Thomas Cross

LIFE GOES ON: AN INTRODUCTION

MY GRANDPARENTS - I - MY GREAT-GRANDPARENTS - I - MY GREAT-GREAT-GRANDPARENTS - I - MY GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GRANDPARENTS

THE SIXTEEN FAMILIES

KNOTT - I - BOWLES - I - WATERS - I - HARRALL - I - PAGE - I - WISEMAN - I - CROSS - I - CARTER

CORNWELL - I - HUCKLE - I - MORTLOCK - I - MANSFIELD - I - REYNOLDS - I - CARTER - I - ANABLE - I - STEARN

CHRONOLOGY - I - DRAMATIS PERSONAE - I - WHERE PEOPLE CAME FROM - I - CALENDAR

MAP OF ELY - I - MAP OF MEDWAY
MAP OF CAMBRIDGE AND DISTRICT

THE WORKHOUSE

WORLD WAR I - I - WORLD WAR II

simonknott.co.uk I home I e-mail

LIFE GOES ON

Thomas Chapman Cross
born Ely, Cambridgeshire, 1854
died Ely, Cambridgeshire, 1925

on the Page family tree
part of the Cross family story

married to Sarah Carter

father of Sophia Cross and Herbert Cross

son of
Thomas Cross
and Mary Ann Chapman

Thomas Chapman Cross (1854-1929). My Father's Mother's Mother's Father. My Great-Great-Grandfather.

Thomas was the eldest son of Thomas Cross and Ann Chapman, who were married in the Lady Chapel of Ely Cathedral on 30th January 1854. Thomas's birth was registered in Ely in the same quarter, but there appears to be no baptism in the Holy Trinity parish records. Indeed, finding the family in census and other records is frustrating, partly because Cross is one of the most common Ely surnames, and partly because this family were notoriously poor about accuracy when it came to giving ages, and even names, in census data.

When he was younger, Thomas lived next door to his future wife Sarah, but at some point, probably in the 1860s, the family were living in London. Thomas and Sarah gave his mother's maiden name as a middle name to most of their children. They had at least nine children; the eldest was Sophia, my great-grandmother, while another, my great-great-uncle Herbert, would be killed in WWI at the Battle of Gaza. The Cross and Carter families came from the same part of Ely as the Pages, the family of my other Ely great-grandparent. Thomas's daughter Sophia was still alive to appear on my parents' wedding photograph in 1956, but does not appear on the wedding photograph of my father's brother in 1959, or on my Christening photograph in 1961.

1861 census:

The 1861 census returns for Ely are lost. Thomas would have been about nine years old at the time of the 1861 census. Interestingly, his brother Richard, who would be ten years old on the 1871 census, was born in London. I have not found the family in London in 1861, though.

1871 census:

Thomas was nineteen years old at the time of the 1871 census. The Cross family were living in Water Side, Ely, Cambridgeshire.

Thomas is shown as a labourer (water). He was unmarried. He was living with his parents Thomas and Mary Ann. Thomas senior was 43, and is also shown as a labourer (water). Mary Ann was 42.

Thomas was the oldest of seven children at the time of the 1871 census. Martha was 19 (were she and Thomas twins?), Mary Ann was 16, Emily was 14, Richard was 10, Alais (Alice?) was 6 and Harriett was 4.

Thomas is shown as born in Ely, Cambridgeshire, as were his parents and all his brothers and sisters except for Richard and Alais, who were born in London. The transcript for their entry is here. Interestingly, the Carter family lived next door, and in 1881 Thomas would marry Sarah Carter, who was 11 at the time of the 1871 census.

1881 census:

Thomas and his wife's first child was born almost exactly nine months after the 1881 census, but he is not yet married. He was twenty-six years old at the time of the 1881 census. He was living as a lodger in the Royal Oak, Back Hill, Ely, Cambridgeshire. This is on the corner of Potters Lane, where Thomas will be living in 1891, and is opposite to Broad Street, where his future wife Sarah was living.

He is shown as a labourer on Bd of Health works. He was unmarried. Most of the other residents are listed as M Recruit Agricultural Labourer or M Recruit General Labourer. M Recruit appears to mean Military Recruit.

Thomas was born in Ely, Cambridgeshire. A photocopy of the entry is here.

The rest of his family are living at New Barnes Road, Ely, Cambridgeshire, and their entry is most curious.

Thomas is shown as a labourer. Thomas and Ann (not Mary Ann) give their ages as forty - that is to say, younger than they were in 1871! And yet I think they must be the same family, because the children have the names in the right order and with the right birth places - but their ages are equally odd. Martha is 23 (19 in 1871) Richard is 16 (10 in 1871) Alice is 14 (6 in 1881) and Harriet is 12 (4 in 1871). There is another child, Robert, aged 7.

