Benjamin Elliott Crane (December 19, 1835 – January 15, 1885) was a businessman in post-bellum

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, United States.

Biography

Benjamin Crane was born in

Athens, Georgia Athens, officially Athens–Clarke County, is a consolidated city-county and college town in the U.S. state of Georgia. Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta, and is a satellite city of the capital. The University of Georgia, the sta ...

to Ross Crane and Martha White Elliott. He graduated from the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

in 1854 and studied civil engineering in

Troy, New York Troy is a city in the U.S. state of New York and the county seat of Rensselaer County. The city is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany a ...

. He served in

Cobb's Legion Cobb's Legion (also known as the Georgia Legion) was an American Civil War unit that was raised on the Confederate side from the State of Georgia by Thomas Reade Rootes Cobb during the summer of 1861. A "legion" consisted of a single integrated ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, becoming a brigade

quartermaster Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land armies, a quartermaster is generally a relatively senior soldier who supervises stores or barracks and distributes supplies and provisions. In m ...

with the rank of major in 1863. He moved to Atlanta in 1865 when the city was still in ashes. He married Sarah Clayton, a daughter of William Wirt Clayton and Corline Semmes on February 21, 1867. In business he was a natural leader and he was instrumental in the growth of the

Atlanta Chamber of Commerce The Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce is the chamber of commerce for the Atlanta metropolitan area. It was founded in 1859. History The first Atlanta Chamber of Commerce was founded in 1859, and was chiefly concerned with fighting railroad rate ...

to an institution of great usefulness. He was a member of the Georgia's constitutional convention of 1877, and was a member of the state's capitol commission. Benjamin Crane died in Atlanta on January 15, 1885. At the time of his death, he was still president of the Chamber of Commerce, as well as a member of the city's board of police commissioners.

References

1835 births 1885 deaths Businesspeople from Atlanta Confederate States Army officers History of Atlanta People of Georgia (U.S. state) in the American Civil War University of Georgia alumni 19th-century American businesspeople {{atlanta-stub