Col. Hiram Benjamin Crosby

1831-1900

Col. Hiram Benjamin Crosby
Col. Hiram B. Crosby, ca 1864*

Hiram Benjamin Crosby was a remarkable man. Intelligent, community-minded and driven, he took on many leadership roles, was an officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War, and became a highly respected New York City attorney and businessman. He also had two families—at the same time.

See below for stories about Hiram B. Crosby's life.

Father: Hiram Crosby (1806-1879)
Mother: Nancy Elizabeth Carew (1810-1890)

Spouse 1: Mary Zilpha Scott (1841-1903) 

Children:
  • Charles Erskine Crosby (1860-1897)

Spouse 2: Margaret Anna Ackerman (1843-1924) 

Children:
  • Hiram Bedford Crosby (1872-1948) 
  • Margaret Acherman Crosby (1873-1941)
  • William Carew Crosby (1875-1943)
  • John Spencer Crosby (1878- ? )
  • Helen Bancroft Crosby (1879-1952)
  • Thoman Gresham Crosby (1880-1932)
  • Constance C. Crosby (1883-1945)
  • Alpheus Dixi Crosby (1885-1956)
  • Gertrude Crosby (1888-1891)
  • Elizabeth Ackerman Crosby (1891-1939)

Timeline

  1. 1831

    December 25 - Born in Norwich, Connecticut. The first of 2 children born to Hiram and Nancy Elizabeth (nee Carew) Crosby.[1]

  2. 1854

    Graduates from Dartmouth College.[2]

  3. 1856

    Admitted to the Bar.[3]

  4. 1859

    September - Marries Mary Zilpha Scott.[4]

  5. 1860

    July 11 - Son Charles born to Hiram and Mary in Norwich, Connecticut.[5]

  6. 1862

    Enlistes in the 18th Connecticut and is transferred to the 21st Connecticut.[6]

  7. 1864

    September 16 - Honorably discharged from Union Army; later resumes his legal career in Norwich.[7]

  8. 1864

    September 29 - Daughter (name unknown) born to Hiram and Mary in Norwich CT.[8]

  9. ~1869

    Moves to New York City.

  10. 1872

    July 24 - Son Hiram born to Hiram and Margaret Anna Ackerman in NYC.[9]

  11. 1872

    Sept & Oct travels to Michigan's Upper Peninsula as part of a prospecting party to analyzed the potential for iron mines.[10]

  12. 1873

    July 4 - Daughter Margaret born to Hiram and Margaret in NYC.[11]

  13. 1874

    March 23 - Sister Elizabeth Ann (Crosby) Lucas dies aged 40.[12]

  14. 1875

    October 9 - Son William born to Hiram and Margaret in NYC.[13]

  15. 1878

    February 6 - Son John born to Hiram and Margaret in NYC[14]

  16. 1879

    August 4 - Daugher Helen born to Hiram and Margaret in NYC.[15]

  17. 1879

    September 7 - Father dies aged 73.[16]

  18. 1880

    November 26 - Son Thomas Gresham born to Hiram and Margaret in NYC.[17]

  19. 1883

    January 12 - Daughter Constance born to Hiram and Margaret in NYC.[18]

  20. 1885

    February 22 - Son Alpheus Dixi born to Hiram and Margaret in NYC.[19]

  21. 1888

    May 30 - Daughter Gertrude born to Hiram and Margaret in NYC.[20]

  22. 1890

    April 11 - Mother dies aged 79.[21]

  23. 1891

    April 6 - Daughter Elizabeth born to Hiram and Margaret in NYC.[22]

  24. 1891

    May 18 - Daughter Gertrude dies from cerebrospinal meningitis 12 days before her 3rd birthday.[23]

  25. 1896

    January - First wife, Mary, sues for divorce.[24]

  26. 1897

    March 8 - Son Charles dies as war correspondent in Cuba.[25]

  27. 1900

    October 7 - Dies in New York City, aged 68 years.[26]

Stories

Hiram Benjamin Crosby 1831-1862 His Early Life in Norwich Connecticut

1831-1862

Hiram B. Crosby’s Early Life in Norwich Conn.
Hiram Benjamin Crosby 1862-1864 Involvement in the American Civil War

