“Cranston”: a printed narrative history of the Cranston family (found among Josephine P. Cranston’s possessions; she d. 1905)
(A printed text — two columns/sections, clean and fully legible — recounting the Cranston family’s English and Scottish origins and the Rhode Island governors. Found among Josephine’s effects after her death; the printing predates 1905. Reproduced as printed; this is a narrative/traditional account, not a primary record — see analysis. Spelling and capitalization as printed.)
CRANSTON
“The Cranstons trace their ancestry in a lineage of twenty-six generations from William the Conqueror, son of Robert Duke of Normandy, descended from Canute the second Danish King of England.
William the Conqueror was born A.D. 1027, and married Matilda, daughter of Baldwin, 5th Earl of Flanders, and from him their genealogy is regularly deduced with historical references, from which it appears that their ancestors may be traced back in various lineages to the ancient Royal families of Europe for more than a thousand years, having had ten ancestors in the English Royal Lineage, viz. William the Conqueror, his son Henry 1st; Matilda, daughter of Henry 1st, crowned Queen, but set aside by King Stephen; Henry 2nd; Henry 3rd; King John; Edward 1st; Edward 2nd; Edward 3rd; and Henry 7th, descended from John of Gaunt, son of James 5th, King of Scotland, whose daughter Mary, Queen of Scots, was mother of James 6th of England, and 1st of Scotland; the crown of both nations having been united on the death of Queen Elizabeth, March 24th, 1603.”
Thomas De Cranston had a charter of the barony of Stobbs, Co. Roxburgh, from the Earl of Mars, in the reign of David II. From this Thomas we pass to Sir William Cranstoun, Knight, who had a charter of the lands of New Cranston, in 1593. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Andrew Johnston of Edmiston, by whom he had a son John, who died, and seven daughters, the eldest of whom, Sarah Cranston, married William Cranston, son of John Cranston of Morristoun ; which William Cranston was Captain of the guards, temp. James VI, and having received the honor of knighthood, became Sir William Cranstoun ; he was subsequently elevated to the peerage of Scotland, 14 November, 1609, as Baron Cranstoun of Crailing, with remainder to his heirs male bearing the names and arms of Cranstoun. From him are descended ten Barons or Lords in regular succession.
The marriage of Lord Henry Cranston with a daughter of the distinguished Earl of Buccleugh, is recorded by Sir Walter Scott in his “Lay of the Last Minstrel,” that celebrated chieftain romance being founded on real incidents which attended it, and he makes mention of the eldest armorof belonging to the family in a note of one of his poems.
Through Earl Cranston’s family the Cranstons are descended from the families of the ancient Earls of Crawford, Bothwell, and Tarquin, and through them related by blood to the present Royal family of Great Britain; for Lord William Cranstoun had a son
James Cranstoun who married Elizabeth Stewart, daughter of Sir Francis Stewart, Earl of Bothwell, and grandson of James V., which James Cranstoun had a son John Cranstoun who married Christina Stewart, daughter of Sir Robert Stewart predecessor of the Earl of Tarquin ; also descended from the royal family of Stuart, which John Cranstoun was grandfather of John Cranston who when a young man, came from Scotland to Newport, Rhode Island in the time of Oliver Cromwell, and married Mary Clark, daughter of Governor Walter Clark, who was one of the petitioners for the charter granted by Charles II, and was afterwards Governor of the State, and died while holding that office May 17th, 1680.
He came from Scotland in consequence of the temporary depression of the family under Cromwell. His great uncle Lord William Cranstoun highly attended King Charles II in the battle of Worcester September 3rd, 1651 ; he was made prisoner and confined in the Tower of London, and his estate confiscated, and was particularly excepted out of Cromwell’s Act of Indemnity ; though the title and estate were afterwards restored to the family, which they now enjoy in Scotland.
Governor John Cranston had a son Samuel Cranston who also was Governor of the State, and served in that office twenty-nine years successively without opposition, viz. from 1698 to 1727, having died while holding that office.
Analysis — how Doc AC fits the family — the deep-ancestry backstory
This is a significant addition: it’s the narrative source-text behind the top of Josephine’s descent chart (Doc M), and it explains where the family’s claimed royal/Scottish ancestry came from. It’s the prose companion to the bare governor-to-governor list you already had.
What it is — and what it is not. This is a printed traditional family history, the kind that circulated in 19th-century genealogies and county “mug books.” It is not a primary record like a will, deed, or probate. Much of its deep ancestry — the “twenty-six generations from William the Conqueror,” the descent from Canute, the ten royal ancestors — is the conventional aspirational lineage-claim of Victorian-era genealogy, and should be treated as the family’s traditional account, not independently verified fact. I’d file it explicitly flagged that way. That said, the lower end of the narrative (the Scottish Cranstoun barony and the RI governors) is historically grounded and matches verifiable records, so the document is a mix of solid history and traditional embellishment.
