IRELAND
Robert Garretty said:
He was born between Dec 1843 and 47 (census returns)
his father was a labourer named Michael Garretty (marriage certificate)
who lived in Roscommon (1871 census)
His father was Irish and his mother was English (1891 census)
A family tradition, reported to me by Audrey Balfour, states that his mother married a second time, to a Mr Cross, and they lived in Cork.
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND 1869-77
The first record we have of Robert Garretty is the certificate of his marriage to Martha Jane Mills, issued in Birmingham, England, on May 24, 1869. He was a 22 year old "painter" living at 1 Luke street. She was living with her father, Leslie Mills, on Hope street. The family tradition that she lied about her age is confirmed by the marriage record. She just turned 16, but claimed to be 19.
1871 census
Robert Garratty - Head - 24 - Ireland - painter
Matha Garratty - Wife - 19 - Kenilworth, Warwickshire
Robert and Martha gradually moved further and further from the center of town. Their children Arthur and Catherine were born when the Garrattys were living in in the back of 26 Nelson street south 1871- 1873.
Their third child, 'Anna Catharina Geraghty' was baptized in the Roman Catholic church on Bristol Street, Birmingham, on May 18, 1873. Her birth date was given as April 25, 1873 and her parents as Roberti Geraghty and Martha Joanna Geraghty (nee Mills). This is the only record I have of them as Catholics. Subsequent records state they were Methodists.
Audrey Balfour remembers stories of the Garrattys quarreling over Robert's Irish origins. Martha proclaimed her English roots and Robbert would sometimes tease her by turning Queen Victoria's portrait around so it faced the wall.
The Garrettys were at 54 Freeth street when their children Bernard (Ben) and Ellen were born 1875-77.
THE SUBURBS: SMETHWICK 1879-86
They first used the name "Allen" after moving out to the suburbs in 1879. "Frank Allen Garretty" was born at Bearwood road, Smethwick, in the county of Stafford (a suburb of Birmingham) in 1879. Robert is listed as a painter in every birth certificate. So was Martha in the 1881 census, where the family adopted the surname "Allen:
1881 census from 411 Bearwood Rd, Smethwick
Allen, Robert - 37 - Head - House painter - Ire - Roscommon
Allen, Martha Jane - 27 - wife - House Painter - War- Kenilworth
Allen, Arthur Leslie - son - 9 - scholar - War - B'ham
Allen, Annie Catherine - daur - 7 - scholar - War - B'ham
Allen, Bernard, son, 5, scholar, War - B'ham
Allen, Ellen Mary, daur, 3, War-B'ham
Allen, Frank, son, 1, Stf, Smethwick
ROBERT'S TEMPER
My uncle Jack Cross told me a number of stories about Robert's temper.
When someone asked him for a job, Robert asked. "Are you a union man?"
"No, but I'll join up to get the job," the fellow responded.
"Oh, so is that the kind of man you are," Robert shot back and pushed him down.
Robert couldn't get the ladder straight on one house he was painting. So he picked it up, marched around the house, jammed it into the ground again and snarled, "Now, will you stay there!"
A policeman entered the Cross home, holding one of the boys by the scruff of his neck. Robert immediately threw him out, "Next time you'll knock first!"
WINNIPEG 1889 - 98
The last document on which Robert's surname was Garretty was his daughter Jean's birth record. Robert Garretty was a house painter, living at 22 Rettia Street, in Winnipeg on Aug 29 1889. The whole family adopted the name Cross for the 1891 census. They were living in 1/6 of a house in the city's 10th ward:
In the Winnipeg CENSUS of 1891, ward 4 ( beginning, reel T 6297)
R. Cross - Head - (42) - from Ireland - Methodist, painter (Irish Father, English Mother)
Martha - Wife - ( 39 ) - from England, - Methodist (English mother & father)
Rober t- son- (20) - porter
Martha - daughter - (18)
Annie - daughter - (17)
Bernie - son - (16) - hotel waiter
Ellen - daughter - (14)
Frank - son - (11)
Mable - daughter - (9)
Cora - daughter - (7)
Jennie - daughter - (1)
The Winnipeg Directory of 1897 lists Robert Cross, house painter, living at 100 Owena.
Mabel Cross married William Henry Balfour in Moorhead Minnesota on 26 Sept 1897. They had ten children, the last of which was Audrey (born in Minot North Dakota 22 Dec 1923.
1900 CENSUS IN SEATTLE SEATTLE
According to Dorothy's obituary, the Cross family travelled west to British Columbia on the railroad in1898. Ben and his family stayed in Vancouver, but the 1900 U.S. census states Robert took most of the family to the United States in 1898. They were living Seattle Ward 8, King, Washington when the census was taken.
