William Macklin Cross (July 4, 1847 – August 3, 1910) was an American politician who served as the first Oklahoma Secretary of State from November 16, 1907, to August 3, 1910.

Early life and military career

William Macklin Cross born on July 4, 1847, in Purdy, Tennessee. At fourteen he joined

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

, serving in the

154th Tennessee Infantry Regiment The 154th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry was an infantry regiment from Tennessee that served with the Confederate States Army in the American Civil War. Raised originally in 1842 as the 154th Tennessee Militia it sought to retain its number and was ...

as a drummer in Company K. He fought alongside his father at the

Battle of Shiloh The Battle of Shiloh (also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing) was fought on April 6–7, 1862, in the American Civil War. The fighting took place in southwestern Tennessee, which was part of the war's Western Theater. The battlefield i ...

where his father was killed and he was captured. After a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...

exchange, Cross returned to service under Gen. Joseph E. Johnston. After the war he attended

Kentucky University The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state' ...

in Lexington, but dropped out after a year due to being unable to afford tuition. He eventually became a travelling salesman and moved to

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

Political career

He was an unsuccessfully candidate for Oklahoma Territory's at-large congressional district in 1902. In 1907 he was elected as the first Oklahoma Secretary of State. In 1909, he refused to accept a petition for a state question to allow women to vote from Kate Himrod Biggers because she was not a registered voter. J. Luther Langston and James B. A. Robertson later submitted the petition for her, which Cross accepted. He died in office on August 3, 1910, after winning the 1910 Democratic primary for

Oklahoma State Auditor The Oklahoma State Auditor and Inspector is an elected Constitutional officer for the U.S. State of Oklahoma. The State Auditor and Inspector is responsible for auditing and prescribing bookkeeping standards of all government agencies and count ...

. After his death, his body lied in state at the Guthrie Masonic Temple draped in a

Confederate flag The flags of the Confederate States of America have a history of three successive designs during the American Civil War. The flags were known as the "Stars and Bars", used from 1861 to 1863; the "Stainless Banner", used from 1863 to 1865; and ...

. His eulogy was given by newspaperman and former territorial legislator Frank Hilton Greer.

Electoral history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cross, William Macklin 1847 births 1910 deaths 20th-century American politicians Confederate States Army soldiers Oklahoma Democrats Secretaries of State of Oklahoma