Henry Young Cranston (October 9, 1789 – February 12, 1864) was a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

, brother of

Robert B. Cranston Robert Bennie Cranston (January 14, 1791 – January 27, 1873) was a U.S. Representative from Rhode Island, brother of Henry Young Cranston. Biography Born in Newport, Rhode Island, Cranston attended the public schools. He was employed in th ...

. Born in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...

, Cranston attended the public schools. He engaged in mercantile pursuits in

New Bedford, Massachusetts New Bedford (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ) is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, Bristol County, Massachusetts. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast (Massachusetts), South Coast region. Up throug ...

. He moved to

, in 1810, and engaged in business as a commission merchant until 1815. He studied law. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

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 The Newport Artillery Company of Newport, Rhode Island was chartered in 1741 by the Rhode Island General Assembly during the reign of King George II of Great Britain. It is the oldest military unit in the United States operating under its origina ...

from 1825–1828. He served as member of the

Rhode Island House of Representatives The Rhode Island House of Representatives is the lower house of the Rhode Island General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island, the upper house being the Rhode Island Senate. It is composed of 75 members, elected t ...

from 1827 to 1843. He served as member and vice president of the convention that framed the State constitution in 1842. Cranston was elected to the Twenty-eighth Congress as a

Law and Order Party of Rhode Island The Law and Order Party of Rhode Island was a short-lived political party in the U.S. state of Rhode Island in the 1840s, brought into existence as a consequence of the Dorr Rebellion. Background In 1840, Rhode Island still used as its consti ...

candidate. He was reelected as a Whig to the Twenty-ninth Congress (March 4, 1843 – March 3, 1847). He was again a member of the state House of Representatives from 1847 to 1854, and served three years as Speaker of the House. He was among the signatories of the letter calling for the creation of the Constitutional Union Party in 1860. He died in

, February 12, 1864. He was interred in the

Island Cemetery The Common Burying Ground and Island Cemetery are a pair of separate cemeteries on Farewell and Warner Street in Newport, Rhode Island. Together they contain over 5,000 graves, including a colonial-era slave cemetery and Jewish graves. The pair ...

in Newport.

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cranston, Henry Young 1789 births 1864 deaths Politicians from Newport, Rhode Island Members of the United States House of Representatives from Rhode Island Rhode Island Whigs Law and Order Party of Rhode Island politicians American militia officers 19th-century American politicians Burials in Rhode Island Speakers of the Rhode Island House of Representatives Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives Law and Order Party of Rhode Island members of the United States House of Representatives