The keystone link it provides: how the Rhode Island Cranstons connect to the Scottish Cranstoun barony. This is the genuinely valuable genealogical content. The narrative traces:
- The Scottish Cranstoun line — Thomas de Cranston (barony of Stobbs, Co. Roxburgh, reign of David II); Sir William Cranstoun (lands of New Cranston, 1593); the elevation to the peerage as Baron Cranstoun of Crailing, 14 November 1609 — this is a real, datable Scottish peerage creation, and a strong anchor.
- Down to the emigrant: Lord William Cranstoun → James Cranstoun (m. Elizabeth Stewart, dau. of Sir Francis Stewart, Earl of Bothwell) → John Cranstoun (m. Christina Stewart) → grandfather of the John Cranston who emigrated from Scotland to Newport, Rhode Island, “in the time of Oliver Cromwell.”
So the document asserts the bridge between the Scottish noble Cranstouns and Gov. John Cranston of Rhode Island (entry 1 in your descent chart, Doc M) — the immigrant ancestor. That’s the connection your chart stated as a bare fact; here is the narrative that claims to supply it.
It directly corroborates and enriches Doc M entries 1 and 2:
- Gov. John Cranston (Doc M entry 1, b.1626): here described as coming “from Scotland to Newport, Rhode Island in the time of Oliver Cromwell,” marrying Mary Clark, daughter of Governor Walter Clark, and dying in office as Governor May 17, 1680. (Note: your Doc M and the will-era records have John as governor 1678–80, dying in office — consistent. One detail to reconcile: Doc M records John’s wife Mary Clark as daughter of Jeremiah Clark; this narrative says daughter of Governor Walter Clark. That’s a genuine discrepancy to flag — see below.)
- Gov. Samuel Cranston (Doc M entry 2, b.1659): here “also was Governor of the State, and served in that office twenty-nine years successively without opposition, viz. from 1698 to 1727, having died while holding that office.” This matches your Doc M almost exactly (you had ~30 years, 1698–1727, died incumbent) — strong corroboration.
The Walter Scott literary connection. The narrative claims the family’s connection to the Earl of Buccleugh is memorialized in Sir Walter Scott’s “Lay of the Last Minstrel” (the “celebrated chieftain romance”). This is a real and well-known literary association — the Cranstoun name does appear in Scott’s poem. It’s the kind of detail Josephine, with the family’s documented “great liking for poetry” (George Cranston’s note, Doc O), would have prized. Worth noting as cultural context, genuine as a literary reference, though the blood connection it’s adduced to prove is traditional-lore territory.
A discrepancy to flag — Mary Clark’s father. This is the one substantive conflict with your existing records:
- Doc M (Josephine’s chart): Mary Clark = daughter of Jeremiah & Frances (Latham) Clark.
- Doc AC (this narrative): Mary Clark = daughter of Governor Walter Clark.
These can’t both be literally true as stated. The historical record generally supports Gov. John Cranston’s wife as connected to the prominent RI Clark family (Jeremiah Clarke was an early RI leader; Walter Clarke was also a RI governor and of the same family). It’s possible the narrative conflated Jeremiah and Walter (both prominent Clark[e]s), or that there’s a generational mix-up. I’d flag this as an open discrepancy between Doc M and Doc AC rather than overwrite either — your chart’s “Jeremiah Clark” is likely the more accurate, but the conflict should be recorded.
On the family tree: This document is the textual backstory for the very top of the trunk — it doesn’t add new proven nodes to the bloodline (and I would not graft the royal/Scottish-noble ancestors onto the proven tree, since they’re traditional claims), but it explains the origin of the RI line and gives historically-anchored detail on the Cranstoun barony and the two governors. On a tree, this is “associated narrative/context for entries 1–2,” not new solid bloodline.
Provenance note — and its poignancy. You note these pages were found among Josephine’s possessions after her death in 1905. That’s meaningful: it confirms Josephine actively collected and preserved the family’s deep history, and that this printed narrative was one of her source materials — very likely the source from which she compiled the top of her own descent chart (Doc M). It closes a small loop: we can now see where Josephine got the governor-to-governor lineage she recorded. This is the archivist’s own reference library, surfacing.
A presentation caution (for your use). Because this is a Victorian-style lineage narrative with aspirational royal claims, if you ever quote it in Civic Sage or the genealogy site, I’d recommend presenting it as “the family’s traditional account, as Josephine preserved it” with a light editorial note distinguishing the documented portions (the Cranstoun barony, the RI governors) from the traditional descent-from-conquerors framing. It’s wonderful family lore and genuine in its lower reaches; it just shouldn’t be presented as wholly verified pedigree.
Reading notes: The text is printed and fully legible; no bracketed uncertainties needed. A few printer’s quirks preserved as-is: “armorof” (likely “armorial” or “armor of”), “Earl of Tarquin” (an unusual title — possibly a mis-set “Traquair,” the historic Stewart earldom, worth noting as a probable typo), and the spelling alternates between “Cranston” and “Cranstoun” (the Scottish form). I’ve left these as printed with a couple of light [bracketed] notes
