Henry Young CRANSTON, Congress, RI (1789-1864)

CRANSTON, Henry Young, (brother of Robert Bennie Cranston), a Representative from Rhode Island; born in Newport, R.I., October 9, 1789; attended the public schools; engaged in mercantile pursuits in New Bedford, Mass.; moved to Newport, R.I., in 1810, and engaged in the commission business until 1815; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1819 and commenced practice in Newport; clerk of the court of common pleas 1818-1833; member of the State house of representatives 1827-1843; member and vice president of the convention that framed the State constitution in 1842; elected as a Law and Order candidate to the Twenty-eighth Congress; reelected as a Whig to the Twenty-ninth Congress (March 4, 1843-March 3, 1847); again a member of the State house of representatives 1847-1854 and served three years as speaker; died in Newport, R.I., February 12, 1864; interment in Island Cemetery.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present