Intentions to Marry, 1904 North Island

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840425, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

Imaged by Luke at Archives NZ Wellington, October 13 2025.

1904 is bound in two volumes, North Island districts and South Island districts.

Page 243

District of Gisborne Quarter ending 30 June 1904 Registrar George John Alexander Johnstone

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

1458

6 April 1904

Hans Peter Nelson
Margaret Minnie Wright

Hans Peter Nelson
Margaret Minnie Wright
💍 1904/1026

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer

29
23

East Oxford, Canterbury; Gisborne
East Oxford, Canterbury; Gisborne

5 months
4 days; 1 week

St Andrews, Presbyterian, manse, Gisborne

04/1965

6 April 1904

Rev. James Gillies Paterson, Presbyterian

No	1458
Date of Notice	6 April 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Hans Peter Nelson	Margaret Minnie Wright
	💍 1904/1026
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	29	23
Dwelling Place	East Oxford, Canterbury; Gisborne	East Oxford, Canterbury; Gisborne
Length of Residence	5 months	4 days; 1 week
Marriage Place	St Andrews, Presbyterian, manse, Gisborne
Folio	04/1965
Consent
Date of Certificate	6 April 1904
Officiating Minister	Rev. James Gillies Paterson, Presbyterian

1459

6 April 1904

John Richard Dunn
Elenie Clare Buchanan

John Richard Quinn
Eleanor Clare Buchanan
💍 1904/1011

Bachelor
Spinster

Hotelkeeper

31
24

Whatatutu, Poverty Bay
Gisborne

3 years
all her life

St. Marys, Roman Catholic Church, Gisborne

04/1974

6 April 1904

Rev. Thos Mulvehill, Roman Catholic

No	1459
Date of Notice	6 April 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Richard Dunn	Elenie Clare Buchanan
BDM Match (88%)	John Richard Quinn	Eleanor Clare Buchanan
	💍 1904/1011
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Hotelkeeper
Age	31	24
Dwelling Place	Whatatutu, Poverty Bay	Gisborne
Length of Residence	3 years	all her life
Marriage Place	St. Marys, Roman Catholic Church, Gisborne
Folio	04/1974
Consent
Date of Certificate	6 April 1904
Officiating Minister	Rev. Thos Mulvehill, Roman Catholic

1460

7 April 1904

John Charles Noel Thomas
Evelyn Mary Seymour

John Charles Noel Thomas
Evelyn Mary Seymour
💍 1904/2961

Bachelor
Spinster

Bank Officer

27
23

Gisborne
Kaiti, Poverty Bay

4 months
21 years

Holy Trinity Church, Gisborne

04/1945

7 April 1904

Rt. Rev. Bish. Wm Leonard Williams, Church of England

No	1460
Date of Notice	7 April 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Charles Noel Thomas	Evelyn Mary Seymour
	💍 1904/2961
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Bank Officer
Age	27	23
Dwelling Place	Gisborne	Kaiti, Poverty Bay
Length of Residence	4 months	21 years
Marriage Place	Holy Trinity Church, Gisborne
Folio	04/1945
Consent
Date of Certificate	7 April 1904
Officiating Minister	Rt. Rev. Bish. Wm Leonard Williams, Church of England

1461

13 April 1904

George Imlach Taylor
Katherine Mary Smale

George Milach Taylor
Catherine Mary Smale
💍 1904/1027

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer

31
29

Motu
Puketapu, Hawkes Bay; Gisborne

3 months
29 years; 4 days

Res. of J. Elliott, Stout Street, Whataupoko, Poverty Bay

04/1966

13 April 1904

Rev. Jas. Gillies Paterson, Presbyterian

No	1461
Date of Notice	13 April 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Imlach Taylor	Katherine Mary Smale
BDM Match (93%)	George Milach Taylor	Catherine Mary Smale
	💍 1904/1027
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	31	29
Dwelling Place	Motu	Puketapu, Hawkes Bay; Gisborne
Length of Residence	3 months	29 years; 4 days
Marriage Place	Res. of J. Elliott, Stout Street, Whataupoko, Poverty Bay
Folio	04/1966
Consent
Date of Certificate	13 April 1904
Officiating Minister	Rev. Jas. Gillies Paterson, Presbyterian

1462

13 April 1904

Edward Arthur Fuller
Elizabeth Christina Jane Lee

Edward Arthur Fuller
Elizabeth Cristina Jane Lee
💍 1904/18

Bachelor
Spinster

Laborer

29
21

Gisborne; Foxton N.Z.
Gisborne; Foxton N.Z.

1 week; 7 years
1 week; 21 years

The Office of the Registrar of Marriages at Gisborne

04/1936

13 April 1904

Reg. Marriages, Gisborne

No	1462
Date of Notice	13 April 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edward Arthur Fuller	Elizabeth Christina Jane Lee
BDM Match (98%)	Edward Arthur Fuller	Elizabeth Cristina Jane Lee
	💍 1904/18
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Laborer
Age	29	21
Dwelling Place	Gisborne; Foxton N.Z.	Gisborne; Foxton N.Z.
Length of Residence	1 week; 7 years	1 week; 21 years
Marriage Place	The Office of the Registrar of Marriages at Gisborne
Folio	04/1936
Consent
Date of Certificate	13 April 1904
Officiating Minister	Reg. Marriages, Gisborne

1463

13 April 1904

Sydney Williamson
Olive Muriel Elworthy

Sydney Williamson
Olive Muriel Ellworthy
💍 1904/2986

Bachelor
Spinster

Sheepfarmer

37
21

Agalapa, Poverty Bay
Christchurch

13 years
5 years

Merivale Church (Church of England), Papanui, Christchurch

04/2956

13 April 1904

Rt. Rev. Bis. Churchill Julius, Church of England

No	1463
Date of Notice	13 April 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Sydney Williamson	Olive Muriel Elworthy
BDM Match (98%)	Sydney Williamson	Olive Muriel Ellworthy
	💍 1904/2986
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Sheepfarmer
Age	37	21
Dwelling Place	Agalapa, Poverty Bay	Christchurch
Length of Residence	13 years	5 years
Marriage Place	Merivale Church (Church of England), Papanui, Christchurch
Folio	04/2956
Consent
Date of Certificate	13 April 1904
Officiating Minister	Rt. Rev. Bis. Churchill Julius, 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).