Winthrop M. Crane

Winthrop Murray Crane
40th Governor of Massachusetts
In office January 4, 1900 – January 8, 1903
Lieutenant	John L. Bates
Preceded by	Roger Wolcott
Succeeded by	John L. Bates
United States Senator from Massachusetts
In office October 12, 1904 – March 4, 1913
Appointed by	John L. Bates
Preceded by	George F. Hoar
Succeeded by	John W. Weeks
37th Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts
In office 1897–1900
Governor	Roger Wolcott
Preceded by	Roger Wolcott
Succeeded by	John L. Bates
Personal details
Born	(1853-04-23)April 23, 1853 Dalton, Massachusetts
Died	October 2, 1920(1920-10-02) (aged 67) Dalton, Massachusetts
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Mary Benner 1880-1884 Josephine Porter Boardman (1884-1920)
Children	Winthrop Murray Crane II Stephen Crane Bruce Crane Louise Crane

Winthrop Murray Crane (or just Murray Crane, April 23, 1853 – October 2, 1920) was a U.S. political figure and businessman. Born into the Dalton, Massachusetts family that owned the papermaking Crane & Co., he successfully expanded the company during the 1880s after securing an exclusive government contract to supply the paper for United States currency (a monopoly the company continues to hold). During the 1890s he became increasingly active in Republican Party politics. He served several times on the Republican National Committee, and was elected Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts 1896-99 and Governor of Massachusetts 1900-03. In 1904 he was appointed by his successor John L. Bates to fill a vacated United States Senate seat, which he held until 1913.

Crane was an advisor to Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft, and served as a political mentor to Calvin Coolidge. His success in defusing a Teamsters strike while governor prompted Roosevelt to bring him in as a negotiator to resolve the Coal Strike of 1902. He refused repeated offers for cabinet-level positions, and was known to dislike campaigning and giving speeches. He was highly regarded and popular in western Massachusetts.

Life

Son of Zenas Marshall Crane and Louise Fanny Laflin, Winthrop was a leading member of the Crane family of Dalton, Massachusetts, owners of the Crane Paper Company. Crane entered the family business in 1870, and, alongside his brother Zenas, Jr. presided over a period of significant growth of the company. In 1872 Crane secured a major contract for the supply of wrapping paper to the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, and followed this up in 1879, with an exclusive contract to paper for the Federal Reserve Notes, the currency of the United States. The Crane Company continues to be the sole supplier of currency paper to the federal government today. The company continued significant growth throughout the 1880s and 1890s.

In 1880 Crane married Mary Benner, who died in 1884 giving birth to their only child, Winthrop Murray Crane Jr. In 1906, Crane married Josephine Porter Boardman, 20 years his junior, from a politically well-connected family. They had three children: Stephen, Bruce, and poet Louise Crane.

Crane stood for election as Governor of Massachusetts in 1900, and won; he won annual reelection until 1903. He was hosting President Theodore Roosevelt in Pittsfield, Massachusetts on September 3, 1902 when a speeding trolley car rammed into the open-air horse carriage carrying Roosevelt. The accident killed the president's Secret Service agent, William Craig.

Crane was appointed October 12, 1904 by Governor John L. Bates to continue the U.S. Senate term of the late George F. Hoar. He was then elected in a January 18, 1905 special election to finish the term. he was re-elected in 1907, and served until 1913.

References

• New England Historical and Genealogical Register (biographic sketch by John L. Bates)

External links

• United States Congress. "Winthrop M. Crane (id: C000875)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Official Commonwealth of Massachusetts Governor Biography
• Massachusetts Historical Society Biography and Photograph Collection