THE CROSS FAMILY

Click any of the names above and you will be taken to a story about them.

Until a January, 2004, trip to see my aunt, I knew very little about my Cross ancestors. During that visit, I learned the names of my paternal grandmother's father and mother, as well as the names of her paternal grandparents, and some interesting information about them.

By surfing internet genealogy sites, I have concluded that there is a very good chance that my Cross ancestors are descended from John Crosse, an English immigrant, who emigrated to what is now the United States in 1685. I have not been able to tie my known ancestors to John Crosse, but there are some interesting connections that need to be further investigated.

First, there are several posting on the internet that indicate that John Crosse's descendants settled in Tennessee and Kentucky. The 1900 Census indicates that James Soloman Cross' father was born in Kentucky and his mother was born in Tennessee.

James S. Cross moved to Iowa and there are several postings that indicate that related Crosses moved to Iowa. The Kentucky Crosses apparently were northern sympathizers in the Civil War and James S. Cross fought on the Union side with an Iowa unit.

Lastly, the names Soloman (Solomon), Martin and James are common in John Crosse's descendants.

Obviously, more research needs to be done.

What I can prove with reasonable certainty is that James Soloman Cross' mother was born in Tennessee and his father was born in Kentucky. At some point his parents moved to Illinois where he was born.

James Soloman Cross married Mary DeHart in Illinois and they had three children. They then moved to Harrison County, Iowa (probably in 1859) where they had a fourth child. The family then moved to Riverton, Fremont County, Iowa. Exactly when the family moved to Riverton is not clear, but it had to have been before April of 1883, since their son, James Martin Cross was married to Armintha McCoy on April 2, 1883, and Bible records show he was from Riverton.

Both James Soloman and Mary DeHart Cross remained in Riverton, Iowa, where they died.

The family of James Martin Cross, however, moved to Missouri in 1894, settling first in Holt County (apparently near Oregon). They then went on to Kansas City, Missouri, although the exact date is not certain. His daughter, Charlotte Blanche Cross, was married in Kansas City, Missouri in 1912, so they clearly were in Kansas City by then. When James Martin Cross died in 1914, two sons, Daniel and Hubert are shown as being in Kansas City, Missouri, but it appears a third son, William (Willie) returned to Riverton, Iowa.

As noted above, further research needs to be done, but what I do have about these individuals can be learned by clicking on their name in the Cross family tree on this page. I was even able to get some pictures which are included!

One final note! I am sure that my grandmother told me that she thought she had some French ancestry. I have not been able to establish that, but it does appear that she had some Irish blood in her.