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Cranston family papers and photographs

Call Number

1994.013

Dates

1846-1923, inclusive
; 1860-1915, bulk

Creator

Cranston, Elizabeth Hollington Petford
Cranston, Ella
Cranston, Alfred
Morehouse family
Cranston family

Extent

2.5 Linear Feet in two manuscript boxes, one half manuscript box, and one oversize box.
462 Megabytes in 616 digital files.

Language of Materials

English .

Abstract

The Cranston family papers and photographs comprise 2.5 linear feet of letters, clippings, books, certificates, ephemera, and photographs. The material originates from three generations of the Cranston and Morehouse families of Brooklyn, N.Y., who witnessed--among other events--the Civil War and Brooklyn's transition from an independent city to a borough of New York City. The majority of the collection relates to the lives of Alfred Cranston and his wife Elizabeth Petford Cranston, covering the period from 1846 to 1923 (bulk dates 1860 to 1915). The collection also contains items relating to their daughter Ella Cranston, the Morehouse family (from which family a daughter, Emma Louise, married the Cranstons' son, Alfred Petford Cranston), and the Oliver and Bellows families.

Biographical note

Alfred Cranston (1840?-1919) and Elizabeth Petford (dates unknown)

Alfred Cranston was born in Savannah, GA around 1840, the eldest of seven children. At the age of four, his family moved to Brooklyn, N.Y. As a young man, he served with Engine 17 of Brooklyn's Volunteer Fire Department, and enlisted in Company I of the 14th Regiment of the New York State Militia in 1861. The regiment, known as Brooklyn's "Fighting Fourteenth," was in turn part of the 84th New York Infantry Regiment. Cranston fought in the Civil War from 1861 to 1864. Throughout the war, he maintained an active correspondence with his fiancée Elizabeth Hollington Petford. Cranston and Petford married in 1864 following his discharge, and Cranston became a member of Citizens Lodge No. 628, F. and A.M. (Free and Accepted Masons) in Manhattan. They had three children: Alfred Petford (b. 1865); Henrietta, or "Etta" (b. 1866); and Ella Maude (b. 1870). In 1865, Cranston was officially discharged from service as a firefighter during the reorganization of the Brooklyn Firefighters brigades, but seems to have remained a member of the Brooklyn Volunteer Firemen's Association until his death. In 1893, Cranston became superintendent of the Postal Telegraph Building in Manhattan, home of the Postal Telegraph-Cable Company. He retired in 1898.

Alfred Cranston remained active in veterans' affairs in the years after the Civil War. He served as Secretary of the 14th Regiment War Veterans Association, which held annual reunions and sponsored monuments such as the new 14th Regiment Armory at 8th Avenue and 15th Street in Brooklyn. Cranston was a charter member of the U.S. Grant Post No. 327 of the Grand Army of the Republic ("G.A.R."), Union Veterans of the Civil War. In 1909, the National Tribune, the official newspaper of the G.A.R., established a veterans' "colony" in the newly-founded town of St. Cloud, FL, having taken title to 35,000 acres of land through a subsidiary, the Seminole Land & Investment Company. In 1914, as a G.A.R. member and a Civil War veteran, Cranston received a "land script" worth $25 for purchase of a lot in the St. Cloud veterans' colony. The Cranston family began to spend summers in the Florida town, which, by 1914, boasted the second-largest G.A.R. post in the country. Cranston died in St. Cloud in 1919 at the age of 79. He had been a member of the Baptist church for over fifty years.

Elizabeth Hollington Petford Cranston was the daughter of Henrietta Hollington and the Rev. Charles Petford, a Baptist clergyman. The Petfords immigrated to the U.S. from Astwood, England shortly after their marriage. Charles Petford died of pneumonia in 1850 when Elizabeth and her sister, Emma, were children. Henrietta Petford later married a man named Richards, who imported needles manufactured in England by the Hollingtons. As Mrs. Alfred Cranston, Elizabeth Petford was active in the Society of the Wives and Daughters of the 14th Regiment War Veterans, serving as the Society's president from 1893 to 1915. After her tenure as president ended, she was named honorary president of the Society. She also took part in numerous church and charity activities.

Alfred Morehouse (1838-unknown) and Mary Elizabeth Coward (1838-unknown)

Alfred Morehouse, son of Calvin Morehouse and Elizabeth Van Riper, was born in Brooklyn in 1838. Like Alfred Cranston, he served as a volunteer firefighter, and worked in Harding's Tea Store as either an associate or partner. He and Mary Elizabeth Coward (b. 1838, in Tom's River, N.J.) were married in 1859 or 1860 and celebrated their golden anniversary in 1909. They had two daughters, Emma Louise and Minnie, both of whom were eventually buried with them in the same plot in Green-Wood Cemetery.

Alfred Petford Cranston and Emma Louise Morehouse

Alfred Petford Cranston and Emma Louise Morehouse were married in 1888, and had two daughters--Lillian Elsie and Marion Morehouse--before divorcing circa 1902. Alfred went on to marry his pregnant mistress. Like his father, Alfred Petford Cranston worked for the Postal Telegraph-Cable Company.

