Joseph Halsey Crane
Encyclopedia
Joseph Halsey Crane was an attorney
, soldier
, jurist
, and legislator
. He was born in Elizabethtown, New Jersey He was the son of General Wiliam Crane and Abigail (Miller) Crane and the grandson of Stephen Crane
, member of the First Continental Congress
, his brother was Colonel Ichabod B. Crane
. Joseph Crane's great-grandson was the author Stephen Crane
.
Joseph Crane was a student at Princeton College
. He studied law with Governor Aaron Ogden
and was admitted to the bar of New Jersey in 1802 and practiced there briefly. He went to Dayton, Ohio
in 1804 and became the first attorney to practice in there. Crane took on Daniel C. Cooper
as a client.
In 1809, Joseph Halsey Crane married Julia Ann Elliott, the daughter of one of Dayton’s first doctors, Dr. John Elliott, who was a surgeon
in the United States Army
during the Revolution and had been at Vincennes, Indiana
with General "Mad Anthony" Wayne
and General Arthur St. Clair
. Joseph and Julia had a large family, but most of the children, like Ann (died February 22, 1812, aged 18 months), died young. Two sons, William Elliott Crane father of Jonathan Townley Crane
and Joseph Graham Crane, followed their father into the legal profession. His son Joseph, brevetted a major in the Army of the Potomac
for his participation in the Second Battle of Bull Run
, later became mayor of Jackson, Mississippi
during the Reconstruction era in the south. He was stabbed to death by a former colonel in the Confederate Army named Edward M. Yerger
.
Joseph Crane served in the War of 1812
as a private, Fifth Brigade, First Division of the Ohio Militia. He was elected a member of the Ohio House of Representatives
in 1809. During the session in Columbus, Ohio
, he authored the Practice Act – modeled after the practice of the Court of Common Pleas
at Westminster Hall – under which legal proceedings in Ohio were regulated until the adoption of the revised constitution
of 1851.
He was Montgomery County
recorder in 1813 and prosecuting attorney of the county from 1813 to 1816. In 1814, he was on the Board of Directors of Dayton's first bank, the Dayton Manufacturing Company. In 1819, he was a Trustee at the founding of the Dayton Academy.
Joseph Halsey Crane was elected President Judge of the Ohio First Circuit Court of Common Pleas in 1817 serving two terms until he resigned in 1829 to take his seat in Congress. He was elected in 1828 as an Anti-Jacksonian from Ohio's 3rd congressional district
to the Twenty-first Congress. He was subsequently elected to three more terms, serving until 1837. He declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1836.
Joseph H. Crane returned to Dayton after his congressional service and resumed the practice of law. For several years from 1831, he was in partnership with Robert C. Schenck
. When Clement Vallandigham
came to Dayton in 1847 and became actively engaged in the practice of law a few years later, he often availed himself of the superior facilities afforded by Judge Crane's extensive law library in preparation of his cases. Judge Crane mentored and encouraged the aspiring young attorney and a warm personal friendship developed between them that was never broken.
Joseph Halsey Crane died in Dayton, aged 69, and was interred in Woodland Cemetery, Dayton, Ohio
.
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
, soldier
Soldier
A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...
, jurist
Jurist
A jurist or jurisconsult is a professional who studies, develops, applies, or otherwise deals with the law. The term is widely used in American English, but in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth countries it has only historical and specialist usage...
, and legislator
Legislator
A legislator is a person who writes and passes laws, especially someone who is a member of a legislature. Legislators are usually politicians and are often elected by the people...
. He was born in Elizabethtown, New Jersey He was the son of General Wiliam Crane and Abigail (Miller) Crane and the grandson of Stephen Crane
Stephen Crane (delegate)
Stephen Crane was an American politician from Elizabethtown who was a delegate to the Continental Congress from 1774 to 1776. He also served in the New Jersey General Assembly and New Jersey Legislative Council...
