John Cranston, Governor of Rhode Island

JOHN CRANSTON

Colonial Physician; Military Leader; Legislator; Deputy Governor and Governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations

John Cranston, here treated, is said to be the son of the Reverend James Cranston Rector of the Church of St. Mary Overie in Southwark, London, later known as St. Saviour's Church, now called Southwark Cathedral and Chaplain to King Charles I He is reported to have married Mary Clarke, daughter of Jeremiah Clark and his wife Frances Latham. The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. 1920. Volume LXXIV (Part I), p. 134. For an account of the Clarke family see pp. 130-34

Genealogy

1. Genealogy.com: Governor Cranstons & Cranstoun of Bold. By Rob Maxton Graham
2. The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. 1920. Volume LXXIV (Part I), p. 134. For an account of the Clarke family see pp. 130-34

Biographical Account

John Cranston (1625–1680) was a colonial physician, military leader, legislator, Deputy Governor and Governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations during the 17th century. Being sent to New England as a boy, he was put under the care of Jeremiah Clarke, who became an early President of the colony, and he eventually married Clarke's daughter, Mary. Elected a drummer in the militia of Portsmouth while a teenager, Cranston had several military positions of authority throughout his life, and during King Philip's War was the first member of the Rhode Island Militia to hold the rank of major (not, as some sources state, major-general), in charge of all of the colony's militia companies. He also became a physician and surgeon, being granted a license to practice by the General Assembly, and considered a great blessing to the colony.

Cranston died in office on 12 March 1680 and was succeeded as Governor by Peleg Sanford, the son of a former governor of Newport and Portsmouth, John Sanford. He was buried in Newport's Common Burying Ground. Rhode Island historian and Lieutenant Governor Samuel G. Arnold wrote of him, "Governor John Cranston had borne a distinguished part in the history of the Colony, and filled the highest military and civil positions in its gift. He was the first who ever held the place of major-general, having been selected to command all the militia of the Colony during Philip's War, and he was the father of a future governor, who became more distinguished for his protracted public service."[13]
Gary Boyd Roberts gives the paternal grandmother of Cranston as Christian Stewart, and through her shows a descent from King Robert III of Scotland.[14] However, he also adds that another researcher, Andrew B. W. MacEwen, has doubts about Cranston's immediate ancestry.[15] Cranston's wife, Mary, was the daughter of former Rhode Island President Jeremy Clarke and his wife Frances, and sister of Rhode Island Governor Walter Clarke.[16] The Clarkes are descendants of King Edward I of England, and therefore all of Cranston's descendants are royally descended through the Clarkes, if not through the Cranstons as well.[10] Together, John and Mary Cranston had ten children, the oldest of whom, Samuel Cranston, became the longest serving governor in the history of both the colony and the state of Rhode Island.[6] allowing

Following Cranston's death, his widow married the widower Captain John Stanton, son of Robert and Avis Stanton of Newport, with whom she had one more child.[5]

Links

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cranston_(governor)_

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https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Cranston-177

John Cranston (1625 - 1680)

Governor John Cranston
Born 16 Feb 1625 in Scotlandmap
Son of James Cranston and [mother unknown]
[sibling%28s%29 unknown]
Husband of Mary (Clarke) Stanton — married 3 Jun 1658 in Newport, Rhode Islandmap
DESCENDANTS descendants
Father of Samuel Cranston, James Cranston, Caleb Cranston, Peleg Cranston, Benjamin Cranston, William Cranston, Elizabeth (Cranston) Brown and John Cranston
Died 12 Mar 1680 at age 55 in Newport, Rhode Islandmap [uncertain]
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Biography

John Cranston

"Came to America in 1637 as proven by a letter written 26 Dec 1724 by his eldest son Samuel Cranston...was recommended by his grandfather to the tuition of Jeremiah Clarke a merchant and citizen of London. His name first appears in Colonial Record 13 March 1643/4 when he was chosen at the General Court of Elections held at Newport drummer of Portsmouth militia. At this same court his future father-in-law, Jeremy Clarke, was chosen treasurer of Newport."[1]

May have been one of the first medical doctor and surgeon in the colony. "1663. March. Capt. John Cranston, Lycenced and Commissioned Doctor of Phyissick and Chirrurgery." [2]

"Gov. John Cranston was brought over as a lad to New England about 1637 by Jeremiah Clarke, whose daughter he married." Page 249

Burial

His epitaph reads "Here lyeth interred the body of Major John Cranston esq. Governor who deceased this life the 12 day of March in the 55th yeare of his age, 1680".
Common Burying Ground, Newport, Newport County, Rhode Island
GPS (lat/lon): 41.49517, -71.31515 [3]
Sources

↑ page 279 Descendants of Gov. John Cranston of Rhode Island - Genealogies of Rhode Island Families, Vol. I
↑ Smith, Joseph Jencks. Civil and Military List of Rhode Island, 1647-1800 (Preston and Rounds Co., Providence, R.I., 1900) Page 4
↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #5053601 John Cranston
"Descendants of Gov. John Cranston of Rhode Island", p. 248
Richardson, Royal Ancestry (2013) Douglas Richardson, Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 Vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham, (Salt Lake City, Utah: the author, 2013), Vol II, page 214, Jeremiah Clarke.
Our Ancestors the Stantons by William Henry Stanton, 1922
Wikipedia: John_Cranston_(governor)
Moriarty, G. Andrews. Additions and Corrections to Austin's Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island, The American Genealogist (1949) Vol. 25.

• Reference: MyHeritage Family Trees - SmartCopy: Dec 4 2019, 18:31:49 UTC