William Littlewood Cross b 1829 Gringley on the Hill, England d: 1904 Bairnsdale Victoria, Australia

His occupation in England was noted as Gentleman/Farmer/Gardener.Religion: Church of England William was a landowner and farmer with his first wife Anne Aldwinkle and had two servants at the last census (1851). Death Notice of Anne Aldwinkle Cross, wife of prominent landowner, William Littlewood Esq. Ref: Gentleman's magazine, 1860.

Despite being the eldest son he was not a benefactor of his father’s will even though his father James left a large estate of eight thousand

pounds, plus farms, cottages and land to his wife, Ann. There is also no mention of William in his father’s (James) or mother’s (Ann) will.He appears to be a man who was dismissed by his family. We have no way of positively deciding why William Littlewood was banished if in fact this is the case. William remembered his family by using many family names for his children.Family legend insists that William Littlewood had a letter of introduction to the Governor of Victoria and attended functions at Government House, Melbourne, after his arrival. He was classed by the family as a remittance man which meant that he was financed by his family in Britain and possibly paid to stay away. But why did he leave England and his family? He was the eldest son and obviously stood to inherit the Cross property after his father, James, had died in 1861 and why did he choose Australia?

WILLIAM LITTLEWOOD CROSS

William Littlewood Cross came to Australia bringing with him a painting of himself on his 21st birthday dressed for hunting and posing alongside his Arab stallion “Loxall” The horse was a 21st present and was valued at £110. He also bought a pencil drawing of the family crest. Both painting and crest have not been sighted by Eric Cross’s family.

WILLIAM LITTLEWOOD CROSS MARRIED 1850 ANNE ALDWINKLE STEVENS B: 1830 D: 1859, NOTTINGHAMSHIRE, ENGLAND (ANN WAS UNDER AGE AND NEEDED CONSENT FROM HER AUNT ELIZABETH STEVENS) TWO YEARS AFTER HER DEATH WILLIAM LITTLEWOOD SET SAIL TO AUSTRALIA.

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William Littlewood Cross Australia

For reasons which have never been discovered, William Littlewood at the age of 34 came to Australia on the ship, Queen of the Mersey. The ship sailed from Liverpool and arrived in Melbourne 27th July 1861.

He was an unassisted passenger. “Queen of the Mersey” was a sailing ship under the Master Aitkin.

From Melbourne it appears that William Littlewood Cross went to Gippsland and was employed as a Groom at “Mewburn Park” for a time.

QUEEN OF THE MERSEY

This was the year Burke and Wills, explorers of Australia died a tragic death.

William Littlewood was born into the steam age. The first steam train in England ran in 1825 and in Australia in 1829. The British government established a settlement on the Swan River with free settlers from England and created Fremantle as the port. It was then that Britain claimed the whole continent for the empire.

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HER PARENTS WERE JAMES KERR BORN 1806 RUTHERGLEN, GLASGOW, LANARKSHIRE, SCOTLAND AND HER MOTHER WAS MARIAN WILSON BORN GOVAN, GLASGOW, LANARKSHIRE, SCOTLAND. (MARION WILSONS PARENTS WERE JAMES WILSON &

AGNES CORBETT.) SHE HAD A BROTHER JAMES KERR AND A SISTER, MARGARET- ALL BORN IN GLASGOW, SCOTLAND. (WE HAVE NO FURTHER FORMATION.)

Janet (Jane) Kerr Born in 1832 Corbals, Lanark, Scotland. Died 1889 Traralgon, Australia

Her christened name was Janet and all research so far has turned up no further information for Janet apart from the fact that her mother Marion (described as a weaver) died in Scotland aged 51 and James Jnr described as brother of J a n e K e r r d i e d i n Scotland in 1855. Jane possibly travelled alone with the help of one of the schemes at the time, such as female middle class immigration society. Jane arrived in Australia aged 20 years. She was an unassisted passenger on the "Omeo" in April 1862.

Had Jane been employed as a governess where she would have been expected to do some domestic work such as light sewing, along with teaching five or six children. She would inevitably have felt utter loneliness when first entering a family as a stranger.