R Cross - Head - 57 - Ireland - painter
Martha Cross - Wife - 47 - England
Arthur Cross - Son - 27 - England - painter
Frank Cross - Son - 20 - England - painter
Dallie Cross - Daughter - 16 - England
Jennie Cross - Daughter - 10 - Canada Eng
A tragic accident brought their sojourn in the United States. The New Athletic Club Building, at the corner of Cherry Street and 4th avenue, hired Frank Cross as their janitor around 1902. He resigned as head janitor in May 104, but agreed to train his replacement. On his last day, Frank was on top of the elevator, oiling it, when the cage shot to the top and crushed him to death.
He was unmarried and living with his parents, at 141 East 54th street in Green Lake, at the time.
VANCOUVER
Robert and Martha moved to Vancouver in time for their son Arthur's marriage in September 1905.
Henderson's Vancouver Directory lists Robert Cross as a house painter between 1905-8. The following year he was employed by his son Bernie, of Cross & Huestis. He was retired in 1911.
1911 CENSUS Vancouver City
Robert Cross - Head - Living at 923 Beach street - born Dec 1845 - Ireland, Painter - earned $1,000
Martha J Cross - wife - Living at 923 Beach street - born May 1843 - England,
Jean Munro Cross - daughter - 21, born Aug 1889 - garment maker
DEATH
According to his death certificate, Robert Cross was living at 757 25th avenue east when he died of bronchial pneumonia on Aug 3, 1920. He was buried 23 Aug 1920 Mountain View Cemetery in Vancouver. Robert had been senile for three years prior to that.
Norm Cross said that Robert quarrelled with one of his daughters and refused to acknowledge her presence on his deathbed.
(The only daughter still at home was Jean, who inherited the entirety of Martha Jane Mill's estate in 1932.)
He was buried 23 Aug 1920 Mountain View Cemetery in Vancouver.
CHILDREN
ROBERT CROSS - was probably born prior to his father Robert's marriage to Martha Jane Mills in 1869, which explains why his surname was 'Cross' and why he was raised apart from the family. According to his marriage certificate, Robert was born on 11 October 1867, in Birmingham. The 1901 census states October 11, 1866. The 1871 census lists 'Robert Cross' as (a more respectable) one year old and living with his 49-year-old widowed grandmother Jean Mills in St Thomas subdistrict , Birmingham, Warwickshire. Jean's daughters Ellen (23) and Annie (16) were living in the same house. A third daughter Mary Martin (21) and her husband Henry Martin (30) were visiting the day the census was taken. Jean sometime died prior to the 1881 census, when young Robert was listed living with his widowed aunts May Martin and Annie Mann at 2 St Anns Villas on Hewlett Road, Cheltenham in Gloucester. There is no record of Robert living with his parents in England. According to the 1901 census, he emigrated to Canada in 1882 and fathered a child William about 1855. Robert Cross married Fannie Sarah Reid, in Winnipeg, 25 Feb 1890. He appears to have been listed twice in the 1891 census. The Garrattys had changed their surname to Cross by this time and a 20-year-old 'porter' named Robert Cross is listed in the home of his parents 'R. and Martha Cross' in Ward 4, Winnipeg. Note that his birth year is adjusted to look like he was born AFTER Robert (Sr) married Martha. Robert (Jr) He was probably visiting when the census takers arrrived. There is also an entry for the family of 24-year-old Robert Cross, a railway labourer,' and his wife Fannie (25) in Ward 5. They had two children: 6 year old William and 3 month old Bertie. The 1901 census from Victoria, B.C. lists 34-year-old Robert Cross as a resident labourer who earned $720 that year. His wife Fannie's birthday was born Dec 6, 1863. They had five children Robert was a marine fireman living at 313 Menzies Street, Victoria, when his daughter May was married in 1917. That same year he became a Fireman in Vancouver General Hospital. He continued in that profession until 1938. Last lived at 2315 Columbia, Vancouver. Robert is the only one of Ben's brother's that my mother, Della May Cross, ever met. She remembers him as a short man, who looked a lot like Ben. Robert died 8 May, 1941, Vancouver. Among the causes of death was "acute dialation of heart muscle". Children:
William Cross (May 16 1884, Manitoba)
Bertie Cross (January 4 1891, Manitoba)
Beatrice Flora Cross (April 4 1895, Winnipeg, Manitoba) m George Edward Creswell ( c 1884, Surrey, England) at 559 Michigan street, Victoria, on April 3 1912.
