Quick Facts
Biography
John Robert Cravens (1819 – 1899) was a politician from the U.S. state of Indiana. Between 1861 and 1863 he served as acting Lieutenant Governor of Indiana.
Early life and education
John Robert Cravens was born November 22, 1819 in Madison, Jefferson County, Indiana, the son of Robert and Sarah Grover Paul Cravens. Cravens graduated from Indiana University in 1840 with an A.B. degree and obtained an A.M. degree at an unknown date. He read law in Madison in the office of Joseph G. Marshall.
Marriage and family
Cravens married Drusilla Lanier on February 1, 1844. They had 12 children with 11 of the children living to adulthood. The children were John, Robert, James, Alexander, William, Elizabeth, Joseph, Mary, Drusilla, Margaret (died in infancy), and Franklin.
Career
Cravens was involved in milling with W.W. Page, Sr. for several years until their investments burned to the ground. He was then elected president of the Madison & Indianapolis Railway Company and the Shelbyville & Columbus railway. Cravens remained in the office until the companies were reorganized, and he voluntarily retired. He then served for a short time as an editor and proprietor of the "Madison Banner", a Whig newspaper.
Cravensjoined the Republican Party and was elected to the Indiana Senate, where he became the President Pro Tempore. Cravens served in the Indiana State Senate 1856-1857, 1860, and 1866-1870. In 1861 Governor Henry Smith Lane resigned from his office to accept a seat in the U.S. Senate. His Lieutenant Governor Oliver P. Morton followed him as new Governor of Indiana. According to the state constitution the now vacant position of the Lieutenant Governor was filled by the President Pro Tempore of the State Senate, John Cravens. He served in this position between 16 January 1861 and 9 October 1863 when he resigned. Afterwards he served as an officer in the Union Army during the last years of the American Civil War.
Cravens also served in Madison, Indiana as a school trustee for a number of terms and was a trustee of the State University and Hanover College.
Death
Cravens died on March 26, 1899 at his home, Fairmount, in Madison, Indiana.