Born in Newport, Rhode Island, Cranston attended the public schools.

He moved to Newport, Rhode Island, in 1810, and engaged in business as a commission merchant until 1815.

He held the rank of colonel in the Rhode Island Militia and commanded the Artillery Company of Newport from 1825–1828.

Cranston was elected to the Twenty-eighth Congress as a Law and Order Party of Rhode Island candidate.

This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress