President Ulysses S. Grant Appoints His Brother-in-law U.S. Ambassador to Denmark in 1870
Michael J. Cramer, husband of Grant's sister, had a long and illustrious diplomatic career.
Mary Frances Grant was the youngest child of Jesse Grant and Hannah Simpson. Born in 1839, she was 17 years younger than her brother, Ulysses S. Grant. In October 1863 she married Michael J. Cramer of Cincinnati. Cramer was an ambitious young man, and he earned his way through college by teaching...
Mary Frances Grant was the youngest child of Jesse Grant and Hannah Simpson. Born in 1839, she was 17 years younger than her brother, Ulysses S. Grant. In October 1863 she married Michael J. Cramer of Cincinnati. Cramer was an ambitious young man, and he earned his way through college by teaching German and Latin and working part time as a printer. He studied for the ministry and graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University in 1860. Cramer joined the Methodist conference and preached for four years. On July 10, 1864, Abraham Lincoln appointed him Hospital Chaplain, in which post he ministered to sick, wounded and dying soldiers. Cramer stayed in the service until 1867, when President Andrew Johnson named him U.S. Consul at Leipzig, Germany. In addition to his official duties there, he organized a chapel service and preached every Sunday. In 1870, Cramer was appointed U.S. Ambassador to Denmark by his brother-in-law President Grant, and he resided in Copenhagen for eleven years in this capacity.
Document Signed as President, on vellum, Washington, September 9, 1870, naming Cramer Minister Resident to Denmark. The document is countersigned by Secretary of State Hamilton Fish. Before the word “ambassador” came in to common use, this was an ambassadorial-level engagement.
In 1881 President James Garfield appointed Cramer U.S. Ambassador to Switzerland, and this post was confirmed by Chester A. Arthur when he became President after Garfield’s assassination. Cramer returned to America in 1885, the day after the death of General Grant. Cramer was afterwards professor of theology at Boston University, professor of church history at Drew Theological Seminary, and professor of philosophy at Dickinson College. He died in 1898. As for Mary Grant Cramer, when she died in 1905, The New York Times noted in her obituary that “she was well known in religious and charitable circles.”
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