Yolo County CA Archives Biographies.....Cranston, Reuben Borton 1856 - 
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Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com December 13, 2005, 10:32 pm

Author: Tom Gregory

REUBEN BORTON CRANSTON

    The genealogy of the Cranston family is traced to Ireland, but for the
greater part of a century there have been representatives of the name in the
United States. In this era of restless and frequent change of location it is
worthy of especial mention that three successive generations have lived and
labored at the same old homestead in Guernsey county, Ohio. The founder of the
name in America was Thomas Cranston. In 1812 he crossed the ocean, settling in
Ohio and taking up government land near Fairview. The claim was situated in the
midst of a forest primeval. Giant trees of beech and maple imparted their
majestic beauty to the woods, but in order to bring the land under cultivation
it was necessary first for the stalwart homesteader to hew down the great old
monarchs of the forest, a task in itself requiring no small degree of skill with
the axe. Eventually the tireless and long-continued labor of the resolute
emigrant transformed the claim into a productive and profitable farm, and when
he died at the age of eighty-two he was surrounded by the comforts made possible
by his long devotion to agriculture. Through all of his life he gave evidence of
an upright character, refined and illumined by religion (for he was a devoted
Methodist), sustained by endurance amid vicissitudes and supported by the
courage typical of frontier existence. Not long after he came to the new world
he had established a home on the farm and had brought to the primitive log cabin
his bride, who was Nancy Cummings, a native of Lancaster county, Pa., and like
himself a resident at the old homestead throughout her remaining years. Her
death occurred there when she was seventy-two.

    Among the children of the Irish-American pioneer in Guernsey county there
was a son, George W., who was born on the home farm in December of 1832, grew to
manhood on the place familiar to his earliest memories, took up agricultural
pursuits on the land, married and there reared his family, one of whom, George
E., now owns the old homestead, thus keeping under the same name the property
associated with the childhood recollections of the entire circle of kindred.
Besides the son who still owns the homestead there were five children in the
parental family. All but one of these are still living and two reside in
California, namely: Reuben Borton and Thomas F., the latter holding a
responsible position as accountant in the office of the former. The mother, who
bore the maiden name of Margaret Borton, was born in Guernsey county, Ohio, and
died there in 1864, her husband, who long survived her, dying from the results
of an accident at the age of sixty-five. Mrs. Cranston was a daughter of Reuben
Borton, an honored farmer of Guernsey county and a prominent pioneer of the
neighborhood where his daughter spent her entire life. Her son, Reuben Borton,
to whom she gave the name of her father, was born at the Cranston homestead near
Fairview September 2, 1856, and received a public-school education. At the age
of eight years he was bereaved by the death of his mother, but he continued at
the old home afterward and gave increasing aid to the farm work as the years
passed by.

    Desiring to try his fortunes in regions yet undeveloped, Mr. Cranston went
to Arkansas in February of 1879 and became interested in cotton raising near
Coalhill, Johnson county. A brief experience convinced him of the futility of
further efforts in that location and accordingly in December of the same year he
proceeded to California, where he settled at Capay, Yolo county. For a time he
was employed in the digging of wells and later he engaged in chopping wood,
after which he was employed on a farm. During September of 1880, as an employe
of H. C. Duncan, he began to drive the stage between Woodland and Lower lake, a
distance of seventy miles over the mountains. With the assistance of four relays
of horses he was able to make the trip in twelve hours, returning the following
day. At the expiration of six and one-half months he began to work for H. E.
Rhodes, a farmer, with whom he continued from April, 1881, until August 12,
1882. It had been one of his ambitions to visit the regions farther north and
during the autumn of 1882 he availed himself of an opportunity for such a trip.
After a sojourn of a few weeks in Washington he went to Oregon in October,
remaining until December, when he returned to Capay.