1862-1864

Hiram Benjamin Crosby in the Civil War
Hiram Benjamin Crosby and Margaret Ackerman Hiram Benjamin Crosby’s Two Families

Hiram Benjamin Crosby’s Two Families

Stories to Come

  • His Post-Civil War Life in Norwich CT and New York City
  • His trip to Michigan's Upper Peninsula in the fall of 1872 as part of a prospecting party to analyze the potential for iron mines near Iron Mountain, Michigan

Photo Galleries

Hiram & Margaret Crosby family photos

1880s Hiram & Margaret Crosby Family Photos

Hiram Benjamin Crosby
Hiram Benjamin Crosby, ca 1880 

Footnotes and Sources

* Photo of Hiram B. Crosby in uniform is from "Dartmouth College Association of New York", The American University Magazine, Nov 1894, page 294, image 330/556. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=chi.096025527&seq=330

  1. [1] Henry A. Hazen and S. Lewis B. Speare, eds., A history of the class of 1854 in Dartmouth college, including Col. Haskell's narrative of the battle of Gettysburg (Boston: Alfred Mudge & Son, Printers, No. 24 Franklin Street; 1898), page 18; imaged book, HathiTrust, https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/100476707 (accessed 11 Sep 2025). I believe, however, that the bio for Hiram B. Crosby this publication contains many factual errors.
  2. [2] Henry A. Hazen and S. Lewis B. Speare, eds., A history of the class of 1854 in Dartmouth college, page 18.
  3. [3] "Recent Deaths, Colonel Hiram B. Crosby", The Hartford Daily Courant (Hartford CT), Thursday 25 October 1900, page 13. https://www.newspapers.com/image/367324849/
  4. [4] "Sues H.B. Crosby for Divorce", The Sun (New York), Saturday 18 January 1896, p8. https://fultonhistory.com/Fulton.html (accessed 16 Sep 2025)
  5. [5] "Connecticut, Births and Christenings, 1649-1906", pp325-326, FamilySearch, https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F77C-FJ2 image 324 of 941
  6. [6] Hazen and Spear, A history of the class of 1854 in Dartmouth college, page 18.
  7. [7] Dana, Malcolm McGregor, The Norwich memorial: The Annals of Norwich, New London County, Connecticut, in the Great Rebellion of 1861-65, Norwich, Conn., J.H. Jewett and Company, 1873. Internet Archives, https://archive.org/details/norwichmemoriala00dana/page/n431/mode/2up (accessed 20 Oct 2025)
  8. [8] [a] "Register of Births in the Town of Norwich", Norwich, New London, Connecticut, United States records, images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89V1-NHQ9?lang=en&i=741 : Dec 13, 2025), image 742 of 941; Norwich (Connecticut). Registrar of Vital Statistics. Image Group Number: 007616164. This records lists Hiram B. Crosby, lawyer, as the father and Mary Scott Crosby as the mother. I believe she must have died young as I cannot find any further mention of her, e.g. she does not appear in the 1870 Census with her mother and brother. I have not, however, found a death record or a cemetery gravestone/memorial for her.
    [b] In the 1900 census, Mary Crosby is listed as being the mother of two children none of which were still living. "United States, Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-67C3-RQ6?cc=1325221&wc=9BW9-Y4W%3A1030551901%2C1036314401%2C1036353201 : 5 August 2014), New York > Westchester > ED 101 North Salem Township > image 9 of 23; citing NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
  9. [9] [a] Hazen and Spear, A history of the class of 1854 in Dartmouth college, page 20.
    [b] Marriage certificate no. 14941, dated 6 Oct 1898 for Hiram Bedford Crosby, Jr, and Ella Dolores von Hausson; State of New York, County of New York, Borough of Manhattan. PDF of original obtained from https://a860-historicalvitalrecords.nyc.gov/view/7913907
  10. [10] Hiram B. Crosby journal, 1872, https://findingaids.lib.umich.edu/catalog/umich-wcl-M-3377.2cro. With thanks to the University of Michigan William L. Clements Library (digital copy acquired)
