John Cross was born at Ashfield, Massachusetts on June 1, 1797. When he was eight years old his family moved to Fabius, New York. Cross married Lucinda T. Hulbert (1800-1875), of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, on January 1, 1818. Together they had seven children, two of whom outlived him (Mary A., wife of J. H. Beach, and John A). They were married fifty-eight years.
He prepared for the ministry in part at Oneida Institute in Whitesborough, New York and was licensed to preach by the Oneida, New York Congregational Association on September 12, 1836. He was ordained a minister on January 24, 1838 by the Genesee, New York Congregational Association. Cross spent several years in the pastorate, preaching in Geneva, Oriskany Falls, Oneida and Camden, New York. He spent seven years with the American Anti-Slavery Society. He remained in New York until 1839 when he moved to Illinois.
In Illinois Cross was imprisoned in Knoxville, Illinois for harboring a fugitive slave--a widow and her children. He maintained close relations with the Wesleyan Methodists in 1846 and was a circuit preacher until 1851.
It was in Wheaton, Illinois that Cross helped found the Wesleyan Methodist Illinois Institute, which began classes in 1853. In 1857 Cross left Wheaton for Amity, Iowa (now College Springs) to help found Amity College. During the Civil War Cross worked with the Wesleyan Church.
Cross died December 1, 1885 in Wessington Springs (Jerauld County), South Dakota.