The Brief Life of Matilda Cross

Matilda Rosa Cross was my third great grand-aunt. She was born to Charles Cross and Patience M. Manning Cross in 1851. She was christened at Holy Angels Catholic Church, on July 12, 1851, by Rev. J. V. Conlan. Her baptismal sponsors were a Mr. Spalding and Martha Martin. The baptism record was recorded in church books at Holy Angels Catholic Church, and is accessible at Family Search. These particular records are not indexed, but searching is relatively easy if you have a rough idea of the time frame involved. You can view each page at full-screen, and flip through the records page by page with ease at any computer.





Matilda's father was the first Catholic Mayor of Sandusky, Ohio, serving in that office from 1853-1856. Little is known about Matilda's mother, Patience, except that she died sometime after Matilda's birth in 1851 and before 1860. Sadly, Matilda Cross died very young. Her death was recorded in Holy Angels church records as September 14, 1866, when Rev. R.A. Sidley was serving as the priest. Matilda was 15 years old at the time of her death.




Matilda's brother James went on to serve his country in the Civil War, and another brother, Charles A. Cross was a photographer in Sandusky, Ohio for several years. My gut feeling is that Matilda was a special little girl to her family, especially since she lost her mother at such a young age. How I wish I could see some Cross family photographs that surely must have been taken by Charles A. Cross! Though Matilda's name has not been inscribed on the tombstone, St. Joseph's Cemetery records indicate that she is buried in the same lot as her father, Charles Cross, in Section D.