Did she arrive in Melbourne and need temporary accommodation at the immigrants home? Was there anyone to meet her in this strange new land? Did Jane seek employment

in Melbourne on her arrival? Despite the air of wealth and a d v a n c e m e n t i n Melbourne there w a s l i t t l e employment and many women had to go to the country, often to gold rush towns for work.

Jane would have a hard life; the family was never well off and seemed to move a roun d Vi c to r i a constantly. In her short married life of 25 years in Australia

she gave birth to 8 children two of whom died when they were young..

In the 1860’s middle class women generally were considered to be outside the scope of government assisted migration schemes unless they were prepared to swallow their pride and describe themselves as servants.

����

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William Littlewood Cross married Jane Kerr in the home of Mrs. Mullaly in Sale, Victoria.

He was a stockman at Maffra in 1868. By 1873 he was in Foster where four of his children were born. At this time it would seem that William Littlewood’s remittance had ceased forcing him to find work for which he was not equipped. The family was in very poor circumstances and the townsfolk took up a subscription to assist the Cross Family (eight children), but William Littlewood refused any help.They lived in Foster, Victoria where most of their children were born. They then moved to Traralgon, Victoria where they owned a dairy farm. It was in Traralgon where the children attended school.

In 1889 Jane Cross died of heart disease. After Jane died in 1889 William moved to Sale where he worked as a gardener and after spending some time in hospital later died in Bairnsdale in 1904. Although his son Alfred rejected his father, he nevertheless paid for his father’s burial rather than have him placed in a pauper’s grave. William Littlewood, it appears, was unsuited for work and was obviously a poor provider for his family in Australia. We know that William Littlewood “rode to hounds” so was accustomed to horses. We know nothing of his education but feel sure that as a “gentlemen” he was unskilled. He died alone, unknown to his extended family in England and rejected by his Australian family and lies in a grave that bears no marker.

William Littlewood Cross

In the 1981 publication “The Tambo Shire Centenary History “ William Littlewood is listed as having selected land in the Agricultural District of Tambo when an area of some thousands of acres was thrown open for settlement in an auction at Sale in February 1866. At that time he was listed as “farmer”

but evidently did not settle on the land, it was possibly bought as an investment.“ TA~~mo.-Allotment 25, 162a Or 34p; rent, £8 3s. William Littlewood Cross, farmer, Tambo Gippsland Times 1866”

It appears that William went to Gippsland and was employed as a Groom at “Mewburn Park” for a time.

Ned Kelly of the Kelly Gang wasbought to justice a n d h a n g e d i n Melbourne in 1880.

Cobb & Co were operating goldfields coaching services and harnessing 6000 horses a day

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WILLIAM & JANE ’S CHILDREN

They lived in Traralgon, Albury, Port Albert, Welshpool and Foster in Victoria and had eight children.

Maude Marion b: 1865 Tinamba, Maffra, d: 1883 Maffra, Victoria (died age 18)

Emily Annie b: 1869 Port Albert d: 1943 Warragul, Victoria married 1889 Joseph Robinson and had four children, Arthur Littlewood, Mildred. Constance and Egerton.

Elizabeth b: 1871 Welshpool, Victoria d: 1903 Warragul, Victoria married 1900 Fredrick Ross Galbraith. They had no children.

William Kerr b: 1873 Foster, Victoria d: 1897 Sale, Victoria (died age 24).

Charles b: 1874 d: 1874 Foster, Victoria (died at birth).

Arthur Littlewood b: 1876 Foster, Victoria, d: 1947 Sale, Victoria married 1900 Sara Reeves. They lived in Traralgon and had four children.

Alfred Henry b: 1878 Foster, Victoria d: 1946 Traralgon, Victoria married 1901 Elizabeth Williams and had two children. Refer Page 32

Fredrick b: 1880 Traralgon, Victoria d: 1911 Port Arlington, Victoria married 1903 Lydia Mabel Bailey. Refer Page 37-39 The lived in Traralgon, Victoria and had five children, Constance, Ethel, Keith, Eric and Audrey.