Scope and Contents

The Cranston family papers and photographs comprise 2.5 linear feet of letters, clippings, books, certificates, ephemera, and photographs. The material originates from three generations of the Cranston and Morehouse families of Brooklyn, N.Y., who witnessed--among other events--the Civil War and Brooklyn's transition from an independent city to a borough of New York City. The majority of the collection relates to the lives of Alfred Cranston and his wife Elizabeth Petford Cranston, covering the period from 1846 to 1923 (bulk dates 1860 to 1915). The collection also contains items relating to their daughter Ella Cranston, the Morehouse family (from which family a daughter, Emma Louise, married the Cranstons' son, Alfred Petford Cranston), and the Oliver and Bellows families. Digital files were also included in the donation, which consist of digitized versions and transcripts of Alfred Cranston's correspondence.

The collection is organized into three series: Manuscript Materials, Books, and Photographs.

This collection comprises 2.5 linear feet of material from three generations of the Cranston and Morehouse families covering the period 1846 to 1923 (bulk dates 1860 to 1915). The collection consists of letters, clippings, books, certificates, and ephemera.

The collection is arranged into three series:

Some fragile materials in Books have been enclosed in boxes of acid-free cardstock, and various brittle items have been put in mylar sleeves. Nearly every newspaper clipping in the collection is extremely brittle and yellowed. Many are falling apart and missing pieces around the edges or where they were folded. They have all been photocopied onto acid-free paper. On a few of Alfred Cranston's letters, ink has begun to lace the paper and have been interleaved with acid-free sheets to prevent damage to the surrounding letters.

Missing Title

  1. Manuscript Materials
  2. Books
  3. Photographs

Some fragile materials in Books have been enclosed in boxes of acid-free cardstock, and various brittle items have been put in mylar sleeves. Nearly every newspaper clipping in the collection is extremely brittle and yellowed. Many are falling apart and missing pieces around the edges or where they were folded. They have all been photocopied onto acid-free paper. On a few of Alfred Cranston's letters, ink has begun to lace the paper and have been interleaved with acid-free sheets to prevent damage to the surrounding letters.

Conditions Governing Access

Open to researchers without restriction.

Conditions Governing Use

Reproduction rights for photographs have not been evaluated. Please consult library staff for more information.

Preferred Citation

Identification of item, date (if known); Cranston family papers and photographs, 1994.013, Box and Folder number; Brooklyn Historical Society.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Beverly Wright Bastian, 1994. Alfred Cranton Civil War items (2000.002) were donated by Ann Bastian and Ellen McHenry in 1999.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Access to digital material is available onsite at the Othmer Library. Requests to access digital materials associated with this collection must be made at least 2 days in advance by emailing library@brooklynhistory.org.

Appraisal

Temporary digital files (.tmp format) and systems files were removed from this collection, according to BHS digital preservation and privacy policies.

Separated Materials

There are a number of artifacts associated with this collection (with the identifiers M1995.14.1 through M1995.14.27). The artifacts include wwo dolls belonging to Ella and Etta Cranston, and ribbons and medals associated with both Alfred and Elizabeth's participation in various Veterans' organizations, including G.A.R, 14th Regiment War Veterans Association, and the Society of the Wives and Daughters of the 14th Regiment War Veterans.

Related Materials

The Brooklyn Firefighting Collection (1989.006) at the Brooklyn Historical Society offers a more in-depth look at the history of Brooklyn's volunteer and professional fire departments. Additionally, BHS holds a number of collections from Civil War soldiers and veterans' groups, such as the Grand Army of the Republic and various Brooklyn regiments. See, for example, Records of the Henry R. Lee Post #21 of the Grand Army of the Republic (1977.078), and the Josiah M. Grumman diary (1973.110). Grumman was a member of the 14th Regiment, Co. H., and kept the diary while a prisoner in Libby Prison, Richmond, VA from 1861 to 1862.

Collection processed by

Lenge Hong and Leilani Dawson. Digital materials processed by Erica López in 2019.

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-21 11:16:34 +0000.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: Finding aid written in English

Processing Information

Fully processed to the folder level.

This collection combines three accessions: 1994.013, V1995.020, and 2000.002.

Finding aid authored and collection processed by Lenge Hong and Leilani Dawson in August 2006. Additional content contributed by Emily Reynolds on January 13, 2011. Finding Aid revised by Twila Rios in May 2013 under the supervision of Julie May.

Accession 2000.022 was added to the collection by John Zarrillo in February 2015. The accession consists of five Alfred Cranston Civil War documents, which were added to Series 1: Manuscripts, Sub-series 1: Alfred Cranston Papers. Three of the documents were placed in box 2, while two oversize documents were placed in the oversize box.

Digital materials were donated on one CD, which was imaged using BitCurator-2.0.14 in 2019. The CD was scanned for viruses prior to imaging, and none were identified. No personally identifying information was idenitifed during imaging.

Repository

Brooklyn Historical Society

Container

Box: Tintypes 1 (Material Type: Graphic Materials)
Box: Cabinet Cards 1, item: V1994.13.3.85-90 (Material Type: Graphic Materials)
Box: 3 (Material Type: Text)
Box: Glass plate negatives (Material Type: Graphic Materials)
Box: 2 (Material Type: Text)
Box: 4 (Material Type: Text)
Box: 1 (Material Type: Text)
Box: Cartes de Visite 1 (Material Type: Graphic Materials)
Center for Brooklyn History
128 Pierrepont Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201