Charles was born on 11 November 1859 in
San Francisco, California, to Charles Goodall and Serena Miner Thayer. His middle name Miner was the family name of his mother’s maternal grandfather, Luke Miner. In 1876, when Charles was sixteen, he began working for his father’s firm Goodall, Perkins & Co. at 10 Market in San Francisco, California, captaining the tugboat
Minnehaha. In 1880, he was mate of the steamship
Gypsy. In 1883, he was captain of the Pacific Coast Steamship Company’s wharf. In 1884, he was captain of the steamship
Ancon shipping merchandise and passengers to ports along the Pacific Coast. By 1885, he had achieved achieving the title of Master Mariner in 1885. Charles was a
Lieutenant commander of the navy reserve. He commanded several navy ships in their unofficial trial trips from the shipyard of
Union Iron Works in San Francisco, California. In 1888, he commanded the
USS Charleston in its trial trip. As a “Native Son” he was an appropriate choice to command the first
man-of-war built on the Pacific coast. In 1890, he commanded the
USS San Francisco in its trial trip from San Francisco to
Point Conception and back. In 1893, he commanded the
USS Olympia in its trial trip, cruising over twenty-one knots an hour on the return trip from Point Conception to San Francisco despite a head wind. Charles said of the Olympia “I think she is not only the fastest vessel in the
United States navy, but the handsomest man-of-war in the world.” In September 1893, Charles resigned as leader of the naval reserve to devote his entire time to business at Goodall, Perkins & Co. He was lieutenant commander of the Naval Battalion for the National Guard of California. In 1894, Charles became Vice-President of the Oregon Coal and Navigation Company. His uncle Edwin Goodall was President of the company and a partner of Goodall, Perkins & Co. In May 1896, Charles commanded the
USS Oregon in its unofficial trial trip from San Francisco to Point Conception and back. After the death of his father in July 1899, Charles became a partner and officer of Goodall, Perkins & Co. In 1901, Charles became vice-president of the Pacific Coast Steamship Company and the
Pacific Coast Railway Company. After the death of his uncle Edwin Goodall in February 1909, Charles became President of the Oregon Coal and Navigation Company for two years before the company was sold. ==Personal life==