Choice B. Randell

{{Infobox officeholder | birth_name=Choice Boswell Randell | name = Choice B. Randell | image=Choice B. Randell.jpg | office = Member of the<br>U.S. House of Representatives<br>from Texas | constituency = {{ushr|TX|5|C}} (1901–1903)<br>{{ushr|TX|4|C}} (1903–1913) | term_start=March 4, 1901 | term_end=March 3, 1913 | predecessor = Joseph W. Bailey | successor = Sam Rayburn | title1 = Grayson County Attorney | term_start1 = 1882 | term_end1 = 1888 | predecessor1= | successor1 = | title4 = Denison City Attorney | term_start4 = 1882 | term_end4 = 1882 | birth_date = {{birth date|1857|01|01|mf=y}} | birth_place = Murray County, Georgia, US | death_date = {{death date and age|1945|10|19|1857|01|01|mf=y}} | death_place = Sherman, Texas, US | party = Democrat | spouse=Anna Marschalk | children=Andrew | profession=Lawyer | allegiance=Texas State Militia | unit=Fourth Texas Regiment }}

'''Choice Boswell Randell''' (January 1, 1857 – October 19, 1945) was an American lawyer and politician who served six terms as a U.S. Representative from Texas from 1901 to 1913.

He was the nephew of Lucius Jeremiah Gartrell.

==Early life==

Randell was born in Murray County, Georgia on January 1, 1857. His parents were James L. and Louisa Amantha (née Gartrell) Randell.<ref name="Representing Texas: a Comprehensive History of U.S. and Confederate Senators and Representatives from Texas">{{cite book |last=Guttery|first=Ben|title=Representing Texas: a Comprehensive History of U.S. and Confederate Senators and Representatives from Texas |year=2008 |publisher=BookSurge Publishing|isbn=978-1-4196-7884-4|page=125}}</ref><ref name="Choice B Randell" /> He attended public and private schools. He then enrolled in the North Georgia Agricultural College but left without graduating in 1878 to study law.<ref name="Choice B Randell" /> He was admitted to the Georgia State Bar in 1878.<ref name="Choice B Randell">{{Handbook of Texas | name=Choice B Randell|author=Hart, Brian |id=fra32| retrieved=16 July 2010}} Texas State Historical Association</ref>

== Career == Randell commenced his law practice in Denison, Texas, in January 1879.<ref name="Choice B Randell-The Political Graveyard">{{cite news |last=Kestenbaum|first=Lawrence |title=Choice B Randell|url=http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/randall-randlett.html#R9M0JABPX|access-date=16 July 2010|newspaper=The Political Graveyard}}</ref> He moved to Sherman, Texas, in 1882 and continued the practice of law.

Randell was elected as a Democrat to the fifty-seventh and to the five succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1901 – March 3, 1913). He did not support women's suffrage and expressed in a letter to women's suffragette leader Ermina Thompson Folsom that his concern was race-based.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/exhibits/suffrage/comesofage/randell-folsom.html |title=C.B. Randell to Erminia Thompson Folsom, November 25, 1910 |author=Erminia Thompson Folsom Papers |publisher=Texas State Library and Archives Commission |access-date=17 July 2010}}</ref> Randell was the author of the Anti-Graft Resolutions to prevent members of the United States Congress from receiving gifts or fees from anyone with business before Congress.<ref name="The Austin-Boston Connection: Five Decades of House Democratic Leadership, 1937-1989">{{cite book |title=The Austin-Boston Connection: Five Decades of House Democratic Leadership, 1937–1989 |last1=Champagne |first1=Anthony |last2=Harris | first2=Dr. Douglas B| last3=Riddlesperger Jr | first3=James W | last4=Nelson | first4=Dr. Garrison |year=2009 |publisher=TAMU |isbn=978-1-60344-120-9 |page=36 }}</ref>

With pending reapportionment of his congressional district, Randell chose to make a bid for the United States Senate in 1912, rather than run for re-election as a member of the United States House of Representatives.<ref name="The Austin-Boston Connection: Five Decades of House Democratic Leadership, 1937-1989"/> Randell was unsuccessful in his Senate bid, and Sam Rayburn succeeded him in the U.S. House.

After his career in public service ended, Randell resumed the practice of law.

==Personal life== Randell was married to Anna Marschalk. They had a son, Andrew.

Randell belonged to the Freemasons, Improved Order of Red Men, Knights of Pythias, Odd Fellows, and Woodmen of the World.<ref name="Choice B Randell-The Political Graveyard" /><ref name="Choice B Randell" /> He was a Presbyterian.<ref name="Choice B Randell-The Political Graveyard" />

He died in Sherman, Texas, October 19, 1945 at the age of 88 years.<ref name="Choice B Randell-The Political Graveyard" /> He was buried at West Hill Cemetery in Sherman, Texas.<ref name="Choice B Randell-The Political Graveyard" />

==References== {{Reflist|30em}}

==Sources== {{CongBio|R000042}}

{{s-start}} {{s-par|us-hs}} {{US House succession box | state = Texas | district =5 | before = Joseph Weldon Bailey | after = James Andrew Beall | years = 1901–1903 }} {{US House succession box | state = Texas | district =4 | before = Morris Sheppard | after = Sam Rayburn | years = 1903–1913 }} {{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Randell, Choice Boswell}} Category:1857 births Category:1945 deaths Category:Democratic Party United States representatives from Texas Category:20th-century United States representatives