James B. Cross

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19th century American politician, 9th Mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin

title: "James B. Cross" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1819-births", "1876-deaths", "mayors-of-milwaukee", "democratic-party-members-of-the-wisconsin-state-assembly", "people-from-phelps,-new-york", "american-postal-officials", "wisconsin-lawyers", "wisconsin-state-court-judges", "19th-century-wisconsin-state-court-judges", "19th-century-american-lawyers", "19th-century-mayors-of-places-in-wisconsin", "19th-century-members-of-the-wisconsin-legislature"] description: "19th century American politician, 9th Mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin" topic_path: "law" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_B._Cross" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary 19th century American politician, 9th Mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox officeholder"]

Field	Value
name	James B. Cross
image	James B. Cross.jpg
order	9th
office	Mayor of Milwaukee
term_start	March 23, 1855
term_end	April 1858
predecessor	Byron Kilbourn
successor	William A. Prentiss
state1	Wisconsin
state_assembly1	Wisconsin
district1	Milwaukee 1st
term_start1	January 10, 1855
term_end1	January 9, 1856
predecessor1	John Crawford
successor1	Joshua Stark
term_start2	January 10, 1849
term_end2	January 8, 1851
predecessor2	Edward Wunderly
successor2	William K. Wilson
birth_name	James B. Cross
birth_date
birth_place	Phelps, New York, U.S.
death_date
death_place	Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US
restingplace	Forest Home Cemetery, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
spouse	{{unbulleted list
{{marriage	Catherine L. Fuller
children	At least 3
party	Democratic
profession	lawyer, politician
::

|name = James B. Cross |image = James B. Cross.jpg |order = 9th |office = Mayor of Milwaukee |term_start = March 23, 1855 |term_end = April 1858 |predecessor = Byron Kilbourn |successor = William A. Prentiss |state1 = Wisconsin |state_assembly1 = Wisconsin |district1 = Milwaukee 1st |term_start1 = January 10, 1855 |term_end1 = January 9, 1856 |predecessor1 = John Crawford |successor1 = Joshua Stark |term_start2 = January 10, 1849 |term_end2 = January 8, 1851 |predecessor2 = Edward Wunderly |successor2 = William K. Wilson |birth_name = James B. Cross |birth_date = |birth_place = Phelps, New York, U.S. |death_date = |death_place = Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US |restingplace = Forest Home Cemetery, Milwaukee, Wisconsin |spouse = {{unbulleted list | | |children = At least 3 |father = |mother = |party = Democratic |profession = lawyer, politician

James B. Cross (December 17, 1819February 3, 1876) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 9th mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin (1855–1858). A Democrat, Cross also represented Milwaukee for three terms in the Wisconsin State Assembly, and was the Party's nominee for Governor of Wisconsin in the 1857 election.

Background and public office

Cross was born in Phelps, New York, in 1819. In 1841, he moved to Milwaukee to practice law. Cross served as probate judge in 1848. He then served three terms as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1849, 1850, and 1855, representing Milwaukee County's First Assembly district.

Cross served for three terms as mayor of Milwaukee from April 1855 to April 1858. The Milwaukee Police Department came into being while Cross was mayor. Before this time, the Milwaukee County Sheriff and his deputy maintained law and order. He was a Wisconsin delegate at the Democratic National Convention in Cincinnati, Ohio on June 2, 1856.

Run for governor

Cross ran as the Democratic nominee for Governor of Wisconsin in 1857, but he was accused of financial maladministration during his terms as mayor; and his political association with former Governor (and fellow Democrat) William A. Barstow hindered his gubernatorial campaign. He lost to Republican Alexander Randall in a close vote, 44,239 to 44,693.

Life outside public office

Cross was said to be deeply disappointed by the outcome of the gubernatorial election—though he came within 500 votes of victory—and mostly retired from political life afterwards. In his later years, Cross ran the Juneau National Bank from 1857 to 1862 and then worked in the liquor business from 1867 to 1876. Cross also worked at the post office, rising to head clerk by the time of his death.

He died of a stroke at his home on the morning of February 3, 1876.

Personal life and family

Cross was married twice. He was married to Catherine Fuller in 1856, but she died less than a year later. He subsequently married Eunice G. Osborn and had at least three children. One of his children, James Jr., died in a drowning accident at age 8. He was survived by his second wife and two living children.

Electoral history

References

State Bar of Wisconsin. (1905). "Report of the Proceedings of the Meeting of the State Bar Association of Wisconsin for the years 1878, 1881, and 1885". Taylor and Gleason, Book and Job Printer.
(8 August 2017). "Cross, James B. 1819 - 1876".
Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. (2007). "State of Wisconsin 2007-2008 Blue Book". State of Wisconsin.
"History of The Milwaukee Police Department".
(1856). "Official Proceedings of the National Democratic Convention held in Cincinnati, June 2–6, 1856". Enquirer Company Steam Printing Establishment.
Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. (2015). "State of Wisconsin 2015-2016 Blue Book". State of Wisconsin.
(1909). "Memoirs of Milwaukee County". Western Historical Association.
(February 4, 1876). "Death of Hon. James B. Cross". [[Wisconsin State Journal]].

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