Memorable Manitobans: William Wardell Cross (1860-1939)

Building contractor.

Born at Oakville, Ontario on 10 February 1860, he came to Winnipeg in 1890 where he worked as a building contractor. He was responsible for building a diverse range of structures: stores, single family houses, garages, apartment blocks, and a bowling alley. He also owned and operated a farm near Rosser.

He was married twice, first on 20 December 1893 to Isabella Catherine Nesbitt (1867-1907) at Oakville with whom he subsequently had four children: ? Cross (?-?, wife of Walter E. Carr), Mary Isabel Cross (1895-1973, wife of Paul Guyot DuVal), Charles Gordon Cross (1897-1921), and Elwood Cross (?-?). The family lived at 349 Carlton Street (c1902). On 3 July 1920, he married Catherine Mary McConkey (?-?). He was a member of the AF & AM (St. John's Lodge) and Khartum Shriners.

He died at Winnipeg on 10 June 1939 and was buried in the Elmwood Cemetery.

Some of his construction works in Manitoba included:

Building	Location	Year	Status
Glamour Terrace	367 Kennedy Street, Winnipeg	1902
Panama Court	785 Dorchester Avenue, Winnipeg	1903
Rideau Hall	85 Kennedy Street, Winnipeg	1905
Prince Rupert Block	376-384 Ellice Avenue, Winnipeg	1906	Demolished (?)
Russell House	213 Kingsway, Winnipeg	1908
McPherson House	36 Balmoral Street, Winnipeg	1909
Grosvenor Court	161 Stafford Street, Winnipeg	1909
Amulet Apartments	640 Westminster Avenue, Winnipeg	1909
Bannatyne Apartments / Shipman Court	543 Bannatyne Avenue, Winnipeg	1910
Chevrier House	104 Balmoral Street, Winnipeg	1910
Dorchester Court	162-166 Lilac Street, Winnipeg	1910
Ulrich House	54 Balmoral Street, Winnipeg	1911
Erzinger House	50 Yale Avenue, Winnipeg	1911
Aynsley Court	734-738 Dorchester Avenue, Winnipeg	1912
Hugo Apartments	261 Wellington Crescent, Winnipeg	1912	Demolished (?)
McBeth House	31 McBeth Avenue, Winnipeg	1912-1913
Milan Apartments	890 McMillan Avenue, Winnipeg	1913
Lucerne Apartments	847 McMillan Avenue, Winnipeg	1913

Sources:

Ontario marriage registration, Ancestry.

Obituary [Isabella Catherine Cross], Winnipeg Tribune, 23 March 1907, page 15.

Marriage and death registrations, Manitoba Vital Statistics.

“G. Cross dies after fall on pitchfork,” Winnipeg Tribune, 29 August 1921, page 3.

Obituary, Winnipeg Tribune, 12 June 1939, page 24.

Rideau Hall Apartments, 85 Kennedy Street by Murray Peterson, Peterson Projects, February 2007.

We thank Nathan Kramer for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 7 November 2021

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