Henry Y. Cranston

Henry Y. Cranston

Henry Young Cranston (born October 9, 1789 in Newport , Rhode Island , † February 12, 1864 there ) was an American politician . Between 1843 and 1847 he represented the first constituency of the state of Rhode Island in the US House of Representatives .

Career

Henry Cranston was the older brother of Robert B. Cranston , who was Congressman for Rhode Island between 1837 and 1849 - before and after his brother. Henry attended the common schools and later worked in New Bedford ( Massachusetts ) in trade. In 1810 he returned to Newport, where he worked as a commission dealer until 1815. After studying law and being admitted to the bar in 1819, he began to practice in his new profession in Newport. Between 1818 and 1833 he was a clerk at a court of appeal. Between 1827 and 1843 Cranston was a member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives ; In 1842 he was a member and vice-president of an assembly to revise the constitution of his home state.

Cranston joined the Rhode Island briefly existing Law and Order Party in the early 1840s . This party emerged as a reaction to the so-called Dorr uprising, which involved demands for a reform of the electoral law. In 1842 he was elected to the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC , where he replaced his brother Robert on March 4, 1843. Two years later, Henry Cranston, like his brother, joined the Whig Party . As their candidate, he was elected to Congress for a second term , where he remained until March 3, 1847. Then the seat fell back to his brother.

Between 1847 and 1854 Henry Cranston was again a member of the House of Representatives from Rhode Island, where he was its speaker for three years . He died in February 1864 in his native Newport.

Web links

• Henry Y. Cranston in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• Henry Y. Cranston in the database of Find a Grave (English)