, member of the First Continental Congress
First Continental Congress
The First Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from twelve of the thirteen North American colonies that met on September 5, 1774, at Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, early in the American Revolution. It was called in response to the passage of the Coercive Acts by the...
, his brother was Colonel Ichabod B. Crane
Ichabod Crane (Colonel)
Ichabod Bennet Crane was a military officer and probable namesake of the protagonist in Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.-Personal life:...
. Joseph Crane's great-grandson was the author Stephen Crane
Stephen Crane
Stephen Crane was an American novelist, short story writer, poet and journalist. Prolific throughout his short life, he wrote notable works in the Realist tradition as well as early examples of American Naturalism and Impressionism...
.
Joseph Crane was a student at Princeton College
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
. He studied law with Governor Aaron Ogden
Aaron Ogden
Aaron Ogden was a United States Senator and the 5th Governor of New Jersey.-Early life:Ogden was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey...
and was admitted to the bar of New Jersey in 1802 and practiced there briefly. He went to Dayton, Ohio
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
in 1804 and became the first attorney to practice in there. Crane took on Daniel C. Cooper
Daniel C. Cooper
Daniel C. Cooper was an American surveyor, farmer, miller and political leader.-Biography:He was born in the Passaic Valley at Long Hill, Morris County, New Jersey, the son of wealthy farmer George Cooper and Margaret Lafferty...
as a client.
In 1809, Joseph Halsey Crane married Julia Ann Elliott, the daughter of one of Dayton’s first doctors, Dr. John Elliott, who was a surgeon
Surgeon
In medicine, a surgeon is a specialist in surgery. Surgery is a broad category of invasive medical treatment that involves the cutting of a body, whether human or animal, for a specific reason such as the removal of diseased tissue or to repair a tear or breakage...
in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
during the Revolution and had been at Vincennes, Indiana
Vincennes, Indiana
Vincennes is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Indiana, United States. It is located on the Wabash River in the southwestern part of the state. The population was 18,701 at the 2000 census...
with General "Mad Anthony" Wayne
Anthony Wayne
Anthony Wayne was a United States Army general and statesman. Wayne adopted a military career at the outset of the American Revolutionary War, where his military exploits and fiery personality quickly earned him a promotion to the rank of brigadier general and the sobriquet of Mad Anthony.-Early...
and General Arthur St. Clair
Arthur St. Clair
Arthur St. Clair was an American soldier and politician. Born in Scotland, he served in the British Army during the French and Indian War before settling in Pennsylvania, where he held local office...
. Joseph and Julia had a large family, but most of the children, like Ann (died February 22, 1812, aged 18 months), died young. Two sons, William Elliott Crane father of Jonathan Townley Crane
Jonathan Townley Crane
Jonathan Townley Crane was an American clergyman, author and abolitionist. He was born in Connecticut Farms, in Union Township, New Jersey, and is most widely known as the father of writer Stephen Crane.-Early years :...
and Joseph Graham Crane, followed their father into the legal profession. His son Joseph, brevetted a major in the Army of the Potomac
Army of the Potomac
The Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War.-History:The Army of the Potomac was created in 1861, but was then only the size of a corps . Its nucleus was called the Army of Northeastern Virginia, under Brig. Gen...
for his participation in the Second Battle of Bull Run
Second Battle of Bull Run
The Second Battle of Bull Run or Second Manassas was fought August 28–30, 1862, as part of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of an offensive campaign waged by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia against Union Maj. Gen...
, later became mayor of Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson is the capital and the most populous city of the US state of Mississippi. It is one of two county seats of Hinds County ,. The population of the city declined from 184,256 at the 2000 census to 173,514 at the 2010 census...
during the Reconstruction era in the south. He was stabbed to death by a former colonel in the Confederate Army named Edward M. Yerger
Ex parte Yerger
Ex parte Yerger, 75 U.S. 85 , was not heard by the Supreme Court of the United States; it was a habeas corpus case that became moot when Yerger was released before the court ruling....
