Earl Cranston

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Earl Cranston (27 June 1840 – 18 August 1932) was an American Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, elected in 1896. He also distinguished himself as a Methodist Pastor and Presiding Elder, and as an Editor and Publisher of the M.E. Church.

1 Birth and Family
2 Education
3 Military Service
4 Ordained Ministry
5 Honorary Degrees
6 Episcopal Ministry
7 Death and Burial
8 Selected writings
9 References
10 See also

[edit] Birth and Family

Earl was born in Athens, Ohio, the third Bishop of the Methodist Church to have been born in Athens. Among his ancestors were Roger Williams and John and Samuel Cranston, both colonial governors of Rhode Island. Earl was the son of Earl and Jane E. (née Montgomery) Cranston. Earl Jr married Martha A. Behan in 1861. She died 7 April 1872. He then married Laura A. Martin, who died 3 February 1903. He then married Lucie M. Parker. Earl was the father of Earl M., Grace, James B., Dora, Ethel, Laura Alden, and Ruth.

[edit] Education

Earl graduated High School in Jackson, Ohio. He earned the A.B. degree in 1861 and the A.M. degree in 1865, both from Ohio University. He was a member of Beta Theta Pi fraternity.

[edit] Military Service

Earl entered the Union Army during the American Civil War as a Private. He progressed through the ranks, first as a First Sergeant, then as a commissioned officer, as a First Lieutenant, Adjutant and finally as a Captain. He left the U.S. Army in 1864.

[edit] Ordained Ministry

Earl was admited as a Minister to the Ohio Annual Conference of the M.E. Church in 1867. He served the following appointments as Pastor: Portsmouth, 1867-69; and Columbus, 1869-70. He then was transferred to the Minnesota Conference, where he served Winona, 1870-71. He transfered again, to the Illinois Conference, where he served Jacksonville, 1871-74. He transfered again, to the Indiana Conference, where he was appointed to Evansville, 1874-75. He then transferred to the Cincinnati Conference, where he was appointed Pastor in Cincinnati, Ohio, 1875-78.

In 1878, the Rev. Cranston was appointed Pastor in Denver, Colorado. He was appointed a Presiding Elder in the Colorado Conference, 1880-84. The 1884 General Conference of the M.E. Church then elected the Rev. Earl Cranston Publishing Agent for the Western Book Concern, headquartered in Cincinnati. He held this position until 1896.

The Rev. Cranston was a member of M.E. General Conferences from 1884 until 1896.

[edit] Honorary Degrees

The Rev. Earl Cranston was awarded the honorary doctorate, Doctor of Divinity, in 1884 by Allegheny College. He was similarly honored by Cornell College in Iowa (D.D., 1884). His alma mater, Ohio University, awarded the LL.D. in 1896.

[edit] Episcopal Ministry

The Rev. Earl Cranston was elected Bishop by the 1896 M.E. General Conference. As Bishop he traveled widely throughout his denomination. His residence was Washington, D.C.

Bishop Cranston also served as a Trustee of various institutions of higher education, including Ohio University (1896), The University of Puget Sound (1897-04), Willamette University (1897-1904), Goucher College (1905-16) and Morgan College (1912-16). He was also a member of the Fourth Ecumenical Methodist Conference, Toronto, 1911.

Bishop Cranston was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States. He also was a Mason.

[edit] Death and Burial

Bishop Cranston died at New Richmond, Ohio. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

[edit] Selected writings

Breaking Down the Walls, The Methodist Book Concern, 1915.

[edit] References

Leete, Frederick DeLand, Methodist Bishops (Nashville, The Methodist Publishing House, 1948).
Methodism: Ohio Area (1812-1962), edited by John M. Versteeg, Litt.D., D.D. (Ohio Area Sesquicentennial Committee, 1962).
Price, Carl F., Compiler and Editor: Who's Who in American Methodism, New York: E.B. Treat & Co., 1916.