Charles Delano was a U.S. Representative

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 from Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

.

Born in New Braintree, Massachusetts

New Braintree, Massachusetts

New Braintree is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 999 at the 2010 census.- History :New Braintree was first settled in 1709 and was officially incorporated in 1751....

, Delano moved with his parents to Amherst

Amherst, Massachusetts

Amherst is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States in the Connecticut River valley. As of the 2010 census, the population was 37,819, making it the largest community in Hampshire County . The town is home to Amherst College, Hampshire College, and the University of Massachusetts...

 in 1833.
He attended the common schools and graduated from Amherst College

Amherst College

Amherst College is a private liberal arts college located in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Amherst is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 1,744 students in the fall of 2009...

 in 1840, where he studied law. Delano was admitted to the bar

Admission to the bar in the United States

In the United States, admission to the bar is the granting of permission by a particular court system to a lawyer to practice law in that system. Each U.S. state and similar jurisdiction has its own court system and sets its own rules for bar admission , which can lead to different admission...

 in 1842 and commenced practice in Amherst. He moved to Northampton

Northampton, Massachusetts

The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population of Northampton's central neighborhoods, was 28,549...

 in 1848 and continued the practice of law. He served as Treasurer of Hampshire County

Hampshire County, Massachusetts

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 152,251 people, 55,991 households, and 33,818 families residing in the county. The population density was 288 people per square mile . There were 58,644 housing units at an average density of 111 per square mile...

 from 1849 to 1858.

Delano was elected as a Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 to the Thirty-sixth

36th United States Congress

The Thirty-sixth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1859 to March 4, 1861, during the third and fourth...

 and Thirty-seventh

37th United States Congress

The Thirty-seventh United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1861 to March 4, 1863, during the first two...

 Congresses. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1862, and resumed the practice of law.

In 1874, Delano was appointed to be an assistant coroner for the inquest into deaths that resulted from a dam break on the Mill River

Mill River

The Mill River is a river in the U.S. state of Connecticut.The river starts in the town of Cheshire, flows through Hamden and New Haven, and discharges into New Haven Harbor on Long Island Sound. The river's length is...

, which caused a flood in Williamsburg, Massachusetts

Williamsburg, Massachusetts

Williamsburg is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 2,482 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area.-The Mill River Flood:...

. Later he served as a trustee of the Clarke School for the Education of the Deaf

Clarke School for the Deaf

Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech, formerly Clarke School for the Deaf, is a private school located in Northampton, Massachusetts that specializes in educating deaf children using the oral method through the assistance of hearing aids and cochlear implants...

 from 1877 to 1883.

Delano was appointed by Governor Alexander H. Rice

Alexander H. Rice

Alexander Hamilton Rice was Mayor of Boston, Massachusetts from 1856–1857, a U.S. Congressman during the American Civil War, and the 30th Governor of Massachusetts from 1876–78.-Biography:...

 in 1878 to act as special counsel for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in matters relating to the Hoosac Tunnel

Hoosac Tunnel

The Hoosac Tunnel is a 4.75-mile-long railroad tunnel in western Massachusetts which passes through the Hoosac Range, an extension of Vermont's Green Mountains. Work began in 1848 and was finally completed in 1875...

 and the Troy and Greenfield Railroad

Troy and Greenfield Railroad

The Troy and Greenfield Railroad, chartered in 1848, ran from Greenfield, Massachusetts, United States, to the Vermont state line. It was leased to the Troy and Boston Railroad in 1856, then consolidated into Fitchburg Railroad 1887 which in turn was acquired by Boston and Maine Railroad by lease...

, and served in this capacity until his death in Northampton on January 23, 1883. He was interred in Bridge Street Cemetery.