Intentions to Marry, 1898 January-June

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840413, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

Imaged by Luke at Archives NZ Wellington, June 27 2025

1898 is bound in two volumes, January-June and July-December.

Page 027

District of Auckland Quarter ending 31 March 1898 Registrar Thomas Culpan

Date of Notice

Names and Surnames of Parties

BDM Match

Condition

Calling or Profession

Age

Dwelling Place

Length of Residence

Marriage Place

Folio

Consent

Date of Certificate

Officiating Minister

157

25 March 1898

William Hobbs
Bella Hansford

William Hobbs
Bella Mansford
💍 1898/2618

Bachelor
Spinster

Surgeon Dentist
Domestic duties

23
24

Paeroa
Kumeu

18 months
5 years

Wesleyan Church, Pitt Street, Auckland

98/1230

25 March 1898

Rev. W. Gittos, Wesleyan

No	157
Date of Notice	25 March 1898
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Hobbs	Bella Hansford
BDM Match (96%)	William Hobbs	Bella Mansford
	💍 1898/2618
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Surgeon Dentist	Domestic duties
Age	23	24
Dwelling Place	Paeroa	Kumeu
Length of Residence	18 months	5 years
Marriage Place	Wesleyan Church, Pitt Street, Auckland
Folio	98/1230
Consent
Date of Certificate	25 March 1898
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. Gittos, Wesleyan

158

26 March 1898

Robert Lyons
Mary Emma Hobbs

Robert Lyons
Mary Emma Nobbs
💍 1898/2127

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic duties

29
29

Maungatawhiri
Hamilton

29 years
6 years

Wesleyan Church, Pitt Street, Auckland

98/1231

26 March 1898

Rev. W. Gittos, Wesleyan

No	158
Date of Notice	26 March 1898
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Robert Lyons	Mary Emma Hobbs
BDM Match (97%)	Robert Lyons	Mary Emma Nobbs
	💍 1898/2127
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic duties
Age	29	29
Dwelling Place	Maungatawhiri	Hamilton
Length of Residence	29 years	6 years
Marriage Place	Wesleyan Church, Pitt Street, Auckland
Folio	98/1231
Consent
Date of Certificate	26 March 1898
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. Gittos, Wesleyan

159

26 March 1898

Samuel Leggatt Collier
Urania Anne Lewis Kells

Samuel Leggatt Collier
Urania Anne Lewis Kells
💍 1898/99

Bachelor
Spinster

Carpenter
Domestic duties

28
28

Auckland
Auckland

1 year
10 years

St. Sepulchre's Church, Auckland

98/101

26 March 1898

Ven. Arch B. T. Dudley, Church of England

No	159
Date of Notice	26 March 1898
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Samuel Leggatt Collier	Urania Anne Lewis Kells
	💍 1898/99
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carpenter	Domestic duties
Age	28	28
Dwelling Place	Auckland	Auckland
Length of Residence	1 year	10 years
Marriage Place	St. Sepulchre's Church, Auckland
Folio	98/101
Consent
Date of Certificate	26 March 1898
Officiating Minister	Ven. Arch B. T. Dudley, Church of England

160

26 March 1898

John van Breda
Emily Stentiford Banbury

John Van Breda
Emily Stentiford Banbury
💍 1898/156

Widower
Spinster

Manufacturer
Domestic duties

57
28

Auckland
Auckland

29 years
28 years

House of Father of Bride, Grafton Road

98/164

26 March 1898

Rev. H. R. Dewsbury, Wesleyan

No	160
Date of Notice	26 March 1898
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John van Breda	Emily Stentiford Banbury
BDM Match (96%)	John Van Breda	Emily Stentiford Banbury
	💍 1898/156
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Manufacturer	Domestic duties
Age	57	28
Dwelling Place	Auckland	Auckland
Length of Residence	29 years	28 years
Marriage Place	House of Father of Bride, Grafton Road
Folio	98/164
Consent
Date of Certificate	26 March 1898
Officiating Minister	Rev. H. R. Dewsbury, Wesleyan

161

26 March 1898

David George Fowles
Ethel Gertrude Hadrill

David George Fowles
Ethel Gertrude Hadrill
💍 1898/119

Bachelor
Spinster

Ship Steward
Domestic duties

28
24

Auckland
Ponsonby

10 years
24 years

All Saints' Church, Ponsonby

98/131

26 March 1898

Rev. W. Calder, Church of England

No	161
Date of Notice	26 March 1898
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	David George Fowles	Ethel Gertrude Hadrill
	💍 1898/119
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Ship Steward	Domestic duties
Age	28	24
Dwelling Place	Auckland	Ponsonby
Length of Residence	10 years	24 years
Marriage Place	All Saints' Church, Ponsonby
Folio	98/131
Consent
Date of Certificate	26 March 1898
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. Calder, Church of England

