Charles Cross
(1810-1871)

Charles Cross was the twelfth of the fourteen children of farmer Philip Cross and his wife Mary Ong of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England.

Charles married Jane Thompson (the sister to his brother George Cross's first wife) and the couple had two children before Jane died in 1831. Charles then re-married to Elizabeth Garner of Ely and the couple went on to have another seven children.

Charles and Elizabeth with five of their younger children, along with Charles' brother George and his family, boarded the "James Fernie" at Liverpool on the 24th October 1855 and arrived in Moreton Bay, Brisbane, Australia on 24th January 1856.

Sadly, in 1859, after just four years of Australian life, Elizabeth died in Dalby, Queensland leaving Charles with an eighteen month old baby and the rest of his young family.

In letters home to his parents, his brother George's wife, Julia, wrote to tell home that "Charley is married again" but evidence of his third marriage has so far remained hidden.

Life Events

Born

• circa 1810 in Ely, Cambridgeshire, England.

Baptised

• 18th May 1810 at Holy Trinity Church, Ely, Cambridgeshire, England.

Married

• Jane Thompson (1814-1834) on 4th April 1831, at Holy Trinity Church, Ely, Cambridgeshire, England.
• Elizabeth Garner (1823-1859) on 8th August 1836 at Holy Trinity Church, Ely, Cambridgeshire, England.
• unknown third wife married in Australia.

Children

• Susannah Cross (1832-1905) married Obediah Cross (1824-1908)
• Thompson Cross (1834)
• Alice Cross (1838-?)
• Sophy Cross (1845-1931) married Edward Brewer (1843-1878), and later to David King (1838-1899)
• Lilian Cross (1846-?)
• Eliza Cross (1848-1849)
• Eliza Garner Cross (1850-?)
• Charlotte Cross (1853-1923) married John Frederick Hunt (1842-1897), and later to George Munro (18??-?)
• Robert Cross (1858-1933) married Mary Louisa Lewis (1868-1960)

Census and Residence

• 1841: Not yet found.
• 1851: 41yrs, Brays Lane, Ely, Cambridgeshire, England.

Death

• 2nd June 1871 at Goodna, Queensland, Australia, aged 64 years.

Burial

• 3rd June 1871 in Goodna, Queensland, Australia.

Further Information

• A Fen family go down under (180kb)
  An article by Cambridgeshire historian, Mike Petty, regarding the Cross family emigration in the 1850s. Article dated 16th February 1994, Cambridge Weekly News.