Winthrop Murray Crane Papers 1877-2000; bulk: 1896-1932 Guide to the Collection Sponsored by the Louise Crane Foundation. The bulk of the Winthrop Murray Crane papers (except for the autograph correspondence and oversize items) are stored offsite and must be requested at least one business day in advance. Contact the Library at library@masshist.org or (617) 536-1608 to request materials. Please discuss your request with the reading room staff before requesting cartons by barcode.

Table of Contents Collection Summary Biographical Sketch Sources Collection Description Related Materials Acquisition Information Restrictions on Access Organization Detailed Description of the Collection Preferred Citation Access Terms Materials Removed from the Collection

Collection Summary

Biographical Sketch

Winthrop Murray Crane was a U.S. politician and businessman who served as lieutenant governor and governor of Massachusetts and United States senator from Massachusetts. He was a mentor to President Calvin Coolidge and held close friendships with many prominent political figures, including Theodore Roosevelt, William H. Taft, and Henry Cabot Lodge. Although he worked better behind the scenes, he was well-loved in Massachusetts, winning six elections without making a single speech.

Born 23 April 1953 in Dalton, Mass., Crane was the son of Zenas Marshall Crane, a paper manufacturer and owner of Crane and Company, and Louise Fanny Laflin. He attended public schools in Dalton, the Wesleyan Academy (later Wilbraham Academy) in Wilbraham, Mass., and the Williston Seminary in Easthampton, Mass.

In 1870 he left school to work as a rag picker in one of the Crane and Company paper mills. Trying to learn all aspects of his family's business, he worked his way up to sales in the late 1870s and then to management in the early 1880s. In 1880, he married Mary Benner who gave birth to their son Winthrop Murray Crane II in 1881, and then died in 1884 during the birth of their second child, who also didn't survive. Winthrop Murray Crane II. After his father's death in 1887, Crane took over the family finances, increasing the family's wealth by investing in enterprises such as American Telephone and Telegraph Company, Boston Albany Railroads, Otis Elevator Company, and Western Union.

In the early 1890s Crane entered politics by serving on the Republican National Committee in 1892 (he subsequently served on the committee in 1896, 1904, and 1908). He was elected lieutenant governor in 1896, and was then re-elected in 1897 and 1898. In 1899, he was elected governor of Massachusetts and served a 3-year term from 1899-1903. In 1902, Crane became nationally recognized when he settled a three-day Teamsters strike, by convening meetings with both sides and mediating a settlement agreement in two hours. Because of his success with the Teamsters, President Roosevelt recruited Crane to mediate an agreement during the long drawn-out anthracite coal strike. Crane was successful and an agreement was reached.

Over the next several years Crane was offered several positions in the Roosevelt administration, including secretary of the Treasury in 1902, but he did not accept any of the appointments until George Frisbee Hoar's seat in the U.S. Senate became available upon his death in 1904. He accepted the appointment to the Senate from John L. Bates, then governor of Massachusetts and a friend, and was subsequently re-elected to a full term in 1907. He served in the Senate until he resigned in 1913.

In 1906, Crane married Josephine Porter Boardman and they had three children: Stephen, Bruce, and Louise Crane. After his retirement in 1913, Crane remained closely involved in state and national politics by frequently assisting his fellow Republicans to formulate strategies that would further their conservative interests.

Crane died in 1920 at the age of 67.

Sources

Richard H. Gentile, American National Biography, Vol. 5, New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.

Solomon Bulkley Griffin, W. Murray Crane: A Man and Brother, Boston: Little Brown, 1926.

Collection Description

The Winthrop Murray Crane papers consist of six record cartons, two narrow document boxes and one oversize document box that spans the years 1877-2000, with the bulk between 1896-1932. The collection is divided into five series: Correspondence, Volumes, Biographical Information, Addresses, and Loose Printed Materials.

The bulk of the collection consists of Crane's correspondence written and received during his tenures as lieutenant governor of Massachusetts from 1896-1989, governor of Massachusetts from 1896-1903, (to a lesser extent) as U.S. senator from Massachusetts from 1904-1913 (particularly 1904-1907 and 1912-1913), and from the years following his resignation from the Senate in 1913 until his death in 1920. The incoming correspondence and the retained copies of outgoing correspondence (letterpress books) reflect Crane's conservative political interests; relationships with colleagues, businessmen, and constituents; political appointments accepted and refused; and daily activities. Of special interest are letters received in Sept. 1902 that relate to a carriage accident in Pittsfield, Mass., that nearly killed Crane and President Theodore Roosevelt. Included is a letter from the chief of the Secret Service, dated 6 Sept. 1902, pertaining to the death of the president's personal agent, William Craig, in the accident.

The autograph collection contains letters received by Crane during his various political positions from 1896-1913, from prominent political figures including Presidents Theodore Roosevelt, William H. Taft, Woodrow Wilson, and Calvin Coolidge. Of special interest is a 13-page typed letter signed by President Roosevelt, dated 22 October 1902, describing the circumstances surrounding the1902 national coal strike and thanking Crane for his help in bringing it to an end. The autograph collection also contains some autograph letters received by Crane's son, Winthrop Murray Crane II, following Crane's death in 1920.

In addition to the correspondence, the collection contains loose clippings and scrapbooks of clippings written from 1880-2000, relating to Crane's various tenures and appointments, and other personal and professional Crane family activities and events. The collection also contains addresses read by Crane while he was governor, correspondence pertaining to the biography written following Crane's death, W. Murray Crane: A Man and a Brother, by Solomon Bulkley Griffin, a commonplace-book kept by an unidentified author, 1877-1885, calling cards, and printed ephemera.

Related Materials

The Massachusetts Historical Society (MHS) holds the following collection related to the Winthrop Murray Crane papers:

Winthrop Murray Crane photographs, ca. 1865-1950. Photo Coll 219. Finding aid available at: http://www.masshist.org/findingaids/doc.cfm?fa=fap0219.

Acquisition Information

Gift of The Louise Crane Foundation in April 2003, with subsequent additions in October 2003.

Restrictions on Access

The bulk of the Winthrop Murray Crane papers (except for the autograph correspondence and oversize items) are stored offsite and must be requested at least one business day in advance. Contact the Library at library@masshist.org or (617) 536-1608 to request materials. Please discuss your request with the reading room staff before requesting cartons by barcode.

Organization of the Collection

The collection is organized into the following series:

Detailed Description of the Collection

Preferred Citation

Winthrop Murray Crane papers, Massachusetts Historical Society.

Access Terms

This collection is indexed under the following headings in ABIGAIL, the online catalog of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related persons, organizations, or subjects should search the catalog using these headings.

Materials Removed from the Collection

Photographs from this collection have been removed to the Winthrop Murray Crane photographs, ca. 1865-1950. Photo. Coll. 219.