  11. [11] Hazen and Spear, A history of the class of 1854 in Dartmouth college, page 20.
  12. [12] Connecticut Headstone Inscriptions Vol 38, Ancestry.com. Connecticut, U.S., Hale Collection of Cemetery Inscriptions and Newspaper Notices, 1629-1934, image 445 of 709, Yantic Cemetery.
  13. [13] Hazen and Spear, A history of the class of 1854 in Dartmouth college, page 20.
  14. [14] Hazen and Spear, A history of the class of 1854 in Dartmouth college, page 20.
  15. [15] Hazen and Spear, A history of the class of 1854 in Dartmouth college, page 20.
  16. [16] [a] Death record for Hiram Crosby, U.S., Federal Census Mortality Schedules, 1850-1885, ancestry.com; Census Year: 1879; Census Place: Norwich, New London, Connecticut; Page: 1.
    [b] Connecticut Headstone Inscriptions Vol 38, Ancestry.com. Connecticut, U.S., Hale Collection of Cemetery Inscriptions and Newspaper Notices, 1629-1934, image 445 of 709, Yantic Cemetery.
  17. [17] [a] Hazen and Spear, A history of the class of 1854 in Dartmouth college, page 20.
    [b] "New Jersey, Births and Christenings, 1660-1980," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FCVD-34F : accessed 7 April 2012), Thomas Gresham Crosby (1880).
  18. [18] [a] Hazen and Spear, A history of the class of 1854 in Dartmouth college, page 20.
    [b] "Register of Births in the Town of Westchester, County of Westchester, State of New York", New York, New York, U.S., Vital Records, Births 1847-1897, Marriages 1847-1903, Deaths 1798-1900, Pages 16 & 17, registration number 140; Ancestry.com
  19. [19] [a] Hazen and Spear, A history of the class of 1854 in Dartmouth college, page 20.
    [b] "Register of Births in the Town of Westchester, County of Westchester, State of New York", New York, New York, U.S., Vital Records, Births 1847-1897, Marriages 1847-1903, Deaths 1798-1900, pages 38 & 39, registration number 353, Ancestry.com
  20. [20] [a] Hazen and Spear, A history of the class of 1854 in Dartmouth college, page 20.
    [b] "Register of Births in the Town of Westchester, County of Westchester, State of New York", New York, New York, U.S., Vital Records, Births 1847-1897, Marriages 1847-1903, Deaths 1798-1900, pages 76 & 77, registration number 711, Ancestry.com
  21. [21] Connecticut Headstone Inscriptions Vol 38, Ancestry.com. Connecticut, U.S., Hale Collection of Cemetery Inscriptions and Newspaper Notices, 1629-1934, image 445 of 709, Yantic Cemetery.
  22. [22] "Register of Births in the Town of Westchester, County of Westchester, State of New York", New York, New York, U.S., Vital Records, Births 1847-1897, Marriages 1847-1903, Deaths 1798-1900, Ancestry.com
  23. [23] "Register of Deaths in the Town of Westchester, County of Westchester, State of New York", pages 218 & 219, registration number 1232; New York, New York, U.S., Vital Records, Births 1847-1897, Marriages 1847-1903, Deaths 1798-1900, Ancestry.com
  24. [24] [a] "Sues H.B. Crosby for Divorce", The Sun (New York), Saturday 18 January 1896, p8. https://fultonhistory.com/Fulton.html (accessed 16 Sep 2025)
    [b] "Court Notes", New York Herald (New York), Saturday 18 January 1896, page 9:6. https://fultonhistory.com/Fulton.html (accessed 16 Sep 2025)
  25. [25] [a] Charles Henry Brown, The Correspondents’ War: journalists in the Spanish-American War, Scribner, New York, 1967, pp88-89, Internet Archive, https://archive.org/details/correspondentswa0000brow/page/88/mode/2up (accessed 30 Sep 2025)
    [b] Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/41639821/charles_erskine-crosby
  26. [26] [a] Death record for Hiram B. Crosby, State of New York, City of New York, Borough of the Bronx, certificate no. 3492, dated 9 Oct 1900; informant was the attending doctor.
    [b] New York Tribune (New York, NY), 9 Oct 1900, Tue, p7, Newspapers.com

Last updated: 19 December 2025

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