John Henry Cross (July 17 1896, Winnipeg, Manitoba). According to his recruitment record, he enlisted 3 weeks prior to marrying Winnifred Lily Cooter on April 19, 1918. Record in Find a grave Private Service Number: 2023048 Age: 22 ArmyUnit: Canadian Infantry (British Columbia Regiment) Division: 1st Reserve BattalionA 'Fireman Marine' by trade, he joined the Canadian Expeditionary Force on 6 May 1918 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Son of Robert and Fannie Cross of Vancouver; husband of Winnifred Lily Cross of Seattle, Washington, U.S.A. Private John Henry Cross is commemorated on Page 391 of Canada's First World War Book of Remembrance. His wife Winnifred was born 2 Oct 1900 in England and died 17 Mar 1984 (aged 83)
in Lewis County, Washington, USA. Her second marriage was to Albert Garbutt whose obituary in the Seattle Daily Times, May 7, 1952: Funeral services for Albert Garbutt, 65, of 5109 Lucile St., a native of Seattle, will be held at 11 o’clock tomorrow in the Columbia Funeral Home, with burial in Washelli. Mr. Garbutt died Monday. He had been ill five months. He was a furniture worker for Sears, Roebuck & Co. 15 years. He was a member of the Furniture Workers’ Local 3197. Surviving are his wife, Winnifred; two sons, Albert J. Garbutt, Seattle, and Howard W. Garbutt, Richland; a daughter, Mrs. Lucille L. Roppo and four sisters, Mrs. Alice Frazier, Mrs. Vera Jamison, Mrs. Mabel Williams, and Mrs. Louise McClellan, all of Seattle, and one grandchild.
Edith Cross (July 3 1897, Manitoba)
May Cross (c 1901, Victoria, B.C.) married Thomas H Barnes (c1866- 1954) on April 7, 1917. Thomas was a marine fireman, living at the Berwick Hotel in Victoria, They later moved to Vancouver, where he is listed as an engineer at Vancouver General Hospital, living at 2238 MacDonald, between 1936 and 1946. He was retired in 1953.
ARTHUR LESLIE GARRATTEY - born 3 July 1871 in the back of 26 Nelson street south, Birmingham. Living with his parents in Seattle in 1900. Arthur was a house painter for Fletcher P Bishop in Vancouver, living with his brother Bernard, in 1904 and 1905. He married Mary Elizabeth McLean (21, born in Portartington, Victoria, Australia, Sep 11, 1883) in Vancouver Sept 2, 1905. The witness were his sister Jean Cross and I (or J) North, Chief of Police. Arthur is listed as a housepainter in Vancouver 1905-11. When the 1911 was taken, Arthur & Mary Cross were living in Victoria. Arthur was still a housepainter when he died in Vancouver on 18 Feb, 1924. Mary raised the children. She died in Vancouver, at the age of 60, on 28 Mar 1944. Children:
Don Cross s/o Arthur Cross & Mary Elizabeth McLean was born [in Vancouver] 28 Jun 1906. He married Mabel Isabelle Cline. Don died in New Westminster on 24 May 1982
Frank Allan Cross s/o Arthur Leslie Cross & Mary Elizabeth McLean was born in Vancouver abt 1905. He married Mabel Isabell Cline (d/o James Edward Cline & Amanda Ann Fetterly) at 737 14th Ave East, Vancouver, on 16 May 1928. He was a 23-year-old mechanic and she was a 22-year-old waitress.
Ellin Mabel Cross d/o Arthur Leslie Cross & Mary Elizabeth McLean was born abt 1907. She married Osmond James McDonald (s/o Osmund Mcdonald & Mary Eva Deguruchy) at St Mark's Church in Vancouver on 31 Dec 1929. He was a 22 year-old saw mill worker and she an 18-yer-old biscuit packer.
Annie Dorothy Cross (d/o Arthur Leslie Cross & Mary E McLean) born abt 1908 in Vancouver married John Miller (s/o George Miller & Elizabeth Hughes) at 1896 11th Ave West in Vancouver 26 Jul 1930, He was a 28-year old labourer and she a 22-year-old "Fueliry?) worker
Reginald Cross married Sheila
Jean Munroe Cross d/o Arthur Leslie Cross & Mary Elizabeth McLean was born abt 1909 in Vancouver. Jean was a 20-year-old packer at a biscuit company when she married 18-year-old James Irwin Thompson, a tinsmith at St Martha's Church, Vancouver, on 26 Sep 1929.
Robert Leslie Cross (s/o Arthur L Cross & Mary McLean) was born in Seattle on 22 May 1913 and died in Vancouver 15 Feb 1919
Leslie Henry Cross born in Vancouver March 2, 1922. He married Margaret Nelson in Ontario during 1953. He died in Vancouver on 28 Jul 1967
ANN CATHERINE GARRATTEY - born 1 April 1873 in the back of 26 Nelson street, Birmingham. According to Seattle's 1910 census, Ann entered the United States in 1889. The following year (1900) she married Ernest Cobb, a house painter. They were living in Seattle when the 1910 and 1920 censuses were taken. Ann died 25 Dec 1949, Seattle.
