James B. Cross

James B. Cross (December 17, 1819 – February 3, 1876) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 9th mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin (1855–1858). A Democrat, Cross also represented Milwaukee for three terms in the Wisconsin State Assembly, and was the Party's nominee for Governor of Wisconsin in the 1857 election.[1]

James B. Cross
9th Mayor of Milwaukee
In office March 23, 1855 – April 1858
Preceded by	Byron Kilbourn
Succeeded by	William A. Prentiss
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the Milwaukee 1st district
In office January 10, 1855 – January 9, 1856
Preceded by	John Crawford
Succeeded by	Joshua Stark
In office January 10, 1849 – January 8, 1851
Preceded by	Edward Wunderly
Succeeded by	William K. Wilson
Personal details
Born	James B. Cross December 17, 1819 Phelps, New York, U.S.
Died	February 3, 1876 (aged 56) Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Cause of death	Stroke
Resting place	Forest Home Cemetery Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Catherine L. Fuller ​ ​ (m. 1856; died 1857)​ Eunice G. Osborn ​ (m. 1859)​
Children	James B. Cross Jr. (died age 8) at least 2 others
Profession	lawyer, politician

Background and public office

Cross was born in Phelps, New York, in 1819. In 1841, he moved to Milwaukee to practice law.[2] Cross served as probate judge in 1848. He then served three terms as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1849, 1850, and 1855, representing Milwaukee County's First Assembly district.[3]

Cross served for three terms as mayor of Milwaukee from April 1855 to April 1858. The Milwaukee Police Department came into being while Cross was mayor. Before this time, the Milwaukee County Sheriff and his deputy maintained law and order.[4] He was a Wisconsin delegate at the Democratic National Convention in Cincinnati, Ohio on June 2, 1856.[5]

Run for governor

Cross ran as the Democratic nominee for Governor of Wisconsin in 1857, but he was accused of financial maladministration during his terms as mayor; and his political association with former Governor (and fellow Democrat) William A. Barstow hindered his gubernatorial campaign. He lost to Republican Alexander Randall in a close vote, 44,239 to 44,693.[6]

Life outside public office

Cross was said to be deeply disappointed by the outcome of the gubernatorial election—though he came within 500 votes of victory—and mostly retired from political life afterwards.[7]^:161 In his later years, Cross ran the Juneau National Bank from 1857 to 1862 and then worked in the liquor business from 1867 to 1876. Cross also worked at the post office, rising to head clerk by the time of his death.[7]^:161

He died of a stroke at his home on the morning of February 3, 1876.[8]

Personal life and family

Cross was married twice. He was married to Catherine Fuller in 1856, but she died less than a year later. He subsequently married Eunice G. Osborn and had at least three children. One of his children, James Jr., died in a drowning accident at age 8. He was survived by his second wife and two living children.[8]

Electoral history

Wisconsin Gubernatorial Election, 1857[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
General Election, November 3, 1857
	Republican	Alexander Randall	44,693	49.63%	-0.23%
	Democratic	James B. Cross	44,239	49.12%	-0.95%
		Scattering	1,126	1.25%
Plurality			454	0.50%	+0.29%
Total votes			90,058	100.0%	+24.05%
	Republican hold

References

1. State Bar of Wisconsin (1905). "Biographical Sketches: James B. Cross". Report of the Proceedings of the Meeting of the State Bar Association of Wisconsin for the years 1878, 1881, and 1885. Madison, Wisconsin: Taylor and Gleason, Book and Job Printer. p. 223. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
2. "Cross, James B. 1819 - 1876". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
3. Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (2007). "Feature Article: Those Who Served: Wisconsin Legislators 1848–2007" (PDF). In Barish, Lawrence S.; Lemanski, Lynn (eds.). State of Wisconsin 2007-2008 Blue Book (Report). Madison, Wisconsin: State of Wisconsin. p. 132. ISBN 978-0-9752820-2-1. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
4. "History of The Milwaukee Police Department". City of Milwaukee. Archived from the original on June 23, 2006. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
5. Official Proceedings of the National Democratic Convention held in Cincinnati, June 2–6, 1856 (Report). Cincinnati, Ohio: Enquirer Company Steam Printing Establishment. 1856. p. 9. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
6. Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (2015). "Statistics: History" (PDF). In Pohlman, Julie (ed.). State of Wisconsin 2015-2016 Blue Book (Report). Madison, Wisconsin: State of Wisconsin. p. 699. ISBN 978-0-9752820-7-6. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
7. Watrous, Jerome A., ed. (1909). Memoirs of Milwaukee County. vol. 1. Madison, Wisconsin: Western Historical Association. pp. 161, 563. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
8. "Death of Hon. James B. Cross". Wisconsin State Journal. Madison, Wisconsin. February 4, 1876. p. 1. Retrieved August 14, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.

Further reading

This article incorporates text from the 1909 edition of Memoirs of Milwaukee County, by Jerome Anthony Watrous which is in the public domain in the United States.

External links

• James B. Cross at Find a Grave
• Catherine T Cross at Find a Grave (his first wife)