Born near Morristown, New Jersey, Cross attended the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University), receiving an Artium Baccalaureus degree in 1865 and an Artium Magister degree in 1868. He attended Columbia Law School, but read law to enter the profession. He had a private practice in Elizabeth, New Jersey from 1869 to 1905. During that period, he was also a Judge of the state District Court of Elizabeth from 1888 to 1891, and a member of the New Jersey General Assembly from 1893 to 1895, serving as its Speaker in 1895, and as a member of the New Jersey Senate from 1899 to 1905, serving as President of the Senate in 1905.[1]