The Ellen G. White Letters and Manuscripts: Volume 1

CRANSON, Samuel T. (1822-1855) and Mary Jane (c. 1825-1860); (daughter) Lucretia (1847-1879)

A former Methodist minister, Samuel T. Cranson, of Tompkins, Michigan, became a Sabbathkeeping Adventist in 1853 and began to preach for that movement within a few months. The Review carried notices of his preaching activities in Michigan for the next two years until his untimely death in 1855, aged 33. 1EGWLM 816.4

Although correcting him on some points, Ellen White spoke highly of S. T. Cranson: “He was self-denying, self-sacrificing, beloved of God.” After his death Mary Jane and her three children relocated in Battle Creek under difficult circumstances. In 1859 Ellen White wrote of Sister Cranson “that she has not received that heartfelt sympathy that her case required” from the church in Battle Creek. “I saw that widows should ever be cared for, especially those whose husbands … have fallen while engaged in His work.” Later that same year Mary Jane died of “consumption” at age 35. The three orphaned children were cared for by the family of George W. Amadon, a worker at the Review and Herald press. Oldest of the children was Lucretia, age 12, who later married Dudley Marvin Canright, prominent Seventh-day Adventist leader who, some years after Lucretia's death, left the church and became its severest critic. 1EGWLM 816.5

See: S. T. Cranson, “From Bro. Cranson,” Review, Apr. 14, 1853, pp. 190, 191; “Western Tour,” Review, July 7, 1853, p. 29; obituary: “Samuel T. Cranson,” Review, May 1, 1855, p. 222; obituary: “Mary Jane Cranson,” Review, Sept. 18, 1860, p. 143; obituary: “The Death of Sister Canright,” Review, Apr. 3, 1879, p. 108; Carrie Johnson, I Was Canright's Secretary (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald, 1971), p. 18; Ellen G. White, Ms 4, 1859 (c. July 1859). 1EGWLM 817.1