He was born in Zanesville, Ohio, in 1869, son of Charles W. Cram, a physician, and Clarissa Deming.

He married Mary Belle (Mabel) Laventure in 1892, and they had six children including parasitologist Eloise Blaine Cram (1896–1957) and aviation engineer Ralph LaVenture Cram (1906–1939) who was killed during a test flight of the first Boeing 307 Stratoliner.

He was buried at Oakdale Memorial Gardens,[1] among other historical figures prominent on Davenport's history.

Cram was an acknowledged political analyst, and his editorials reflected life not only in Davenport, but in the state and nation as a whole.

He wrote the story of his life in seventy-eight chapters, published serially in the Democrat and Leader, 1937–1939.