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Looking for William Richard PITTS born 1881 England. He died in Kawhia in 1939 and is buried in Kawhia Cemetery. His wife Eliza Grace Pitts died in 1910 and is buried in Drury Cemetery (no records found of burial place). In order to get an address for William in 1911 it might help locate a cemetery in Drury to find out where the couple may have lived. My friend is travelling to NZ next week and is hoping for a miracle to find her ggparent's location in \ or around Drury.

in the New Zealand, Electoral Rolls, 1853-1981


Name: William Richard Pitts
Electoral Year: 1935
District: Waitomo
Region or Province: Waikato
sandy creek

Name: William Richard Pitts
Electoral Year: 1938
District: Waitomo
Region or Province: Waikato
sandy creek

Is this their marriage?

England & Wales Marriages 1837-2005

First name(s) WILLIAM RICHARD
Last name PITTS
Marriage quarter 1
Marriage year 1902
Registration month -

MarriageFinder ™
WILLIAM RICHARD PITTS married one of these people
Eliza Grace Long
District Wheatenhurst
District number -
County Gloucestershire
Country England
Volume 6A
Volume as transcribed 6A
Page number 573

Passenger Lists Leaving Uk 1890-1960

First name(s) Wm R
Last name Pitts
Gender Male
Marital status M
Occupation FARMER
Departure year 1909
Departure day 4
Departure month 2
Departure port London
Destination port Wellington
Destination WELLINGTON
Country New Zealand
Destination country New Zealand
Ship name Corinthic
Ship official number 115296
Ship master's first name L
Ship master's last name THOMSON
Shipping line SHAW SAVILL & ALBION COY LD
Ship destination port NEW ZEALAND
Ship destination country NEW ZEALAND
Ship square feet 10907
Ship registered tonnage 7832
Number of passengers 576
Record set Passenger Lists Leaving Uk 1890-1960

With Mrs Pitts, son Reginald and daughter Rhoda and a Fred J Pitts, also a Farmer

Another child born in NZ

Registration Number Family Name Given Name(s) Mother's Given
Name(s) Father's Given Name(s) Still Birth
1910/17004 Pitts William John Eliza Grace William Richard - Order Product

Cemeteries in Drury, Auckland

3 cemeteries in Drury, Auckland.
Drury Presbyterian Cemetery
Drury-Runciman War Memorial
St John's Anglican Cemetery Drury

Yes this is the couple. Eliza died in childbirth Nov.1910 a year after tavelling to NZ. Her baby son William John Pitts died in 1911 aged 2 months. The two elder children Rhoda and brother Reginald were sent back to England 5th May 1911 to live with the grandparents and never knew anything more about their parents. William Pitts senior shot himself in 1939 at his farm called Sandy Creek 2 mies from Kawhia. He may still have been near Drury /Aukland at the time the census was taken 1911 which might help find a burial location for Eliza and the baby.

A copy of the death certificate may reveal an address

Registration Number Family Name Given Name(s) Date of Birth/Age at Death
1939/20278 Pitts William Richard 57Y Order Product

Registration Number Family Name Given Name(s) Date of Birth/Age at Death
1910/6252 Pitts Eliza Grace 31Y Order Product

Registration Number Family Name Given Name(s) Date of Birth/
Age at Death
1911/2120 Pitts William John 2M Order Product
https://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz

Certificate £33, print out £25 from the look of it

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Obituary states Eliza was buried Drury cemetery, but doesnt mention the two churches. Emails have been sent to the churches and have had no response. No online burial at the War memeorial, could that have been called Drury Cemetery before it became a WAR MEMORIAL?. (Question for anyone living close)

We have a Death cert and coroners report for William, plus a place of burial. Its Eliza's burial place which is eluding us. Just need to find William R. Pitts in 1911 to find a near location to Drury. No address on Eliza's death certificate other than she died in Auckland Hospital.

https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/New_Zealand_Census

Looks as though only statistical information is available not individual data

New Zealand Census Information Centers[edit source]
Our Information Centre staff know what information is available, and how it can be used to your best advantage. Think of them as your guides to Statistics New Zealand.

They will answer simple questions free of charge. More extensive answers may sometimes incur costs, but we always give you a free no-obligation quote before going ahead.

Each Information Centre has a collection of Statistics NZ publications and Internet access. These can be browsed and copied but material cannot be borrowed.

Here are a list of the centers and their information -
Auckland[edit source]
UniServices House
70 Symonds Street
Private Bag 92003
Auckland 1142
Phone: (09) 920 9100
Fax: (09) 920 9198

Others on the site

Two registrations for William John looks confusing. The one above looks the more likely as that would be when Eliza died in childbirth. The one we have died two months later reg no. 1911/2120 but didn't show parents.

So 1911 not available on Ancestry or anywhere else then? Only a matter of days before flight ow so not enough time to contact Auckland :-(

The 2 registrations for William John Pitts posted above are a 1910 birth showing names of parents and a 1911 death. The 1911 death is the same as yours 1911/2120 - aged 2 months

Stay up not too late tonight and you'll catch NZ Thursday opening hours - 13 hours ahead of UK

https://kura.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/digital/?p=q&collection=p20062coll6&search=1910-1919!c.%20little%20and%20sons&field=name!source&mode=exact!exact&conn=and&order=title&ad=desc&page=10

You can see the index cards here for both William John and Eliza Grace. Afraid it only mentions the accounts being sent to Mr W R Pitts, Drury. There is no burial dates for either of them, could they have been cremated?

Eliza's death announcement in the paper reads that the funeral would leave at 12 noon on the Wed (16th Nov) arriving at Drury at 3pm.

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AS19101114.2.94.1?end_date=03-03-1911&items_per_page=10&page=2&query=pitts&snippet=true&start_date=01-11-1910&title=ALG%2cACNZC%2cAS%2cAKTIM%2cDSC%2cFRTIM%2cKWE%2cNZH%2cNZHAG%2cNZ%2cTO%2cPWT%2cROTWKG


PS Sorry about the long links.

As a final postnote, many thanks to all who have taken the time to help. Today the final piece of the jigsaw seems to have been discovered at the 11th hour.. An email arrived from the archives assistant at the Anglican Diocese of Auckland. Despite not finding a BURIAL record for ELIZA and her baby WILLIAM a note was located that there are two PITTS buried in Drury at the St John's Anglican Cemetery. The plots are row A plots 2 and 3 and the site is between Cossey and Mansfield. There are however no headstones and no record of christian names to confirm but this is the best indication as the graves are side by side.. :-)

As a final postnote, many thanks to all who have taken the time to help. Today the final piece of the jigsaw seems to have been discovered at the 11th hour.. An email arrived from the archives assistant at the Anglican Diocese of Auckland. Despite not finding a BURIAL record for ELIZA and her baby WILLIAM a note was located that there are two PITTS buried in Drury at the St John's Anglican Cemetery. The plots are row A plots 2 and 3 and the site is between Cossey and Mansfield. There are however no headstones and no record of christian names to confirm but this is the best indication as the graves are side by side.. :-)

As a final postnote, many thanks to all who have taken the time to help. Today the final piece of the jigsaw seems to have been discovered at the 11th hour.. An email arrived from the archives assistant at the Anglican Diocese of Auckland. Despite not finding a BURIAL record for ELIZA and her baby WILLIAM a note was located that there are two PITTS buried in Drury at the St John's Anglican Cemetery. The plots are row A plots 2 and 3 and the site is between Cossey and Mansfield. There are however no headstones and no record of christian names to confirm but this is the best indication as the graves are side by side.. :-)