Fredrick was the 8th child in our line.

Tabled in Parliament in September 1891, with the support of then Premier James Munro, the petition sought that ‘Women should Vote on Equal terms with Men'.  

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Children of William Cross & Jane Kerr

.

Elizabeth Cross married Fredrick

Ross GabraithElizabeth was teaching Sunday School at the Church of England before she met and married Fred. During 1903 Elizabeth became pregnant and suffered ill health for six months with nephritis. She ultimately gave birth to twins who were still born, the birth taking place at a house in Warragul. Two weeks after the birth Elizabeth died.

Arthur Littlewood was always known as “Jock”, a quietly spoken gentleman who started a bakery and confectionery shop. His brother Frederick also joined him in the bakery. When Frederick died, his son Eric Noel was looked after by Jock and Sara until Eric reached the age of fourteen. Eric then joined his mother and sisters in Melbourne.

ARTHUR (JOCK) LITTLEWOOD

b: 1876 Foster, Victoria Australiad: 1947 Sale, Victoria, AustraliaMarried 1900 Sara Reeves b: 1869 d: 1925

They lived in Traralgon and Sale Australia and had four children

Glady’s Irene b: 1901 Warragul Victoria (no further information)

Arthur Littlewood b:1904 Traralgon, Victoria d: 1980 Bairnsdale, Victoria married Charlotte Isobel (no further information).

Alfred William b: 1908, d: 1936 Traralgon, Victoria (no further information).

Lorna Annie B: 1913 Traralgon, Victoria (no further information) Cousins Eric and Arthur Littlewood

(son of Arthur (Jock) Littlewood)

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ALFRED HENRY

b: 1878 Foster Victoria Australiad: 1946 Traralgon, Victoria, AustraliaMarried 1901 Emma Elizabeth Williams b: 1876 d: 1952

They lived in Traralgon, Australia and had two children

Roy Henry b: 1902 Warragul Victoria d: 1987 married Rachel Paterson They had two children, Janice and Howard

Jean Mildred b:1904 Traralgon, Victoria d:1984 married Francis Henry Bishop. They had two children, Meryl and Carol.

Alfred was born 1878 in Foster and a year later the family moved to Traralgon. He attended school there (now no longer exists).In the same year that his mother died, Alfred Henry left school at the age of ten in order to work and bring much needed money into the family. He obviously impressed his employer, a newsagent, with his diligence and honesty and it was not long before young Alfred owned the newsagency.Alfred was a keen participant in many town activities including Mechanics Institute, Cemetery Trust, Agricultural Society, School Board, Trout fishing and Church warden.They bought their first home and named it “Littlewood”. It has since been moved but still bears the name “Littlewood”. Later they purchased six hundred and forty acres, grazing dairy cattle, pigs and sheep.He was always courteous, dignified, kindly and had a deep insight into human nature. He was generous and all who knew him would respect him.He died in 1946 of a heart attack.

Jane Cross (Kerr) holding Alfred Henry - here very ill and not expected to live.

Alfred, son of William Cross and Jane Kerr

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Roy Henry Cross and wife Rachel

Alfred Henry

s

Descendant of William Cross and Jane Kerr

Eric and Jean’s Wedding 1935Back Row: Eric (William/Fredrick) and wife Jean: Arthur Duncan Lydia (Eric’s mother) Lydia’s sister? Joyce (Jeans sister) Constance and Ethel (Fredrick’s daughters)Front Row: Arthur Littlewood (William/Arthur ) with Audrey and Helen (Ethel’s children)

1926 Alfred & Arthur

1924 Jean Cross (Alfred Henry’s daughter)1938 Roy Cross (Alfred

Henry’s son)

2012 Marilyn (Fredrick/Eric’s line) and Meryl (Alfred/Jean’s line)

2013 Janice (Alfred/Roy line) Marilyn (Fredrick/Eric’s line)

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Roy Cross (b:1902)son of Alfred Cross

Jean Cross

Roy Cross (b:1902)Jean (b1904)