Henry H. Crapo

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Henry Howland Crapo (May 24, 1804–July 23, 1869) was Governor of Michigan during the end of the American Civil War and the beginning of Reconstruction.

Crapo was born to Jesse and Phoebe Crapo in Dartmouth, Massachusetts. He spent his early years on his father's farm and then as a teacher in Dartmouth before moving to New Bedford, where he became a surveyor and held several posts in the town government, along with involvement in the whaling industry. On June 9, 1825, Crapo married Mary Ann Slocum. Together they had nine daughters and a son. Crapo became treasurer of New Bedford when it was incorporated as a city in 1847.

In 1856 Crapo moved to Flint, Michigan, primarily due to investments in pinelands and became Flint's mayor in 1860. His family established a lucrative lumbering business in the area. In 1862 he was elected to the Michigan Senate to represent Genesee County and ranked with the leading men of Michigan in the Civil War Senate. In 1864 he was nominated on the Republican ticket for governor and was elected by a large majority. He was re-elected in 1866, holding the office two terms and retiring in January, 1869. His administration was very efficient and marked particularly by his vetoing railway aid legislation and his firm refusal to pardon convicts, except upon overwhelming proofs of their innocence or excessive sentence.

Crapo died later that year at home in Flint, Michigan. His daughter, Rebecca, married William Clark Durant and their only son, William Crapo Durant (Billy Durant) became the leader of Flint's carriage and automobile industry.