Isaac E. Crary

Isaac E. Crary
11thSpeaker of the Michigan House of Representatives
In office 1846–1846
Preceded by	Alfred H. Hanscom
Succeeded by	George Washington Peck
Member of theMichigan House of Representatives from the Calhoun district
In office January 3, 1842 – May 18, 1846
Preceded by	Charles Olin
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives from Michigan'sat-largedistrict
In office January 26, 1837 – March 3, 1841
Preceded by	Statehood
Succeeded by	Jacob M. Howard
Personal details
Born	Isaac Edwin Crary (1804-10-02)October 2, 1804 Preston, Connecticut
Died	May 8, 1854(1854-05-08)(aged 49) Marshall, Michigan
Resting place	Oakridge Cemetery, Marshall, Michigan
Political party	Jacksonian Democrats(before 1836) Democratic(from 1836)
Alma mater	Trinity College

Isaac Edwin Crary(October 2, 1804 – May 8, 1854) was an American lawyer and politician. He was the first electedU.S. Representativefrom the state ofMichigan.He served in theMichigan House of Representativesincluding as Speaker.

Early life

Crary was born inPreston, Connecticut,where he attended the public schools and graduated fromTrinity College,Hartford,in its first class in 1827.He studied law, was admitted to thebar,and commenced practice in Hartford. During this time he was also assistant editor of theNew England Weekly Review.He moved toMarshall, Michigan,in 1833.

Career

Crary was a delegate to the state constitutional convention in 1835 and upon the admission of Michigan as a state into the Union, he was elected on October 5 and 6, 1835, as aJacksonianto theTwenty-fourth Congress.Due to Michigan's dispute withOhioover theToledo Strip(see theToledo War), Congress refused to accept his credentials and he was seated as a delegate until Congress admitted Michigan as a state of the Union on January 26, 1837. He was re-elected as aDemocratto theTwenty-fifthandTwenty-sixth Congresses,and served until March 3, 1841.

In 1840, during theWilliam Henry Harrison 1840 presidential campaign,on February 14, 1840, as the House of Representatives debated funding for theCumberland Road,Crary essayed an attack on Harrison's record as an Indian fighter, deeming him a bogus hero. Crary sat down to applause from his fellow Democrats. The next day, Ohio'sThomas Corwin,known as a humorist, rose in the House, and depicted Crary, a militia general in his home state, having to deal with the terrors of the militia's parade day, until afterwards, safe with the survivors, "your general unsheathes his trenchant blade... and with an energy and remorseless fury he slices the watermelons that lie in heaps around him. "According to longtime Washington journalistBenjamin Perley Poore,Corwin's response to Crary was "one of the most wonderful speeches ever delivered at Washington," leaving the House "convulsed with laughter" at Crary's expense.As word of Corwin's speech reached newspapers in February and March, there was much amusement across the nation; Crary failed to be renominated to Congress.

He served as regent of theUniversity of Michiganfrom 1837 to 1844, and withJohn D. Piercewrote the education article of the 1835 constitution.Crary was appointed a member of the State board of education from 1820 to 1852. Crary and Pierce planned Michigan's public school system and established a separate department of education run by a superintendent, introducing uniform schooling in Michigan.

He was editor of theMarshall Expounderfor several years and a member of theMichigan House of Representativesfrom 1842 to 1846, serving as speaker of the house in 1846.

Death

Crary died in Marshall, Michigan and is interred at Oakridge Cemetery in Marshall.

Legacy

Isaac E. Crary Elementary School inDetroit, Michiganand Isaac E. Crary Middle School inWaterford, Michiganwere named in his honor.

References

• Gunderson, Robert Gray (1957).The Log Cabin Campaign.Lexington, Kentucky: University of Kentucky Press.OCLC964644.

Further reading

• Historic Michigan, land of the Great Lakes; its life, resources, industries, people, politics, government, wars, institutions, achievements, the press, schools and churches, legendary and prehistoric lore.Fuller, George N. ed. (George Newman), 1873–1957. [Dayton, Ohio] National Historical Association [1924]. p. 350

External links

• United States Congress."Isaac E. Crary (id: C000882)".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• The Political Graveyard
• Miochmarkers.com: Isaac Crary and John Pierce / State School System
• Isaac E. CraryatFind a Grave