Intentions to Marry, 1905 Auckland, Taranaki, Hawke's Bay

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840427, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

1905 is bound in three volumes - Auckland, Taranaki, Hawke's Bay (1905a), Wellington, Marlborough, Nelson, Westland (1905b), and Canterbury, Otago, Chatham Islands (1905c).

Page 106

District of Hastings Quarter ending 30 June 1905 Registrar Robert Brathwaite

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

6 June 1905

Richard John Nathaniel Pentecost
Ellen Rowland

Richard John Nathaniel Pentecost
Ellen Rowlands
💍 1905/5227

Bachelor
Spinster

Tramway Inspector

20
21

Hastings
Hastings

3 days
5 weeks

Wesleyan Church, Hastings

05/2065

Edward Pentecost, Father

6 June 1905

Rev. J. C. Carr

No	19
Date of Notice	6 June 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Richard John Nathaniel Pentecost	Ellen Rowland
BDM Match (96%)	Richard John Nathaniel Pentecost	Ellen Rowlands
	💍 1905/5227
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Tramway Inspector
Age	20	21
Dwelling Place	Hastings	Hastings
Length of Residence	3 days	5 weeks
Marriage Place	Wesleyan Church, Hastings
Folio	05/2065
Consent	Edward Pentecost, Father
Date of Certificate	6 June 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. C. Carr

7 June 1905

Frank Wheeler
Alma Annie Pepper

Frank Wheeler
Alma Annie Pepper
💍 1905/2153

Bachelor
Spinster

Butcher
Domestic

24
19

Hastings
Hastings

2 years
5 years

Wesleyan Church, Hastings

05/4455

R. S. Pepper, Father

7 June 1905

Rev. J. C. Carr

No	20
Date of Notice	7 June 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Frank Wheeler	Alma Annie Pepper
	💍 1905/2153
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Butcher	Domestic
Age	24	19
Dwelling Place	Hastings	Hastings
Length of Residence	2 years	5 years
Marriage Place	Wesleyan Church, Hastings
Folio	05/4455
Consent	R. S. Pepper, Father
Date of Certificate	7 June 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. C. Carr

10 June 1905

Robert Shields
Susannah Clarke

Robert Shields
Susannah Clarke
💍 1905/6812

Bachelor
Married

Carpenter
Domestic

45
41

Whakatu, Hastings
Whakatu, Hastings

4 days

Registrar's Office, Hastings

05/2057

10 June 1905

H. M. Brathwaite

No	21
Date of Notice	10 June 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Robert Shields	Susannah Clarke
	💍 1905/6812
Condition	Bachelor	Married
Profession	Carpenter	Domestic
Age	45	41
Dwelling Place	Whakatu, Hastings	Whakatu, Hastings
Length of Residence	4 days
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office, Hastings
Folio	05/2057
Consent
Date of Certificate	10 June 1905
Officiating Minister	H. M. Brathwaite

13 June 1905

Horace Walter Reeves
Lizzie Wallace

Horace Walter Reaves
Lizzie Wallace
💍 1905/2147

Widower
Widow

Trainer
Domestic

35
28

Hastings
Hastings

21 years
20 years

Mr. Saunders' House, Hastings

05/4454

13 June 1905

Rev. J. G. Carr

No	22
Date of Notice	13 June 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Horace Walter Reeves	Lizzie Wallace
BDM Match (98%)	Horace Walter Reaves	Lizzie Wallace
	💍 1905/2147
Condition	Widower	Widow
Profession	Trainer	Domestic
Age	35	28
Dwelling Place	Hastings	Hastings
Length of Residence	21 years	20 years
Marriage Place	Mr. Saunders' House, Hastings
Folio	05/4454
Consent
Date of Certificate	13 June 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. G. Carr

16 June 1905

Michael Ryan
Sarah McGaffin

Michael Ryan
Sarah McGaffin
💍 1905/5224

Bachelor
Spinster

Sheepfarmer
Domestic

36
35

Elsthorpe
Elsthorpe

3 days
3 days

Mr. McGaffin's House, Hastings

05/2062

16 June 1905

Rev. W. J. Comrie

No	23
Date of Notice	16 June 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Michael Ryan	Sarah McGaffin
	💍 1905/5224
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Sheepfarmer	Domestic
Age	36	35
Dwelling Place	Elsthorpe	Elsthorpe
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	Mr. McGaffin's House, Hastings
Folio	05/2062
Consent
Date of Certificate	16 June 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. J. Comrie

26 June 1905

Francis Sidney Smith
Emily Dorothy Loesch

Francis Sidney Smith
Emily Dorothea Loesch
💍 1905/5225

Bachelor
Spinster

Carpenter
Milliner

27
23

Hastings
Hastings

1 month
4 days

Mr. Annett's House, Hastings

05/2063

26 June 1905

Rev. W. J. Comrie

No	24
Date of Notice	26 June 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Francis Sidney Smith	Emily Dorothy Loesch
BDM Match (95%)	Francis Sidney Smith	Emily Dorothea Loesch
	💍 1905/5225
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carpenter	Milliner
Age	27	23
Dwelling Place	Hastings	Hastings
Length of Residence	1 month	4 days
Marriage Place	Mr. Annett's House, Hastings
Folio	05/2063
Consent
Date of Certificate	26 June 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. J. Comrie

28 June 1905

Kawhi Epiha
Atareti Kareama

Kawhi Epiha
Atareti Kereama
💍 1905/5226

Bachelor
Spinster

Maori
Maori

20
26

Te Hauke
Te Hauke

18 years
26 years

House of Kinji, Pohuma, Te Hauke

05/2064

Epiha, Father

28 June 1905

Rev. C. B. Bartell

No	25
Date of Notice	28 June 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Kawhi Epiha	Atareti Kareama
BDM Match (97%)	Kawhi Epiha	Atareti Kereama
	💍 1905/5226
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Maori	Maori
Age	20	26
Dwelling Place	Te Hauke	Te Hauke
Length of Residence	18 years	26 years
Marriage Place	House of Kinji, Pohuma, Te Hauke
Folio	05/2064
Consent	Epiha, Father
Date of Certificate	28 June 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. B. Bartell

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).