People
Village Leaders
Richard Grant - Third Mayor of Bratenahl
12609 Lake Shore Boulevard
Richard F. Grant was elected as the third mayor of Bratenahl in November 1919, replacing Robert Ireland. He served for eight years from 1920 through 1927. Grant had previously served six years as marshal of the village.
Prohibition, the nationwide constitutional ban on the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages dominated Grant’s tenure as mayor. Rumrunners found a safe harbor for deliveries from Canada to Dugway Brook, only steps away from the Country Club bar. Life in Bratenahl proceeded with minimal upset. Residents enjoyed a heyday of opulence.
Grant came into national prominence in 1924 when he elected president of the Chamber of Commerce of the United States. He served as president of the Cleveland chamber the year before he was elected.
From 1905 until 1909, he practiced law in Duluth, Minnesota, and then joined the M. A. Hanna Co. as general counsel. Before coming to Cleveland, he served one term in the Minnesota state legislature.
Grant was vice president of the M. A. Hanna Company since its incorporation in 1923, and for the six years preceding, he was a partner in the firm. From 1923 to 1928, he had been president of the Susquehanna Collieries Co. In 1928, Grant moved to New York City were as the president of the Lehigh Valley Coal Corporation directed the affairs of the company. When asked where he would choose to live if he could live anywhere, he answered, “Cleveland, because my friends are there, and they are necessary for my happiness.”
Richard Frank Grant was born in Owatonna, Minnesota, on December 1, 1879, the son of Frank and Mary Grant. He received a Ph.B. degree from Yale in 1899, and an LLB degree from New York Law School in 1901.
He married Eline Benton Hanchett on February 4, 1910. She was born September 3, 1887, in Saginaw, Michigan, to Benton and Susan Hanchet. Eline attended the elite and prestigious Ogontz School for Young Ladies, which was a prominent force in female education from 1850 to 1950. She went on to attend Briarcliff College in Briarcliff Manor, New York. Richard and Eline had two children: Benton Hanchett and Richard DeGolyer.
Grant was a member of the Cuyahoga County Republican executive committee. He was also a member of the national war finance committee of the American Red Cross. He served as chairman of the membership and finance drives for Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky in 1917.
He was president of the Union Club and also affiliated with Chagrin Valley, Kirtland, and Tavern clubs.
Eline died in 1935. Richard died on May 26, 1957.