162

26 March 1898

William Kerr
Stuart Rattray

William Kerr
Stuart Rattray
💍 1898/72

Bachelor
Spinster

Bus proprietor
Domestic duties

32
33

Auckland
Auckland

30 years
33 years

House of Mother of Bride, Albert Street, Auckland

98/757

26 March 1898

Rev. A. Peters, Wesleyan

No	162
Date of Notice	26 March 1898
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Kerr	Stuart Rattray
	💍 1898/72
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Bus proprietor	Domestic duties
Age	32	33
Dwelling Place	Auckland	Auckland
Length of Residence	30 years	33 years
Marriage Place	House of Mother of Bride, Albert Street, Auckland
Folio	98/757
Consent
Date of Certificate	26 March 1898
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. Peters, Wesleyan

163

26 March 1898

Frederick Pulman
Agnes Kennedy

Frederick Pulman
Agnes Kennedy
💍 1898/85

Bachelor
Spinster

Photographer
Domestic duties

33
21

Auckland
Auckland

33 years
21 years

Epiphany Church, Newton

98/95

26 March 1898

Rev. W. E. Lush, Church of England

No	163
Date of Notice	26 March 1898
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Frederick Pulman	Agnes Kennedy
	💍 1898/85
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Photographer	Domestic duties
Age	33	21
Dwelling Place	Auckland	Auckland
Length of Residence	33 years	21 years
Marriage Place	Epiphany Church, Newton
Folio	98/95
Consent
Date of Certificate	26 March 1898
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. E. Lush, Church of England

These records have been automatically transcribed and must be verified using the page image (below)

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What is an Intention to Marry?

The 1854 Marriage Act required Pakeha settlers (and later Maori) to register their intention to marry from 1855. The resulting Notices of intention to marry were sent by the district registrars to the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages and bound into large volumes, each containing a year of notices. These registers were eventually deposited with Archives New Zealand.

What information does an ItM record?

A typical Intention to Marry notice records:

the bride and groom's full names
occupation of the groom (and sometimes the bride)
their ages
district where the marriage would take place
how long they had resided in the district
Where the marriage would take place (eg, a specific church)
Who would officiate the marriage (eg, a minister)
The date of the notice and also a date when the certificate was issued. Marriages had to take place within 3 months, and usually occurred within a week or so of the certificate date.
If one of the parties was under 21, a parent who consented to their marriage was usually specified

These details can provide clues for genealogical and historical research. Knowing the date and district makes it easier to look for wedding notices in Papers Past, and the amount of time that the parties had resided in a district can offer clues to whether a person was born in NZ, or when they immigrated.

However, finding individual records in the Intentions to Marry registers was typically a slow and manual process, usually requiring an in-person visit to Archives NZ's Wellington office (during limited opening hours) and using a handwritten card catalogue index to look up individual names.

Eight years of the registers had been digitised by Archives NZ prior to 2024, but even these digital versions required the use of a manual index and usually examining several pages to locate specific records.

What is the Intentions to Marry Project?

This project aims to transcribe the New Zealand Intentions to Marry registers (from 1855 to 1925) with the assistance of new technology (AI), making the records freely available and easily searchable.

The ITM records have also been cross-referenced with the registered marriages at DIA Births, Deaths and Marriages, where possible (a small fraction of the recorded intentions to marry did not become a registered marriage).

Currently we have almost all records between 1855 and 1903. More registers are being added almost every week.

The project is led by Luke Howison, a web developer who made the free genealogical research search tool NZ Ancestor Search Helper and Archway-style Collections Search. There are also some wonderful volunteers assisting with digitising the registers.

Can I volunteer to help?

Yes, you can! You can sign up to correct errors in the transcribed records and match ITMs with registered marriages.

I am also looking for Wellington-based volunteers to help me digitise more years of the registers. I can provide lighting equipment and a 'clicker' (to trigger your phone's camera).

How is the transcription done?

There are several steps to digitising and transcribing the records:

Digitising the registers (taking clean, straight, high-quality photos)
Processing the digitised pages by straightening, cropping and sharpening the images
Transcribing each page with a combination of AI tools
Matching each ITM with a registered marriage when possible
Human verification of the transcribed information

The main LLM (AI) used are the Google Gemini Pro and Flash models, which have excellent 'Vision' capabilities, and a generous free tier.

Archives NZ has released the register years they have digitised (1865-69, 1872, 1874 and 1880) under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 license.

The Intention to Marry registers (up to 1925) are more than 100 years old, so their Crown Copyright has expired, putting them in the public domain. This also applies to any 'mechanical reproductions' (eg, pictures or photocopies) of their content without substantial alteration.

The transcribed records on this website are released under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal license, which allows reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, even for commercial purposes, while giving credit to the creator (NZ Intentions to Marry Project).