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
367 Kennedy Street, Winnipeg
1902
785 Dorchester Avenue, Winnipeg
1903
85 Kennedy Street, Winnipeg
1905
Prince Rupert Block
376-384 Ellice Avenue, Winnipeg
1906
Demolished (?)
478 River Avenue, Winnipeg
1906
Greig House (Mrs. Jennie Greig)
116 Norquay Street, Winnipeg
1907
Demolished (?)
213 Kingsway, Winnipeg
1908
22 Middle Gate, Winnipeg
1909
33 Middle Gate, Winnipeg
1909
36 Balmoral Street, Winnipeg
1909
161 Stafford Street, Winnipeg
1909
640 Westminster Avenue, Winnipeg
1909
543 Bannatyne Avenue, Winnipeg
1910
104 Balmoral Street, Winnipeg
1910
162-166 Lilac Street, Winnipeg
1910
54 Balmoral Street, Winnipeg
1911
50 Yale Avenue, Winnipeg
1911
720 Dorchester Avenue, Winnipeg
1912
734-738 Dorchester Avenue, Winnipeg
1912
Hugo Apartments
261 Wellington Crescent, Winnipeg
1912
Demolished (?)
728 Dorchester Avenue, Winnipeg
1912
31 McBeth Avenue, Winnipeg
1912-1913
321 Stradbrook Avenue, Winnipeg
1913
890 McMillan Avenue, Winnipeg
1913
847 McMillan Avenue, Winnipeg
1913
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.
“116 Norquay Street will be splendid example of what modernization can do,” Winnipeg Tribune, 8 June 1935 , page 4.
Henderson’s Winnipeg and Brandon Directories, Henderson Directories Limited, Peel’s Prairie Provinces, University of Alberta Libraries.
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 and Jordan Makichuk for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 11 September 2023
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