Fonds F0609 - A.E. Cross family fonds

Original Digital object not accessible

Identity area

Reference code

CA ACU GBA F0609

Title

A.E. Cross family fonds

Date(s)

  • 1836-1987, predominant 1890-1987 (Creation)

Level of description

Fonds

Extent and medium

20 m of textual records.
1472 photographs.
4 audio discs.
3 audio cassettes

Context area

Name of creator

Biographical history

Alfred Ernest Cross, 1861-1932, was born in Montreal and came to Alberta in 1884. The following year he started the A7 Ranche west of Nanton, Alberta. He founded the Calgary Brewing and Malting Company in 1892, and was president until his death. He served on the North-West Assembly from 1899 to1902. He was a founding member of the Western Stock Growers' Association, Calgary Board of Trade and the Ranchmen's Club (for which he served as president, 1906-1908 and 1911-1912), and was one of the "Big Four" who founded the Calgary Stampede.

Cross was also instrumental in establishing Alberta's petroleum industry. He started Calgary Petroleum Products in 1912, and was a director of Canadian Western Natural Gas. In 1964 A. E. Cross School in Calgary was named in his honour and in 2007 he was inducted into the Calgary Business Hall of Fame. In 1971 the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada designated Cross as a National Historic Person. In 1899 he married Helen Rothney Macleod, 1878-1959, daughter of renowned North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) Commissioner James F. Macleod. The Crosses had seven children, five of whom survived: James Braehead Cross, 1903-1990, Mary (Dover), 1905-1994, Margaret "Marmo" (Shakespeare), 1912-1979, Alexander R. "Sandy" Cross, 1914-2003, and John M. Cross, 1916-1991. Two died in infancy: Helen Macleod, 1900-1904, and Selkirk Macleod, 1901-1904.

Helen was very active in the Calgary Diocese Women's Auxiliary (Anglican church) and the Calgary General Hospital Ladies Aid. J.B. Cross succeeded his father as president of the Calgary Brewing and Malting Company in 1932, and also managed the A7 Ranche from 1932 to 1945. Sandy Cross was a well-known breeder of Galloway and Shorthorn cattle on Rothney Farm, south of Calgary.

For further biographical information about the family, see Braehead : Three Founding Families in Nineteenth Century Canada / Sherrill MacLaren. -- Toronto : McClelland and Stewart, 1986; Henry Klassen's article, "Entrepreneurship in the Canadian West : The Enterprises of A.E. Cross, 1886-1920" in Western Historical Quarterly, vol. 22, no. 3, (August 1991), p. 313-333; and Gayle Thrift's article, "This is our War, Too: Mary Dover, Commandant of the Canadian Women's Army Corps", in Alberta History, vol. 59, no. 3, (summer 2011), p. 2-12.

Archival history

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

Gifts of Helen Cross, Alexander R. Cross, James B. Cross, Mary Dover, Ann Cross, the Calgary Brewing and Malting Company, Donald Cross, and David Dover, 1957-2007.

Content and structure area

Scope and content

The fonds consists of extensive correspondence between A.E. Cross and Helen Cross (1899-1928); correspondence of A.E. Cross pertaining to the brewery, ranch, personal matters, and organizations in which he was active (1890-1932); correspondence of J.B. Cross regarding the brewery, ranch and personal matters (1933-1937); A7 Ranche business correspondence (1913-1943); Calgary Brewing and Malting Company business correspondence (1892-1906); Helen's correspondence and records of organization in which she was active (1880-1944); correspondence and school records of the Cross children (1912-1948); family memorabilia (1892-1949); correspondence and business records of Sandy Cross and Rothney Farm (1935-1987); and extensive photographs of the Cross family, the A7 Ranche, and Rothney Farm.

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

System of arrangement

Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

No restrictions on access.

Conditions governing reproduction

Language of material

    Script of material

      Language and script notes

      The material is in English.

      Physical characteristics and technical requirements

      M-8780, Box 9 contains mould and has been sent to conservation for remediation. Access to this box is not available, please consult with archivist for more information.

      Finding aids

      Allied materials area

      Existence and location of originals

      Existence and location of copies

      Related units of description

      Notes area

      Note

      Title based on contents of records.

      Note

      PA-3709 is also included in the Oliver B. Buell fonds

      Alternative identifier(s)

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      Description identifier

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      Status

      Level of detail

      Dates of creation revision deletion

      Thursday, October 11, 2018

      Language(s)

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          Sources

          Digital object (Master) rights area

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          Digital object (Thumbnail) rights area

          Accession area