John Cranston

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Physician, legislator and military commander

Cranston became proficient as a medical practitioner during his early life, and was recognized for his skills by the General Assembly. On 1 March 1664, the Assembly wrote, "Whereas the court have taken notice of the great blessing of God on the good endeavours of Captain John Cranston, of Newport, both in physic and chirurgery [surgery], to the great comfort of such as have had occasion to improve his skill and practice." It was therefore unanimously enacted in March 1663/4 that he should be licensed "to administer physic, and practice chirurgery throughout this whole colony, and is by the court styled and recorded Doctor of Physic and Chirurgery."

Cranston was deputy to the General Assembly each year from 1664 to 1668, was a governor's assistant from 1668 to 1672, and then in 1672 was elected as deputy governor of the colony for a year. During all of this time he remained active in the military affairs of the colony. In July 1667 he was commissioned as the captain in command of the "Train Band upon the Island" (i.e. Aquidneck Island). That same year, he and two others were required with all possible speed to mount the great guns upon such carriages to allow for their easy conveyance from place to place. In 1671 he was allowed compensation for voyages he made to both New York and to Seekonk, likely for military matters. In May 1673 he was commissioned as the "Captain in Chief of the Colony Military Force". In May 1675 he was promoted to the rank of major and retained this position until May 1679 when he was succeeded by Major Peleg Sanford.

In 1675 the New England colonies became embroiled in a major war with members of several native tribes. King Philip's War, named for the Wampanoag chief, Metacomet, or King Philip, was the most devastating event to visit the Rhode Island colony prior to the American Revolutionary War. In April 1676 the General Assembly had provided for the naval defense of Aquidneck Island, adjourned for one week. They then elected Captain Cranston, with a promotion to the rank of major (not, as some sources state, major-general), to command all of the colony's militia companies. He simultaneously served as deputy governor for the following two years.

Governor

Cranston had been deputy governor under his brother-in-law, Walter Clarke for the year beginning in May 1676, but the following year the "War Party" was put in power with Benedict Arnold elected as governor. In May 1678 Arnold was once again elected as governor of the colony, and Cranston again elected as deputy governor. In a few weeks, however, Arnold was dead, and William Coddington was elected as governor, with Cranston continuing as his deputy. The tax law was modified at this time, requiring the governor to give legal notice to every town before levying a tax. The population of the colony was deemed to be about 1000 to 1200 freemen able to bear arms. At the beginning of November 1678, Coddington had also died in office. On 4 November Conanicut Island was incorporated as a township and called Jamestown in honor of the Duke of York, who soon became king (as James II & VII.)

During a special session of the General Assembly held from 8 to 15 November, Cranston was elected governor of the colony, with James Barker elected as his deputy. The Charter and other papers were obtained from Mrs. Coddington and put into the custody of the new governor. Many of the agenda items during his administration dealt with financial issues, and several finance or taxation laws were passed or repealed. One of the first acts was to pass the first tax levy since the recent war. A rate of 300 pounds was assessed, broken down by town as follows: Newport, 136; Portsmouth, 68; New Shoreham (Block Island), 29; Jamestown, 29; Providence, 10; Warwick, 8; Kingston, 16 (reduced to 8); Greenwich, 2; and Westerly, 2. Never, in the history of the colony, had there been such a disproportionate share in taxation, and the numbers clearly show the relative degree to which the various towns had suffered as a result of the war.

In 1679 the Crown confirmed the jurisdiction of Rhode Island over the Narragansett country, within which were the recent settlements of Westerly, Kings Town, and Greenwich. A letter of thankful acknowledgment was sent to King Charles II, but also with a request that the area around Mount Hope be added to the colony. However, disputes with the Connecticut Colony had not ended, and in his final official act, Cranston sent a letter to the King dated 6 January 1679/80, concerning disputed lands in the Narragansett county still claimed by Connecticut.

John Cranston

John Cranston

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