Apparently there were two men named Uriah Cross, both born in Connecticut within a few years of each other.
One of them was baptized 29 (or 19) July 1752 in Mansfield, son of Daniel Cross and Elizabeth Abbe (Connecticut, Church Record Abstracts, 1630-1920, transcript on Ancestry). A birth date of June 9, 1752, has also been mentioned.
The other one is said to have been born 3 April 1750 in Coventry or East Windsor, son of Noah Cross and Mary Chamberlain. I haven't found any source for this date or parentage.
One of these two men married Ann Payne, a Mayflower descendant and daughter of Abraham Paine and Rebekah Freeman. Which one, and how do we know?
One of them served under Benedict Arnold and Ethan Allen in the Revolutionary War; he wrote a detailed narrative for his (third) pension application and gave his age in 1832 as 82. Elisha and Samuel Payne, brothers of Ann Payne, provided supporting testimony, so this was surely Ann's husband. (U.S., Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, 1800-1900, imaged on Ancestry.) This man died in Georgetown, New York, on 4 April 1835 (note on his pension file, ibid.). But which Uriah was he? Who were his parents? How do we know?
Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of the State of Massachusetts, Volume 4, 1910, p. 2424 doesn't acknowledge a second Uriah Cross; it places Ann Payne's husband as the son of Daniel and Elizabeth, saying:
"Uriah, June 9, 1952 (Mansfield records). It is probable that the record of the last two are baptisms instead of births, as it is certain that Uriah was born April 3, 1750."
In other words, the author reconciles the two dates by combining them into a single Uriah Cross (using the June 9 birth date, possibly unaware of the July 19/29 baptism record). The author doesn't say what the 1750 birth date is from or why it is "certain".
"Rockport Baptisms, 1755-1808" in The Essex Antiquarian, vol. 2 (1898), p. 194 (available via NEHGR at americanancestors.org), reports:
"Baptized by Rev. Eben'r Cleaveland... 1781... Sarah-Abbott, dau. of Uriah and Mary Cross, Sept. 16, Luningburg, West Coos."
"Luningberg" apparently refers to Lunenberg, Vermont (p. 151: the pastor from Sandy Bay had taken a position in Landaff, New Hampshire during those years and later returned to Mass.). Google Books has a snippet from the otherwise-unavailable Cross Collections, vol. 10 (1991), p. 26, listing Sarah and at least four other children born to Uriah and Mary in Lunenberg between 1778 and 1784. Does anyone have access to this book to do a lookup, and to see the context before and after the snippet?
A 1779 divorce proceeding (cited as "petition for divorce dated August 5, 1778, Conn. State Archives, Ref Group #3, Box 3 18") indicates that Uriah had deserted his first wife, Millicent Guernsey, in 1777 and was already cohabiting with Ann Payne whom he represented as his wife. His pension application states that he moved their family to Sanderland, Bennington County, Vermont (about 160 miles from Lunenberg) that year. Thus the Uriah, husband of Mary, in Lunenberg would appear to be a different man. But which one?
In the "Genealogy" column of the Boston Evening Transcript, March 11, 1912, author "J.E.L.W." describes the difficulties researching the two Uriah Crosses. "A Tangled Tangle" (unsigned) in Genealogy: A Weekly Journal of American Ancestry, vol. 2, no. 4 (1912), p. 239 repeats the same information nearly verbatim, including:
"Children born to Uriah Cross and Mary, his wife, were: Uriah... Sarah Abbie... Elizabeth... Moses... recorded at Lunenberg, Vt... one son still-born... Hazen... James... This is without doubt the Uriah... with Daniel and Elizabeth Abbe Cross for parents."
It doesn't say why it's "without doubt", but perhaps the author is reading Sarah Abbie as a tribute to Elizabeth Abbe. There aren't any other names in common between the lists of children and brothers.
The Paynes of Hamilton: A Genealogical and Biographical Record (1912), p. 35, profiles Anne Payne's husband thusly:
"... m. Uriah Cross, b. at Coventry, Tolland County, Conn., April 3, 1750; d. at Georgetown, Madison County, N.Y., April 4, 1835. Mr. Cross served in the Revolution and was a son of Noah and Mary (Chamberlain) Cross (La Crosse)."
It goes on to list a different set of children for this Uriah and Ann (including my 3gg, William). It doesn't cite sources.
According to an oft-cut-and-pasted forum post, regarding the husband of Ann Payne:
"John P. Granger; a noted genealogist of Cross lineage; had done some work for the Vermont Historical Society in 1989. He determined that Uriah's parents were Noah and Mary Cross. His findings are published in 'Vermont Families in 1791'."
The Genealogical Society of Vermont publications page lists volumes 1 (1992) and 2 (1997) of Vermont Families in 1791, edited by Scott A. Bartley of the NEHGS, They provide an index of names for both, and neither one has anyone named Cross. (John P. Granger is also not mentioned but could have been a contributor or a cited source.) Does anyone have access to these volumes to do a lookup?
Are there any other primary or well-cited secondary sources clarifying the origins and parentages of these Uriah Crosses?
WikiTree currently has only one Uriah, linked as the son of Daniel and Elizabeth and the husband of Ann Payne. (There's another empty Uriah profile which might could be repurposed into the second Uriah.) If the Vermont Families reference pans out, perhaps we would find enough in it to confidently place Ann's husband as the son of Noah and Mary. If not, then I don't see how his parentage could be anything other than unknown/unproven.
Daniel and Noah were both grandsons of Peter Cross and Mary Wade, so we'd have to go through their wives' or mothers' families (or precise segments) to distinguish their descendants via DNA.
Finally, it is not necessary to Google these names and reply with unsourced information from Rootsweb or Ancestry for them. I appreciate the spirit but I already know how to do that.
If you can help solve this mystery, thank you!
