Writing on back reads: "William Blythe Cross
Mary Jane (Shores) Cross"
William Blythe Cross was born in Howard County, Missouri, on September 18th, 1820. His parents were Sarah (or Sally) Blythe and John Cross, and he was the second of their eight children. Like his father, William became a farmer. In 1850, at age 29, he married 19-year-old Mary Jane Shores. Mary was born on September 27th, 1830, also in Howard County, to Susan Rice Johnson and William Shores. She was the eldest of their three children and their only daughter.
William and Mary had ten children together: John Newton, Susan Catherine, James Thomas, Annie Mary, William Clay, Sarah Cornelia, Mary Jane, Charles Shores, George Samuel, and Marvin Edward. As was unfortunately common at the time, they lost two of these children when they were young. The first was Annie, who died in 1867 at age 8. The second was their son, Charles, who can be seen in this cabinet card.
Writing on back reads: "Charles Shores Cross
d. 1882- Clark
age 16"
There is little information on Charles Cross's brief life. He was born in Randolph County, Missouri, in 1865 or 66. We know from the 1880 census that 15-year-old Charles worked on the farm with his father and older brother and that he attended school. He died on March 4th, 1882, at age 16, and was buried at Chapel Grove Cemetery in Clark, Missouri. I can find neither a death certificate nor an obituary for him that may tell us more.
William Blythe Cross died in 1895 at age 74. His wife, Mary, followed him in 1898 at age 67. Both were buried at Chapel Grove Cemetery.
If you can tell us more about these folks, let us know in the comments!
