John Cranston (politician)

John Cranston
9th Governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
In office 8 November 1678 – 12 March 1680
Preceded by	William Coddington
Succeeded by	Peleg Sanford
6th and 9th Deputy Governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
In office May 1672 – May 1673
Governor	Nicholas Easton
Preceded by	Dr. John Clarke
Succeeded by	William Coddington
In office May 1676 – 8 November 1678
Governor	Walter Clarke Benedict Arnold William Coddington
Preceded by	John Easton
Succeeded by	James Barker
2nd Attorney General of Rhode Island
In office May 1654 – May 1656
Governor	Nicholas Easton Roger Williams
Preceded by	William Dyer (before Coddington Commission)
Succeeded by	John Easton
Personal details
Born	1625
Died	12 March 1680 Newport, Rhode Island
Resting place	Common Burying Ground, Newport
Spouse(s)	Mary Clarke
Occupation	Physician, surgeon, deputy, assistant, major-general, deputy governor, governor

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.

Cranston was 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 he commanded the colony's militia. He also became the colony's first licensed physician and surgeon in March 1663.

Later in life Cranston was elected to a variety of offices, including attorney general, deputy, assistant and commissioner. In 1672 he was elected for the first time to the office of deputy governor, for a year, and then in 1676 during King Philip's War was elected again to that office. In 1678, following the deaths of two colonial governors in rapid succession, Cranston was elected to the office of governor, which position he held for nearly two years until his own death in March 1680.

Born in Scotland or England, John Cranston was the son of Rev. James Cranston, the rector of St. Mary Overie Church in Southwark, London, later known as St. Saviour's Church, and now called Southwark Cathedral. Reverend Cranston was also one of the chaplains of King Charles I. The details of how Cranston came to New England were provided by his son, Governor Samuel Cranston, who wrote in a 26 December 1724 letter to his cousin Elizabeth Cranston in Edinburgh, Scotland, "My father being a sprightly youth of a roving fancy, my Grandfather Recommended him to the care and tuition of one Capt. Jeremiah Clarke, Merchant and Cittysen of London, with whome he came into this country and Setled on this Island." Jeremy Clarke came to New England in 1637 and in 1638 became an inhabitant of Aquidneck Island, later called Rhode Island. Rev. James Cranston was the son of John Cranston of Bold, or Bool, Peebles County, Scotland, and the family descends from one Andrew de Cranston who died before 1338.

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