Bing Crosby parents: Meet Catherine Harrigan & Harry Lincoln Crosby

Harry Lillis “Bing” Crosby Jr. was born on May 3, 1903 in Tacoma, Washington to parents Catherine Harrigan & Harry Lincoln Crosby. Bing Crosby was born in a house built by his father at 1112 North J Street.

Crosby’s father was of Scottish and English descent; an ancestor, Simon Crosby, emigrated from England to New England in the 1630s during the Puritan migration to New England.

Crosby is descended from Mayflower passenger William Brewster through another line on his father’s side (c. 1567 – 1644).

Crosby’s mother was a second-generation Irish-American.

His family relocated to Spokane, Washington, in 1906, where he was raised.

His father built a house at 508 E. Sharp Avenue in 1913, which now serves as a museum on the campus of his alma mater, Gonzaga University, and houses over 200 artifacts from his life and career, including his Oscar.

Crosby was the fourth of seven children: brothers Laurence Earl “Larry” (1895–1975), Everett Nathaniel (1896–1966), Edward John “Ted” (1900–1973), and George Robert “Bob” (1913–1993); and two sisters, Catherine Cordelia (1904–1974) and Mary Rose (1906–1990).

Crosby’s father Harry Lowe Crosby was a bookkeeper. He was born in 1870 and died in 1950.

Crosby’s mother Catherine Helen “Kate” Harrigan was born in 1873 and died in 1964.