Robert Rantoul was born on November 23, 1778 in Salem, Massachusetts to Robert Rantoul (1753-1783) and Mary Preston (1755-1816). At age 14, Rantoul began apprenticing with local apothecaries, Dr. William Stearns and Dr. Joseph Osgood of Salem, before opening his own apothecary in Beverly, Massachusetts in 1796. Rantoul was involved in a variety of social organizations in Beverly and held multiple political positions as well. He served in the town militia and eventually became Captain of the Light Infantry Company of Beverly from 1805 to 1809. He acted as Overseer of the Poor for over fifty years. He was Parish Clerk of the First Parish Church and deacon of the First Church for forty-six years. He was appointed Justice of the Peace and acting Trial Justice for Beverly from 1808 to 1858. In 1809 he was appointed to the General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and was reelected to the position annually until 1820. Rantoul married Joanna Lovett (1780-1846) on June 4, 1801 and the couple had seven children: Joanna Lovett Rantoul (1803-1863); Robert Rantoul, Jr. (1805-1852); Mary Elizabeth (1809-1821); Samuel (1813-1831); Charlotte (1816-1839); Elizabeth Augusta Lovett (1819-1837); and Hannah Lovett (b. 1821). William Endicott (1799-1899) married Rantoul's oldest daughter Joanna on September 26, 1824 and took over management of Rantoul's apothecary in August 1824. Robert Rantoul died on October 24, 1858.

Robert Rantoul Jr. was born on August 13, 1805 in Beverly, Massachusetts to Robert Rantoul (1778-1858) and Joanna Lovett (1780-1846). He attended Phillips Andover Academy and graduated from Harvard University in 1826. He married Jane Elisabeth Woodberry (1807-1870) on August 4, 1831 and the couple had two sons, Robert S. Rantoul (1832-1922) and Charles W. Rantoul (1839-1864). Rantoul practiced law in Salem and Gloucester, Massachusetts before becoming a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1835 to 1839. He was the United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts from 1846 to 1849. In 1850, he was elected to the 32nd Congress as a United States Senator from Massachusetts. Rantoul served in the Senate until his death on August 7, 1852 in Washington, D.C. at age 46.