Annie was born in Upper Hutt on 12 July 1859, the first child of William Hercock and Catherine (née Reid). The Hutt Valley was then covered in dense forest, and the family made a living from sawmilling and farming. Annie and her brother William were among the first children to attend the first school in Upper Hutt, in St Joseph's Catholic Church, in 1864. The family crossed the Remutaka Range about 1870 and bought land in Carterton.
Annie married Daniel Cross in 1976 and then followed her parents to Tauweru, a small settlement near Masterton, where William and Catherine had established a carting business.
Their first child, Charles was born there in 1877. Annie struggled with life in the bush and mud, with a growing family, often alone. Daniel was away for long periods, travelling around Wairarapa, hawking clothing to other bush settlements and farms. Their relationship seems to have been a tempestuous one and they legally separated in 1891. However, three more children, Eliza, Annie and Frank, were born after this date. Sadly, young Annie drowned in 1894, aged only 14 months.
After Frank’s birth, Annie and Daniel separated permanently and Annie became the sole carer for their nine children. While Daniel paid maintenance to Annie, she considered the amount insufficient. In 1896 and 1899, she took Daniel to court for desertion and for an increased allowance. In 1900 Daniel returned to England, where he died in 1930.
Annie lived the later part of her life in Homebush, near Masterton. Three of her sons, Arthur, Percy and Frank, fought in France, where Arthur was killed in July 1918. Another of her sons, Cecil, drowned in 1918.
Annie and died of ‘senility and heart failure’ in Porirua Hospital on 28 September 1926. She lies next to her daughter, Annie in the Masterton cemetery.
Biographical information provided by Dan Cross. A fuller biography is available at: http://www.ourfamilystories.gen.nz/HTML_files/Biographies/AnnieHercock.html