Born in 1848 in Kentucky, Randall apprenticed at an Iowa newspaper learning the printing business. In arrived in Jefferson Territory in present-day Colorado during the gold rush of 1859, and found employment as a journalist, editor, and publisher. In 1869 Randall moved to the mining camp of Georgetown, Colorado, working as a journalist for the newspaper The Colorado Miner. In 1877 he established his own paper, The Georgetown Courier, and served as its editor until 1930. He died in Georgetown in 1939. Much of the material in this collection appears to have derived from the Courier's files, and deals with mining and other industries of note in Colorado.