All the family are born in Ely, Cambridgeshire, except for Richard and Alice who are born in London. This matches the places given in 1871. The transcript for their entry is here.

1881:
Thomas Cross married Sarah Ann Carter in the Lady Chapel of Ely Cathedral on Christmas Eve. Both gave their address as Broad Street. The witnesses were Thomas Cross and Martha Cross.

1882: Thomas and Sarah Ann's daughter Sophia was born on 9th January, and baptised privately on 24th February. The family address was given as Broad Street, probably the house of Sarah Ann's parents.

1882: At the inquest into the death of one Joseph Henry Bush, who had been drowned in the River Ouse beside the Waterside district of Ely, evidence was given by two men named Henry Page and Thomas Cross... They were standing on the High Bridge, and saw the deceased sculling up the river; he seemed to be all right: and for a minute they crossed the bridge to look up the river, but on returning to their old spot, they saw the boat empty: the deceased appeared once on the surface of the water, and disappeared. Although Henry Page and Thomas Cross are not uncommon names in Ely, it is probable that this our Thomas. Like Thomas, Henry Page is the name of one of my great-great-grandparents. Henry was the father of Arthur Page who would later marry Thomas's daughter Sophia. Thomas lived in Broad Street, Henry in neighbouring Annesdale, and It seems not unlikely that the two men were friends twenty years before their children married.

1891 census:

Thomas was 41 years old (probably 39) at the time of the 1891 census. He was married. The Cross family were living in Potters Lane, Ely, Cambridgeshire.

Thomas is shown as a gas works labourer. His wife Sarah was 32.

Thomas had five children living at home. Sophia and Alice were both 9, Sophia being 9 months older than Alice. Tom was 5, James was 2 and Herbert was 4 months old. Also in the house on the night of the census was Sophia Convine, aged 37 and described as a visitor.

Thomas was born in Ely, Cambridgeshire, as were the children. His wife Sarah had been born at Prickwillow on the outskirts of Ely. The visitor, Sophia Convine, was also born at Prickwillow, suggesting that she was a friend of Sarah's or even a relative. The transcript for their entry is here.

1901:
Thomas's daughter Sophia married Arthur Page in the Lady Chapel of Ely Cathedral on the 9th January. On the certificate, Thomas is shown as the father of the bride, and his occupation is given as labourer.

1901 census:

Thomas was 49 years old at the time of the 1901 census. The Cross family were living in Potters Lane, Ely, Cambridgeshire.

Thomas is shown as a gasworks labourer. His wife Sarah is 42.

Thomas had seven children at home at the time of the 1901 census. Tom was 15, and is shown as a farm labourer. James was 12, Herbert was 10 (On 18th June 1917, Herbert would be killed when a Private in the 1st/5th Batallion of the Suffolk Regiment in Gaza, Palestine), Annie was 8, Sarah was 6, John was 3 and Violet was 2 months old.

Thomas is shown as born in Ely, Cambridgeshire, as were the children. His wife Sarah had been born at Prickwillow on the outskirts of Ely. The transcript for their entry is here.

Thomas's daughter Sophia, my great-grandmother, was twenty years old at the time of the 1901 census. She was married to Arthur Page. The Page family were living on west side of Bull Lane, Ely, Cambridgeshire.

Her husband Arthur is shown as a baker's labourer. He was 22 years old. Sophia had no children at the time of the census.

Sophia was born in Ely, Cambridgeshire, as was her husband Arthur. The transcript for their entry is here.

1911 census:

Thomas was 57 years old at the time of the 1911 census. The Cross family were living in Potters Lane, Ely, Cambridgeshire.

Thomas is shown as a general labourer in gasworks. His wife Sarah is 50. They declared they had been married for 29 years.

Thomas had seven children at home at the time of the 1911 census. Tom was 25 and is shown as a farm labourer. James was 23 and is shown as unfit for work, Herbert was 20 and is shown as a farm labourer (On 18th June 1917, Herbert would be killed when a Private in the 1st/5th Batallion of the Suffolk Regiment in Gaza, Palestine), Annie was 18 and was shown as a jam factory general labourer, Sarah was 15 and is shown as an errand girl, John was 13 and was shown as a schoolboy, and Violet was 10 and is shown as a schoolgirl. Curiously, Thomas wrote on the form that he had had seven children. In fact, there had been at least nine.

Thomas is shown as born in Ely, Cambridgeshire, as were the children. His wife Sarah had been born at Prickwillow on the outskirts of Ely. The transcript for their entry is here. You can see the original form here.

1923: Thomas Cross aged seventy four with thirty years service with the company was granted a pension at the pleasure of directors of the Ely Gas & Electricity Company of five shillings a week.

1925: Thomas died in Addenbrookes Hospital Cambridge at the age of 74. He was buried in Ely cemetery on 14th October in plot G582.