Col. Hiram Benjamin Crosby

1831-1900

Col. Hiram Benjamin Crosby
Col. Hiram B. Crosby, ca 1864[1]

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:

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.[2]

  2. 1854

    Graduates from Dartmouth College.[3]

  3. 1856

    Admitted to the Bar.[4]

  4. 1859

    September - Marries Mary Zilpha Scott.[5]

  5. 1860

    July 11 - Son Charles born to Hiram and Mary in Norwich, Connecticut.[6]

  6. 1862

    Enlistes in the 18th Connecticut and is transferred to the 21st Connecticut.[7]

  7. 1864

    September 16 - Honorably discharged from Union Army; later resumes his legal career in Norwich.[8]

  8. 1864

    September 29 - Daughter (name unknown) born to Hiram and Mary in Norwich CT.[9]

  9. ~1869

    Moves to New York City.[10]

  10. 1872

    July 24 - Son Hiram born to Hiram and Margaret Anna Ackerman in NYC.[11]

  11. 1872

    Sept & Oct travels to Michigan's Upper Peninsula as part of a prospecting party to analyzed the potential for iron mines.[12]

  12. 1873

    July 4 - Daughter Margaret born to Hiram and Margaret in NYC.[13]

  13. 1874

    March 23 - Sister Elizabeth Ann (Crosby) Lucas dies aged 40.[14]

  14. 1875

    October 9 - Son William born to Hiram and Margaret in NYC.[15]

  15. 1878

    February 6 - Son John born to Hiram and Margaret in NYC[16]

  16. 1879

    August 4 - Daugher Helen born to Hiram and Margaret in NYC.[17]

  17. 1879

    September 7 - Father dies aged 73.[18]

  18. 1880

    November 26 - Son Thomas Gresham born to Hiram and Margaret in NYC.[19]

  19. 1883

    January 12 - Daughter Constance born to Hiram and Margaret in NYC.[20]

  20. 1885

    February 22 - Son Alpheus Dixi born to Hiram and Margaret in NYC.[21]

  21. 1888

    May 30 - Daughter Gertrude born to Hiram and Margaret in NYC.[22]

  22. 1890

    April 11 - Mother dies aged 79.[23]

  23. 1891

    April 6 - Daughter Elizabeth born to Hiram and Margaret in NYC.[24]

  24. 1891

    May 18 - Daughter Gertrude dies from cerebrospinal meningitis 12 days before her 3rd birthday.[25]

  25. 1896

    January - First wife, Mary, sues for divorce.[26]

  26. 1897

    March 8 - Son Charles dies as war correspondent in Cuba.[27]

  27. 1900

    October 7 - Dies in New York City, aged 68 years.[28]

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

  1. [1] 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
  2. [2] 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.
  3. [3] Henry A. Hazen and S. Lewis B. Speare, eds., A history of the class of 1854 in Dartmouth college, page 18.
  4. [4] "Recent Deaths, Colonel Hiram B. Crosby", The Hartford Daily Courant (Hartford CT), Thursday 25 October 1900, page 13. https://www.newspapers.com/image/367324849/
  5. [5] "Sues H.B. Crosby for Divorce", The Sun (New York), Saturday 18 January 1896, p8. https://fultonhistory.com/Fulton.html (accessed 16 Sep 2025)
  6. [6] "Connecticut, Births and Christenings, 1649-1906", pp325-326, FamilySearch, https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F77C-FJ2 image 324 of 941
  7. [7] Hazen and Spear, A history of the class of 1854 in Dartmouth college, page 18.
  8. [8] 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)
  9. [9] Two sources:
    • "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.
    • 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.).
  10. [10] Hazen and Spear, A history of the class of 1854 in Dartmouth college [fn 6] says Hiram “removed to New York city in 1866” but as he is still being taxed in Norwich in April 1867 and was president of the Norwich Grant Club in 1868, I believe ‘1866’ to be incorrect. Also, when he is in Cuba on 14 March 1867, Hiram B. Crosby is listed as “Lawyer, Norwich, Conn” when he visited La Honradez, a cigar factory:
    • Connecticut, U.S., Excise Tax Lists, 1865-1874, April 1867, page 5, image 9/136, Ancestry.com.
    • For President, Ulysses S. Grant, of Illinois. For Vice President, William A. Buckingham, of Connecticut, a campaign pamphlet, Norwich: Bulletin Office, 172 Main Street; 1868; pages 1-3. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=umn.31951002067353t&seq=631
    • Real fabrica La Honradez, agraciada especialmente por S.M.C. con el uso de sus reales armas. Gran manufactura de cigarros de todas clases, emboquillados, papiros, picaduras, &c. &c. (Havana Cuba, 1867) which lists persons who, since June 26, 1862, visited their royal factory and registered their names and observations in the special register kept for that purpose. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.32044088988332&seq=5 (page 263, image 439/454, accessed 29 Oct 2025)
  11. [11] Two sources:
    • Hazen and Spear, A history of the class of 1854 in Dartmouth college, page 20.
    • 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
  12. [12] 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)
  13. [13] Hazen and Spear, A history of the class of 1854 in Dartmouth college, page 20.
  14. [14] 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.
  15. [15] Hazen and Spear, A history of the class of 1854 in Dartmouth college, page 20.
  16. [16] Hazen and Spear, A history of the class of 1854 in Dartmouth college, page 20.
  17. [17] Hazen and Spear, A history of the class of 1854 in Dartmouth college, page 20.
  18. [18] Two sources:
    • 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.
    • 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.
  19. [19] Two sources:
    • Hazen and Spear, A history of the class of 1854 in Dartmouth college, page 20.
    • "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).
  20. [20] Two sources:
    • Hazen and Spear, A history of the class of 1854 in Dartmouth college, page 20.
    • "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
  21. [21] Two sources:
    • Hazen and Spear, A history of the class of 1854 in Dartmouth college, page 20.
    • "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
  22. [22] Two sources:
    • Hazen and Spear, A history of the class of 1854 in Dartmouth college, page 20.
    • "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
  23. [23] 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.
  24. [24] "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
  25. [25] "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
  26. [26] Two sources:
    • "Sues H.B. Crosby for Divorce", The Sun (New York), Saturday 18 January 1896, p8. https://fultonhistory.com/Fulton.html (accessed 16 Sep 2025)
    • "Court Notes", New York Herald (New York), Saturday 18 January 1896, page 9:6. https://fultonhistory.com/Fulton.html (accessed 16 Sep 2025)
  27. [27] Two sources:
    • 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)
    • Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/41639821/charles_erskine-crosby
  28. [28] Two sources:
    • 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.
    • New York Tribune (New York, NY), 9 Oct 1900, Tue, p7, Newspapers.com

Last updated: 9 April 2026

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