Henry H. Crapo

Henry Howland Crapo (born May 24, 1804 in Dartmouth , Bristol County , Massachusetts , †  July 23, 1869 in Flint , Michigan ) was an American politician and from 1865 to 1869 the 14th  governor of the state of Michigan.

Early years

Henry Crapo attended local schools in his homeland. But he also continued his education through his own studies. After spending part of his youth on his parents' farm, he began working as a teacher. After moving to New Bedford , Crapo worked as a land surveyor and occasionally as an auctioneer. There he was also employed in various positions in the local government. Among other things, he was treasurer, tax collector, justice of the peace and councilor. In the National Guard he was a colonel in a regiment.

Rise in Michigan

In 1856, Crapo moved to Flint, Michigan. There he got into the timber business and soon ran one of the largest timber companies in the country. In 1860 he was elected mayor of Flint to succeed William M. Fenton . He was instrumental in founding the Flint and Holly Railroad and was its president until it merged with another company. Crapo was a member of the Republican Party and served in the Michigan Senate from 1863 to 1864 . In 1864 he was elected the new governor of his state.

Michigan governor

Henry Crapo took up his new office on January 3, 1865. After re-election in 1866, he was able to exercise it until January 6, 1869. The end of the civil war fell during his first term of office . Associated with this were the reintegration of the returning soldiers into society, the provision of the war disabled and the bereaved of the dead, as well as the return of industrial production to civilian needs. The 13th and 14th amendments to the Constitution also came into force during his term of office . This prohibited slavery and granted citizenship to all people born in the United States (except for the Indians). Governor Crapo was an opponent of the pardon principle. He refused pardons unless the convicts were absolutely innocent. In his second term, the governor fell seriously ill. He was able to end his term in office in January 1869, but then died in July of the same year. Henry Crapo was married to Mary Ann Slocum, with whom he had ten children.

Web links

• Henry Crapo in the National Governors Association (English)
• Henry H. Crapo in the database of Find a Grave (English)