   Resuming the task of stagedriver for Mr. Duncan on New Year's day of 1883,
Mr. Cranston continued at the work until December 15, 1885. Coming to Woodland
in April of 1886, he entered the employ of E. H. Baker in the old Exchange
Hotel, occupying the present site of the Julian Hotel, and there he remained as
clerk for a year. During April of 1887 he became clerk for the Marshall Diggs
hardware store and continued in the same establishment for eleven years and four
months without losing a day. During this time, on New Year's day of 1888, he had
been married in the Capay valley to Miss Alma Viola Henry, who was born in
Michigan and in order of birth was the third youngest in a family of nine
children, all but one of whom still survive. Of the marriage there are five
children, namely: Lester Henry, who assists his father in the store; Geneva B.,
who died in July of 1895 at the age of five years; George R., Thornton E. and
Hazel V. The family occupy a modern and comfortable home on First street,
erected in 1909 under the personal supervision of Mr.Cranston and reflecting in
outward appearance and interior appointments the cultured tastes of the inmates.

    Jacob Henry, father of Mrs. Cranston, was born in Fairfield county, Ohio,
March 3, 1818, the son of John Henry, an Ohio pioneer. Left an orphan at a very
early period of childhood, he began to be self-supporting when only about eight
years of age. Upon attaining his majority he settled in Michigan and cleared a
tract of timber land in Berrien county near Buchanan. On that farm occurred the
birth of his daughter. In 1865 he removed to Henderson county, Ill., and took up
land near Kirkwood. Ten years later he came to the Capay valley of California.
There he died December 30, 1900, from injuries received in a fall from his
wagon. At the time of his demise he was eighty-two years of age. From young
manhood he had been identified with the Masons and an active worker in the
Christian Church. April 26, 1849, he had married Miss Caroline R. Conradt, who
was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, September 20, 1833, and at the age of thirteen
years accompanied her parents to America, spending one year in New York and
thence removing to Berrien county, Mich. After the death of her husband she
continued at the old farm for a few years, but the land is now rented to
tenants, while she resides with her children.

    The personal identification of Mr. Cranston with the business circles of
Woodland began in July of 1898, at which time he bought from the estate of H. B.
Wood a small stock of hardware, located on Main street in a building of only
fourteen feet frontage. For three years he continued at that location, whence he
removed to leased quarters on the corner of Main and First streets. Afterward he
rented more room and enlarged the business. At this writing he occupies a
salesroom 45x200 feet in dimensions and a warehouse 100x100, the latter utilized
for the storage of implements, wagons, carriages and surplus stock, while the
former contains paints, varnishes, plumbing goods, shelf and heavy hardware, and
the other articles to be found in a first-class hardware store. During October
of 1911 he purchased the forty-foot frontage adjoining the Northern electric
depot to the west and he has also bought the property of 75x150 feet on Second
near Main street, Woodland. Besides his city realty he owns thirty-four acres of
land at Esparto, Yolo county, also two hundred and forty acres of wheat land
situated in the bend of the Columbia river, in Adams county, Wash. Through the
exercise of sagacious judgment in his investments and in the management of his
store he has become well-to-do. Business tact and ability characterize all of
his transactions. A retentive memory aids him greatly in the successful
supervision of his business, while attention to the wants of customers meets
with recognition in the permanency of his patronage. The business which he has
acquired through his own arduous efforts ranks among the high-class
establishments of Woodland and counts its customers among people from almost
every part of the county.

   The demands upon his time in business affairs have been such that Mr.
Cranston has not devoted any considerable attention to public affairs or to
partisan matters, and aside from voting the Democratic ticket in national
elections he has taken no part in politics. Nor has it been practicable for him
to identify himself with civic projects as closely as he might have desired, yet
he has always kept posted concerning municipal enterprises and favors all plans
for the educational, moral or commercial upbuilding of the city. Through his
membership in the Chamber of Commerce and the Merchants' Association he has been
a vital force in local progress, these two organizations having accomplished
much in behalf of civic development. As early as 1881 he became a member of the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows and for years he was a leader in the lodge
work, while his wife also has been prominent among the other members of the
lodge of Rebekahs at Woodland. Their sterling worth gives them a recognized
position in the most refined society of the city and his commercial acumen
brings him into prominence among other business men.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from

HISTORY OF YOLO COUNTY CALIFORNIA
WITH
Biographical Sketches
OF
The Leading Men and Women of the County Who Have Been Identified With Its Growth
and Development From the Early Days to the Present

HISTORY BY
TOM GREGORY
AND OTHER WELL KNOWN WRITERS
ILLUSTRATED COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME

HISTORIC RECORD COMPANY
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA [1913]




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