Representative Charles West Kendall

Charles West Kendall (April 22, 1828 – June 25, 1914) was an American politician, lawyer, librarian, editor, proprietor, and miner who was active in California, Nevada, and Colorado. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented Nevada in the United States House of Representatives for two terms during a significant period in American history, participating in the legislative process and representing the interests of his constituents.

Kendall was born in Searsmont, Waldo County, Maine, on April 22, 1828. He received his early education in New England and attended Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, before going on to Yale College. His formal education provided a foundation for his later work in law, journalism, and public service, and placed him within the educated professional class that increasingly supplied political leadership in the mid-nineteenth century.

In 1849, during the height of the California Gold Rush, Kendall moved west to California, where he engaged in mining. His experience in the mining regions acquainted him with the economic and social conditions of the rapidly developing Pacific Coast. By the mid-1850s he had turned to journalism, becoming editor and proprietor of the San Jose Tribune, a position he held from 1855 to 1859. Through this role he participated in shaping public opinion in a growing California community, while gaining prominence in local affairs.

Kendall studied law while in California and was admitted to the bar in 1859. He commenced the practice of law in Sacramento, California, combining his legal work with his growing involvement in public life. He entered elective office as a member of the California State Assembly in 1862 and 1863, representing Tuolumne and Mono counties. His legislative service in California coincided with the Civil War era, a time when questions of loyalty, development, and governance in the western states and territories were of national importance. After his term in the Assembly, Kendall moved to Hamilton, Nevada, where he continued to practice law and became involved in the political life of the newly established state.

Kendall was elected as a Democrat to the United States House of Representatives from Nevada in 1870 and served two terms in Congress from March 4, 1871, to March 3, 1875. As a member of the Democratic Party representing Nevada, he contributed to the legislative process during his time in office, participating in the democratic process and advocating for the interests of his constituents in a period marked by Reconstruction, western expansion, and the consolidation of federal authority in the territories and new states. He declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1874, thereby concluding his congressional service after four years.

Following his departure from Congress, Kendall moved to Denver, Colorado, where he resumed the practice of law. His legal career in Denver extended his long professional engagement with the rapidly developing communities of the American West, and he remained identified with the legal and civic affairs of the region. Later in life, Kendall entered federal service in Washington, D.C., where he was appointed assistant librarian in the Interstate Commerce Commission in 1892. In that capacity he contributed to the organization and maintenance of the Commission’s records and information resources during a formative period in federal regulation of railroads and interstate commerce, and he continued in this position for more than two decades.

Kendall remained in the Washington area for the rest of his life. He died in Mount Rainier, Maryland, on June 25, 1914, while still serving as assistant librarian of the Interstate Commerce Commission. He was interred in the Congressional Cemetery in Washington, D.C., reflecting his status as a former Member of Congress and long-serving federal official.