Albert Cobb - born in Victoria, 20 Jan 1892. He was married to Anna, employed by the North Butte Mining company and had two children on June 5, 1917. That was when he was drafted to serve overseas. around 1921. He was an electrician working in the navy yard in the Sylvan Election Precinct, King county, Washington, during 1940. His 19-year-old daughter Miriam Ferrar Cobb was still living at home.
Harry V Cobb - Son - born in North Dakota in 1897- 98. Was at homewhen the 1920 census was taken, a station agent for the Railway
Ruth C Cobb - probably Harry's daughter & visiting her grandparents, born 1914.
BERNARD GARRATTY - born 25 May 1875 at 54 Freeth street, Birmingham- 14 Sept 1939, Vancouver) - biography follows
ELLEN MARY GARRATEY - born 29 April 1877 at 54 Freeth street, Birmingham married Frederick George Morris in Winnipeg 20 Jun 1895. Frederick George Morris died in Vancouver 09 May 1933. Ellen was a widow at the time of her death, April 22, 1955 in Vancouver. The 1911 census from Vancouver:
George Morris - Head - 44 -(born about 1867) England - Methodist - painter
Helen Morris - Wife - 33 - (born about 1878) Methodist- England
Leslie Morris - Son - 15 - (born about 1896) Methodist- Manitoba
Lucy Morris - Daughter - 13 - (born about 1898) Methodist- United States
Janis Morris - Daughter - 9 - (born about 1902) Methodist- British Columbia
Martha Morris - Daughter - 6 - (born about 1905) Methodist - British Columbia
Frank Morris - Son - 4 - (born about 1907) Methodist - British Columbia
William Stockdale Lodger - 47 - England
FRANK ALLEN GARRATEY - born 17 September 1879 on Bearwood road, Smethwick, in the county of Stafford (a suburb of Birmingham). Was crushed to death in a freak elevator accident on 11 May, 1904, Seattle
MABEL GARRATEY - born 18 July 1881 on Bearwood road, Smethwick . She married William Henry Balfour in Moorhead Minnesota, on 26 Sept, 1897. He was a farm labourer living in rental accommodations at Minot, North Dakota in 1920. Mabel died 26 June 1956 Minot, North Dakota. Children:
Henry Balfour - Head - 53 - (born about 1867) England - a farm labourer living in rental accommodations
Mable Balfour - Wife - 38 - (born about 1882) England
Monty Balfour - born about 1899 in North Dakota
Erma Balfour -born in North Dakota abt 1902
Gladys Balfour - born in North Dakota abt 1906
John Balfour abt 1911
Allen Balfour - born in North Dakota abt 1915
Alice Balfour - born in North Dakota abt 1917
Dolores Balfour - born in North Dakota abt 1919
Audrey (born in Minot North Dakota 22 Dec 1923.
DOROTHY GLADYS GARRATTEY - born 4 Sept 1883 on Bearwood road, Smethwick - 14 Jan 1979) married Harry Evan Thompson. According to her obituary, the Cross family came to British Columbia on the railroad about 1898. They moved to Seattle, WA, for awhile. She married Harry Evan Thompson sometime prior to 1904 and moved to Colby, WA, in 1909. The 1940 census lists her as a widow and the sole resident of a house Kitsap, WA. The obituary explains. "Mrs Thompson did housework for several Colby residents until 1931, when she went to work in the joiners shop at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. She worked there until her retirement in1946. She moved in with one of her daughters in 1976." She died at the age of 95, in Puyallup Manor Nursing Home, on 14 Jan 1979. Children:
Ethel B Thompson - born about 1905 in Washington
Dorothy G Thompson - born 1908 in Washington, mentioned as Mrs Dorothy Gaasland of Port Orchard, WA in her mother's obituary
Nellie G Thompson - born 1910 in Washington
Dica O Thompson - born 1912 in Washington - called Mrs Dica Barnhart of Puyallup in Dorothy's obituary
Harry E Thompson - born 1915 in Washington
MARTHA MAY ALLEN GARRATY - born 20 May 1886 on Bearwood road, Smethwick (etc)
JEAN MUNRO GARRATTY - born Aug 29 1889 at 22 Rettia Street, Winnipeg, MB, Canada. She married Cecil Crofton Garner (s/o William Garner & Francis Singer) at Mt View Methodist Church on 28th Ave, Vancouver on 19 Jul 1924. Though she was 34, Jean claims to have been 30. Her husband was a 26-year-old salesman. Jean was a comptometer operator (The comptometer was the first commercially successful key-driven mechanical calculator. It was primarily an adding machine, but could also do subtractions, multiplication and division. Some versions could also calculate currency exchanges, times and Imperial weights.) Jean died on 19 Jan 1959, Vancouver.
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