Henry Y. Cranston

Who was Henry Y. Cranston?

Henry Young Cranston was a U.S. Representative from Rhode Island, brother of Robert B. Cranston.

Born in Newport, Rhode Island, Cranston attended the public schools. He engaged in mercantile pursuits in New Bedford, Massachusetts. He moved to Newport, Rhode Island, in 1810, and engaged in the commission business until 1815. He studied law. He was admitted to the bar in 1819 and commenced practice in Newport. He served as clerk of the court of common pleas 1818–1833. He held the rank of colonel in the Rhode Island Militia and commanded the Artillery Company of Newport from 1825–1828. He served as member of the State house of representatives 1827–1843. He served as member and vice president of the convention that framed the State constitution in 1842.

Cranston was elected as a Law and Order candidate to the Twenty-eighth Congress. He was reelected as a Whig to the Twenty-ninth Congress. He was again a member of the State house of representatives 1847–1854 and served three years as speaker. In the 1840s, he was a member of the short-lived Law and Order Party of Rhode Island. He died in Newport, Rhode Island, February 12, 1864. He was interred in the Island Cemetery in Newport.