William Cross’s second brick house, built circa 1912.
William Cross built this second brick house at the same time as Sam Hudson was building his house in Chelsea village. Both men brought their teams of horses and transported the bricks by sleigh from the manufacturer, Merkley, near Billings Bridge in Ottawa. At the Mile Hill in Ironsides, just after the Alonzo Wright Bridge, they would harness their teams together to draw up a load, then repeat the process to bring up the second load.
Framing the William Cross barn, 1916.
William had greatly expanded his farm by the time he built the second brick house. Chelsea (West Hull) valuation rolls of 1911 record that he owned 1531 acres in the municipality.
A tornado in the 1980s damaged the roof of the barn, and it was eventually demolished. The unusual cinder block silo next to it was constructed in the early 1950s. The previous silo was destroyed in a wind storm; the new one withstood the tornado that damaged the barn beside it.
Barn and silo, circa 2000.
William Cross and Mary Ann McKelvey were married in 1866. This may be a wedding photo.
William Cross and Mary Ann McKelvey had eight sons and two daughters who reached adulthood. Here are seven of their eight sons in 1945.