinity Church has three separate burial grounds associated with it in New York City. The first, Trinity Churchyard, is located in Lower Manhattan at 74 Trinity Place, near Wall Street and Broadway. Alexander Hamilton, Albert Gal ...

. Randall served as a privateer during the American Revolution. In 1771 Randall, as a young man, joined the Marine Society of New York, a relief society for vessel operators, and their widow and orphans. His work with this charitable organization served to inspire him to dedicate his wealth to supporting needy sailors. After his father's death, five years before Captain Robert himself died at the age of 51, Robert Randall used some of the money from his inheritance to purchase the former Elliot estate in the then-rural Greenwich Village for a sum of 5,000 pounds. The new Randall estate was 24 acres, and covered the area between today's Fourth and Fifth Streets and

Waverly Place Waverly Place is a narrow street in the Greenwich Village section of the New York City borough of Manhattan, that runs from Bank Street to Broadway. Waverly changes direction roughly at its midpoint at Christopher Street, turning about 120 deg ...

and Ninth Street.Chapin, Anna Alice. Greenwich Village. New York: Dodd, Mead and Company, 1917.

Philanthropy

As a sailor, himself, Captain Randall understood the difficulty of life as a sailor. Upon his death in 1801, Randall's will, drawn by

Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first United States secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795. Born out of wedlock in Charlest ...

, directed an array of political, religious, and civic leaders in the city with the task of erecting an "Asylum or Marine Hospital, to be called the

Sailors' Snug Harbor Sailors' Snug Harbor, also known as Sailors Snug Harbor and informally as Snug Harbor, is a collection of architecturally significant 19th-century buildings on Staten Island, New York City. The buildings are set in an park along the Kill Van K ...

for the purpose of maintaining and supporting aged, decrepit, and worn-out

sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. The profession of the s ...

s." The endowment for the

charity Charity may refer to: Giving * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing * Ch ...

was to be formed from his estate in New York City. As the area was still mostly rural at the time of his death, Randall wanted Sailor's Snug Harbor to be built on his property, which included the north side of

Washington Square Park Washington Square Park is a public park in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City. One of the best known of New York City's public parks, it is an icon as well as a meeting place and center for cultural activity. ...

and the south side of Eighth Street. The land was good farm land, and Randall believed that the residents would be able to grow grain and vegetables to be used to support the sailors living at Snug Harbor. However, there was a challenge to Randall's will by the children of his half-brother, which took many years in court to settle. By the time the conflict had been decided in favor of Sailor's Snug Harbor, the organization decided to subdivide up the land and lease it out. In 1831, Sailor's Snug Harbor used the money from the

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

leases to purchase a 160-acre complex on Staten Island for $16,000, to use as the home for the sailors. According to Randall's will, this “snug harbor” was to be a marine hospital for “the purpose of maintaining aged, decrepit, and worn-out sailors.” The lawyer responsible for drawing up the will was

. The charity set up by Randall and Hamilton was one of the first charitable institutions in the United States. The sole requirement for residency at Sailor's Snug Harbor was five years sailing under a United States Flagged Shipped (Military or civilian). There were no age, religion, race, or other factors taken into consideration. Once in residence, each former sailor was called “Captain” by the staff, regardless of their actual rank during their service. Though modified much since its inception, the Sailors of Snug Harbor foundation continues to function to this day.

Death and Burial

Randall died on June 5, 1801. He was initially buried in a plot in the cemetery at St. Mark's Church, but was subsequently moved into a vault as the extension of 8th Street per the

Commissioners' Plan of 1811 The Commissioners' Plan of 1811 was the original design for the streets of Manhattan above Houston Street and below 155th Street, which put in place the rectangular grid plan of streets and lots that has defined Manhattan on its march uptown u ...

would have run through his grave. Once Sailors' Snug Harbor was completed, his remains were transported to Staten Island and laid to rest on August 21, 1834, under a monument bearing his name.Morris

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Randall, Robert Richard Sea captains American founders American humanitarians American people of Scottish descent People of New Jersey in the American Revolution 1750 births 1801 deaths People of colonial New Jersey