CRESS, Zillah Charman
Born 1875; died 20 November 1918; buried on 21 November 1918; age 44
Zillah was born in Wairau, Marlborough, in 1875. She was the only child of Jane (nee ADAMS) and Thomas PALMER (who died when Zillah was 2).
In 1895, aged 20, Zillah married publican James Henry CRESS (1861 – 1926). Over the next 20 years, they raised seven children, five of them born up to 1904 and then, after a gap of eight years, another two born in 1912 and 1914. James’s occupation as a hotel-keeper led to several changes of location for the family as he moved from one licence to another. They lived in the Wairarapa for several years, when James held the licence first for the Empire Hotel in Masterton and then for the Tauherenikau Hotel, followed by periods at the Trentham Hotel, then in Palmerston North at the Central Hotel and by 1916 at the Albion Hotel in Wellington. (Information taken from Wises Post Office Directories for 1903, 1913, and 1916 and electoral rolls from 1896 onwards).
Born 1875; died 20 November 1918; buried on 21 November 1918; age 44
Zillah was born in Wairau, Marlborough, in 1875. She was the only child of Jane (nee ADAMS) and Thomas PALMER (who died when Zillah was 2).
In 1895, aged 20, Zillah married publican James Henry CRESS (1861 – 1926). Over the next 20 years, they raised seven children, five of them born up to 1904 and then, after a gap of eight years, another two born in 1912 and 1914. James’s occupation as a hotel-keeper led to several changes of location for the family as he moved from one licence to another. They lived in the Wairarapa for several years, when James held the licence first for the Empire Hotel in Masterton and then for the Tauherenikau Hotel, followed by periods at the Trentham Hotel, then in Palmerston North at the Central Hotel and by 1916 at the Albion Hotel in Wellington. (Information taken from Wises Post Office Directories for 1903, 1913, and 1916 and electoral rolls from 1896 onwards).
Zillah Cress
Photo provided by Sheryl Rule, great-granddaughter
Photo provided by Sheryl Rule, great-granddaughter
At the end of 1916, Zillah and James received word that their oldest son, Leonard James Cress, had died of wounds in France.
Following the move to Wellington, Zillah took on a confectionery and bakery business known as ‘Viola’. The business was at 126 Courtenay Place [i], and Zillah was at work when she was overwhelmed by influenza and died on the premises. Zillah was buried in the Anglican section of Karori Cemetery the day after she died.
The Public Trustee moved swiftly to realise the assets of her estate, advertising within a month of her death for tenders for the purchase of her business as a going concern [ii].
Tributes to Zillah were published in two of the regions where she had lived. The Wairarapa Daily Times on 25 November 1918 published a paragraph that ‘The many Wairarapa friends of Mrs James Cress, formerly of Masterton, will regret to hear of her death, which took place at Wellington last week, the cause of death being influenza.’ Four days later, the Marlborough Express carried a similar message, describing Zillah as ‘a well-known resident of Masterton and Palmerston North. She was [also] well-known in Marlborough, and leaves a family of six children, one son having been killed in France.’
One year later, the family focused on Zillah’s role as mother in their In Memoriam notices. The message inserted by ‘her loving husband and children’ read:
A faithful mother, true and kind,
No one on earth like her we’ll find:
One sad year has passed and none can tell
The loss of our dear mother we loved so well.
(The Evening Post, 20 November 1919)
There were more notices the following year from her husband, two sons and two married daughters.
The inscription on Zillah’s headstone is simple:
In Loving Memory Of
Zillah Charman Cress
Beloved wife of
James Cress
Died 20 November 1918 Aged 44
In the 1919 Electoral Roll James is still registered as a hotelkeeper in Courtenay Place. He died in 1926, aged 65, but was not buried with Zillah.
Researched by Max Kerr
Grave Information:
Section: CH ENG2
Plot: 92 E
[i] 126 Courtenay Place is now a few doors along from where Molly Malone’s pub was (until recently – October 2017) on the corner of Courtenay Place and Taranaki Street.
[ii] The Evening Post, 17 December 1918 and subsequently.
Following the move to Wellington, Zillah took on a confectionery and bakery business known as ‘Viola’. The business was at 126 Courtenay Place [i], and Zillah was at work when she was overwhelmed by influenza and died on the premises. Zillah was buried in the Anglican section of Karori Cemetery the day after she died.
The Public Trustee moved swiftly to realise the assets of her estate, advertising within a month of her death for tenders for the purchase of her business as a going concern [ii].
Tributes to Zillah were published in two of the regions where she had lived. The Wairarapa Daily Times on 25 November 1918 published a paragraph that ‘The many Wairarapa friends of Mrs James Cress, formerly of Masterton, will regret to hear of her death, which took place at Wellington last week, the cause of death being influenza.’ Four days later, the Marlborough Express carried a similar message, describing Zillah as ‘a well-known resident of Masterton and Palmerston North. She was [also] well-known in Marlborough, and leaves a family of six children, one son having been killed in France.’
One year later, the family focused on Zillah’s role as mother in their In Memoriam notices. The message inserted by ‘her loving husband and children’ read:
A faithful mother, true and kind,
No one on earth like her we’ll find:
One sad year has passed and none can tell
The loss of our dear mother we loved so well.
(The Evening Post, 20 November 1919)
There were more notices the following year from her husband, two sons and two married daughters.
The inscription on Zillah’s headstone is simple:
In Loving Memory Of
Zillah Charman Cress
Beloved wife of
James Cress
Died 20 November 1918 Aged 44
In the 1919 Electoral Roll James is still registered as a hotelkeeper in Courtenay Place. He died in 1926, aged 65, but was not buried with Zillah.
Researched by Max Kerr
Grave Information:
Section: CH ENG2
Plot: 92 E
[i] 126 Courtenay Place is now a few doors along from where Molly Malone’s pub was (until recently – October 2017) on the corner of Courtenay Place and Taranaki Street.
[ii] The Evening Post, 17 December 1918 and subsequently.