# Samuel Crane

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For other people, see [Sam Crane (disambiguation)](/source/Sam_Crane_(disambiguation)).

**Samuel Crane** (1794 – November 13, 1858) was a businessman and political figure in [Canada West](/source/Canada_West).

## Biography

Samuel Crane was born in [Massachusetts](/source/Massachusetts) in 1794 and had settled in [Lower Canada](/source/Lower_Canada) by 1820. He became a partner in a forwarding business at [Lachine](/source/Lachine,_Quebec), west of [Montreal](/source/Montreal). The firm owned a share in the *Ontario*, an American [steamship](/source/Steamship) operating on the [Great Lakes](/source/Great_Lakes). Crane moved to [Prescott](/source/Prescott,_Ontario) in [Upper Canada](/source/Upper_Canada) some time later and partnered with John Macpherson of Kingston in the transporting of goods and passengers.

The Crane-MacPherson partnership dominated the forwarding business in the area, in part because of their alliance with the Ottawa and Rideau Forwarding Company which controlled the forwarding trade on the lower [Rideau Canal](/source/Rideau_Canal). In 1837 at the age of 43, Crane became a director of the Commercial Bank of the Midland District.

In 1838, Crane stood for election to the [Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada](/source/Legislative_Assembly_of_Upper_Canada) in a [by-election](/source/By-election), but withdrew before the poll. In 1841, he was elected to the [Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada](/source/Legislative_Assembly_of_the_Province_of_Canada) for [Grenville](/source/Grenville_(Province_of_Canada_electoral_district)) in 1841. He supported the union of the Canadas and was generally a moderate supporter of the [Reformer](/source/Reform_movement_(Upper_Canada)), but was frequently absent from the sessions.[1] In 1849, he was named to the [Legislative Council](/source/Legislative_Council_of_the_Province_of_Canada).

In the early 1850s, the partners began to sell off their assets due to declining business and the nearing completion of the [Grand Trunk Railway](/source/Grand_Trunk_Railway) in the area. When the company that purchased much of their business failed in 1857, the partnership was dissolved and declared bankruptcy.

By 1858, Crane largely had stopped attending the Legislative Council and his seat was declared vacant due to lack of attendance.

Crane died at Prescott in 1858.

## References

1. Paul G. Cornell, *Alignment of Political Groups in Canada, 1841–67* (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1962; reprinted in paperback 2015), pp. 93–97.

## External links

- [Biography at the *Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online*](http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?&id_nbr=3848)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Samuel Crane](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Crane) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Crane?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.