Intentions to Marry, 1903 North Island

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840423, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

Imaged by Luke at Archives NZ Wellington, October 10 2025

1903 is bound in two volumes, North Island districts and South Island districts.

Page 667

District of Hawera Quarter ending 31 March 1903 Registrar Jas. S. Thomson

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

459

14 February 1903

George Pound
Margaret Prendergast

George Pound
Margaret Prendergast
💍 1903/503

Bachelor
Spinster

Groom

31
40

Hawera
Hawera

12 years
1 year

Roman Catholic Church, Hawera

03/306

14 February 1903

Rev. G. Power, Hawera

No	459
Date of Notice	14 February 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Pound	Margaret Prendergast
	💍 1903/503
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Groom
Age	31	40
Dwelling Place	Hawera	Hawera
Length of Residence	12 years	1 year
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Church, Hawera
Folio	03/306
Consent
Date of Certificate	14 February 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev. G. Power, Hawera

460

18 February 1903

William Henry Webb
Jane Carson

William Henry Webb
Jane Carson
💍 1903/686

Bachelor
Spinster

Carpenter

29
29

Hawera
Hawera

9 months
9 months

Registrar's Office, Hawera

03/302

18 February 1903

The Registrar, Hawera

No	460
Date of Notice	18 February 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Henry Webb	Jane Carson
	💍 1903/686
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carpenter
Age	29	29
Dwelling Place	Hawera	Hawera
Length of Residence	9 months	9 months
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office, Hawera
Folio	03/302
Consent
Date of Certificate	18 February 1903
Officiating Minister	The Registrar, Hawera

461

21 February 1903

William John Sheeley
Violet Canning

William John Treeby
Violet Canning
💍 1903/886

Bachelor
Spinster

Clothier

31
21

New Plymouth
Normanby

4 days
4 years

Presbyterian Church, Normanby

03/787

21 February 1903

Rev. Ivo E. Bertram, Hawera

No	461
Date of Notice	21 February 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William John Sheeley	Violet Canning
BDM Match (90%)	William John Treeby	Violet Canning
	💍 1903/886
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Clothier
Age	31	21
Dwelling Place	New Plymouth	Normanby
Length of Residence	4 days	4 years
Marriage Place	Presbyterian Church, Normanby
Folio	03/787
Consent
Date of Certificate	21 February 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev. Ivo E. Bertram, Hawera

462

25 February 1903

William Hodgson
Alice Edgecombe

William Hodgson
Alice Eagecombe
💍 1903/1548

Bachelor
Spinster

Tailor

34
29

Hawera
Hawera

15 months
5 years

Residence of J. Goodwin, Hawera

03/784

25 February 1903

Rev. Ivo E. Bertram, Hawera

No	462
Date of Notice	25 February 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Hodgson	Alice Edgecombe
BDM Match (97%)	William Hodgson	Alice Eagecombe
	💍 1903/1548
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Tailor
Age	34	29
Dwelling Place	Hawera	Hawera
Length of Residence	15 months	5 years
Marriage Place	Residence of J. Goodwin, Hawera
Folio	03/784
Consent
Date of Certificate	25 February 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev. Ivo E. Bertram, Hawera

463

28 February 1903

Richard Frank Oliver
Minnie Rebecca Harding

Richard Frank Oliver
Minnie Rebecca Harding
💍 1903/1550

Bachelor
Spinster

Coach-painter

22
19

Hawera
Hawera

22 years
2 years

Residence of J. W. Harding, Hawera

03/786

28 February 1903

Rev. Ivo E. Bertram, Hawera

No	463
Date of Notice	28 February 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Richard Frank Oliver	Minnie Rebecca Harding
	💍 1903/1550
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Coach-painter
Age	22	19
Dwelling Place	Hawera	Hawera
Length of Residence	22 years	2 years
Marriage Place	Residence of J. W. Harding, Hawera
Folio	03/786
Consent
Date of Certificate	28 February 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev. Ivo E. Bertram, Hawera

464

3 March 1903

Pierre Finch Burrows
Mary Buckland

Pierre Finch Burrows
Mary Ann Buckland
💍 1903/1549

Bachelor
Spinster

Lithographer

23
21

Auckland
Hawera

3 days
10 years

Residence of John Buckland, Hawera

03/785

3 March 1903

Rev. Ivo E. Bertram, Hawera

No	464
Date of Notice	3 March 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Pierre Finch Burrows	Mary Buckland
BDM Match (88%)	Pierre Finch Burrows	Mary Ann Buckland
	💍 1903/1549
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Lithographer
Age	23	21
Dwelling Place	Auckland	Hawera
Length of Residence	3 days	10 years
Marriage Place	Residence of John Buckland, Hawera
Folio	03/785
Consent
Date of Certificate	3 March 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev. Ivo E. Bertram, Hawera

465

13 March 1903

John Lauder
Ida Gwendoline Williams

John Lander
Ida Constance Williams
💍 1903/4028

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer

33
19

Ohangai
Weremere

8 years
19 years

Residence of Williams, Skeetmere

03/350

father of bride

13 March 1903

Rev. J. J. Hammond, Patea

No	465
Date of Notice	13 March 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Lauder	Ida Gwendoline Williams
BDM Match (78%)	John Lander	Ida Constance Williams
	💍 1903/4028
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	33	19
Dwelling Place	Ohangai	Weremere
Length of Residence	8 years	19 years
Marriage Place	Residence of Williams, Skeetmere
Folio	03/350
Consent	father of bride
Date of Certificate	13 March 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. J. Hammond, Patea

466

16 March 1903

Patrick Stephen McNally
Florence Annie Sage

Patrick Stephen McNally
Florence Annie Sage
💍 1903/897

Bachelor
Spinster

Ironmonger

25
24

Waimatuku
Hawera

4 days
7 months

Residence of G. C. Sage, Hawera

03/788

16 March 1903

Rev. Ivo E. Bertram, Hawera

No	466
Date of Notice	16 March 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Patrick Stephen McNally	Florence Annie Sage
	💍 1903/897
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Ironmonger
Age	25	24
Dwelling Place	Waimatuku	Hawera
Length of Residence	4 days	7 months
Marriage Place	Residence of G. C. Sage, Hawera
Folio	03/788
Consent
Date of Certificate	16 March 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev. Ivo E. Bertram, Hawera

467

17 March 1903

Alfred Watson
Daisy Elizabeth Rowberry

Alfred Watson
Daisy Elizabeth Rawberry
💍 1903/685

Bachelor
Spinster

Porter

27
20

Mangaonoho
Hawera

4 days
9 years

Church of England Schoolroom, Hawera

03/301

mother of bride

17 March 1903

Rev. A. Jacob, Hawera

No	467
Date of Notice	17 March 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Alfred Watson	Daisy Elizabeth Rowberry
BDM Match (98%)	Alfred Watson	Daisy Elizabeth Rawberry
	💍 1903/685
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Porter
Age	27	20
Dwelling Place	Mangaonoho	Hawera
Length of Residence	4 days	9 years
Marriage Place	Church of England Schoolroom, Hawera
Folio	03/301
Consent	mother of bride
Date of Certificate	17 March 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. Jacob, Hawera

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

100% Contrast

100% Brightness

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).