.
Joseph Crane served in the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
as a private, Fifth Brigade, First Division of the Ohio Militia. He was elected a member of the Ohio House of Representatives
Ohio House of Representatives
The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate....
in 1809. During the session in Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
, he authored the Practice Act – modeled after the practice of the Court of Common Pleas
Court of Common Pleas (England)
The Court of Common Pleas, or Common Bench, was a common law court in the English legal system that covered "common pleas"; actions between subject and subject, which did not concern the king. Created in the late 12th to early 13th century after splitting from the Exchequer of Pleas, the Common...
at Westminster Hall – under which legal proceedings in Ohio were regulated until the adoption of the revised constitution
Constitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
of 1851.
He was Montgomery County
Montgomery County, Ohio
Montgomery County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. The population was 535,153 in the 2010 Census. It was named in honor of Richard Montgomery, an American Revolutionary War general killed in 1775 while attempting to capture Quebec City, Canada. The county seat is Dayton...
recorder in 1813 and prosecuting attorney of the county from 1813 to 1816. In 1814, he was on the Board of Directors of Dayton's first bank, the Dayton Manufacturing Company. In 1819, he was a Trustee at the founding of the Dayton Academy.
Joseph Halsey Crane was elected President Judge of the Ohio First Circuit Court of Common Pleas in 1817 serving two terms until he resigned in 1829 to take his seat in Congress. He was elected in 1828 as an Anti-Jacksonian from Ohio's 3rd congressional district
Ohio's 3rd congressional district
Ohio's 3rd congressional district includes most of the city of Dayton and its surrounding suburbs and exurbs. It is currently represented by Representative Mike Turner.-List of representatives:-Selected election results:...
to the Twenty-first Congress. He was subsequently elected to three more terms, serving until 1837. He declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1836.
Joseph H. Crane returned to Dayton after his congressional service and resumed the practice of law. For several years from 1831, he was in partnership with Robert C. Schenck
Robert C. Schenck
Robert Cumming Schenck was a Union Army general in the American Civil War, and American diplomatic representative to Brazil and the United Kingdom. He was at both battles of Bull Run and took part in the Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1862, and the Battle of Cross Keys...
. When Clement Vallandigham
Clement Vallandigham
Clement Laird Vallandigham was an Ohio resident of the Copperhead faction of anti-war Democrats during the American Civil War. He served two terms in the United States House of Representatives.-Biography:...
came to Dayton in 1847 and became actively engaged in the practice of law a few years later, he often availed himself of the superior facilities afforded by Judge Crane's extensive law library in preparation of his cases. Judge Crane mentored and encouraged the aspiring young attorney and a warm personal friendship developed between them that was never broken.
Joseph Halsey Crane died in Dayton, aged 69, and was interred in Woodland Cemetery, Dayton, Ohio
Woodland Cemetery, Dayton, Ohio
Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum , located at 118 Woodland Avenue, Dayton, Ohio, is one of the oldest "garden" cemeteries in the United States....
.
Sources
- History of Union County, New Jersey from 1664 to 1923. New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Co., 1923, 1234 pgs.
- History of Dayton, Ohio. Dayton, Ohio: United Brethren Publishing House, 1889, 753 pgs.
- Edgar, John F Pioneer life in Dayton and vicinity from 1796 to 1840. Dayton, Ohio: W.J. Shuey, United Brethren Publishing House, 1896, 307 pgs.
- Gilkey, Elliot Howard. The Ohio hundred year book : a hand-book of the public men and public institutions of Ohio, from the formation of the North-west Territory (1787) to July 1, 1901. Columbus: F.J. Heer, state printer, 1901, 779 pgs.
- Hover, Barnes, Jones, Conover, Wright, Leiter, Bradfords, Culkins, eds. Memoirs of the Miami Valley, 3 vols, Chicago: Robert O. Law Company, 1919.