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 305

District of Thames Quarter ending 30 September 1905 Registrar William H. Potts

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

1 August 1905

James Jealand Chapman
Janet Douglas Newby

James Zealand Chapman
Janet Douglas Newby
💍 1905/1435

Bachelor
Spinster

Carrier
Domestic duties

28
26

Tapu
Tapu

3 days
26 years

School Room, Tapu

05/3870

2 August 1905

E. H. Taylor, Church of Christ

No	36
Date of Notice	1 August 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Jealand Chapman	Janet Douglas Newby
BDM Match (98%)	James Zealand Chapman	Janet Douglas Newby
	💍 1905/1435
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carrier	Domestic duties
Age	28	26
Dwelling Place	Tapu	Tapu
Length of Residence	3 days	26 years
Marriage Place	School Room, Tapu
Folio	05/3870
Consent
Date of Certificate	2 August 1905
Officiating Minister	E. H. Taylor, Church of Christ

4 August 1905

Samuel Carson
Martha Preston Cribb

Samuel Carson
Martha Preston Cribb
💍 1905/1450

Bachelor
Spinster

Engineer
Domestic duties

35
31

Thames
Puriri

4 days
31 years

St. Georges Church, Thames

05/3877

4 August 1905

Rev. Dr. O'Callaghan, Church of England

No	37
Date of Notice	4 August 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Samuel Carson	Martha Preston Cribb
	💍 1905/1450
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Engineer	Domestic duties
Age	35	31
Dwelling Place	Thames	Puriri
Length of Residence	4 days	31 years
Marriage Place	St. Georges Church, Thames
Folio	05/3877
Consent
Date of Certificate	4 August 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. Dr. O'Callaghan, Church of England

5 August 1905

John Henry Jones
Sarah Taylor

Johnnhenry Jones
Sarah Taylor
💍 1905/1437

John Harvey
Mary Taylor
💍 1906/1714

Bachelor
Spinster

Carter
Domestic duties

25
21

Thames
Thames

2 years
21 years

At the house of Mr. Scarnes, Thames

05/3871

5 August 1905

E. H. Taylor, Church of Christ

No	38
Date of Notice	5 August 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Henry Jones	Sarah Taylor
BDM Match (94%)	Johnnhenry Jones	Sarah Taylor
	💍 1905/1437
BDM Match (63%)	John Harvey	Mary Taylor
	💍 1906/1714
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carter	Domestic duties
Age	25	21
Dwelling Place	Thames	Thames
Length of Residence	2 years	21 years
Marriage Place	At the house of Mr. Scarnes, Thames
Folio	05/3871
Consent
Date of Certificate	5 August 1905
Officiating Minister	E. H. Taylor, Church of Christ

8 August 1905

Robert Gordon Munro
Amy Catherine Rist

Robert Gordon Munro
Amy Catherine Rist
💍 1905/1431

Bachelor
Spinster

Carpenter
Domestic duties

25
23

Thames
Yotara

2 weeks
2 years

At the house of Mr. Rist

05/3866

8 August 1905

Rev. A. J. Thompson, Presbyterian

No	39
Date of Notice	8 August 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Robert Gordon Munro	Amy Catherine Rist
	💍 1905/1431
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carpenter	Domestic duties
Age	25	23
Dwelling Place	Thames	Yotara
Length of Residence	2 weeks	2 years
Marriage Place	At the house of Mr. Rist
Folio	05/3866
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 August 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. J. Thompson, Presbyterian

29 August 1905

James Edward Jennings
Lucy Ann McGuinn

James Edward Jennings
Lucy Ann McGuinn
💍 1905/1440

Bachelor
Spinster

Blacksmith
Domestic duties

28
21

Thames
Thames

2 days
2 weeks

At the house of Mr. McGuinn, Thames

05/3874

30 August 1905

Right Rev. Monsignor O'Reilly, Roman Catholic

No	40
Date of Notice	29 August 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Edward Jennings	Lucy Ann McGuinn
	💍 1905/1440
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Blacksmith	Domestic duties
Age	28	21
Dwelling Place	Thames	Thames
Length of Residence	2 days	2 weeks
Marriage Place	At the house of Mr. McGuinn, Thames
Folio	05/3874
Consent
Date of Certificate	30 August 1905
Officiating Minister	Right Rev. Monsignor O'Reilly, Roman Catholic

9 September 1905

Samuel Goodwin
Letitia Meehan

Samuel Goodwin
Letitia Meekan
💍 1905/1439

Bachelor
Spinster

Driver
Domestic duties

34
23

Turua
Turua

2 years
2 months

At the Registrar's Office, Thames

05/3873

9 September 1905

William H. Potts, Registrar

No	41
Date of Notice	9 September 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Samuel Goodwin	Letitia Meehan
BDM Match (96%)	Samuel Goodwin	Letitia Meekan
	💍 1905/1439
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Driver	Domestic duties
Age	34	23
Dwelling Place	Turua	Turua
Length of Residence	2 years	2 months
Marriage Place	At the Registrar's Office, Thames
Folio	05/3873
Consent
Date of Certificate	9 September 1905
Officiating Minister	William H. Potts, Registrar

11 September 1905

William Fletcher Smith
Carrie Esther Nicoll

William Fletcher Smith
Caroline Esther Nicoll
💍 1905/1441

Bachelor
Spinster

Cook
Housemaid

26
20

Thames
Thames

1 year
20 years

Roman Catholic Church, Thames

05/3875

Richard Nicoll, father of Carrie Esther Nicoll

11 September 1905

Right Rev. Monsignor O'Reilly, Roman Catholic

No	42
Date of Notice	11 September 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Fletcher Smith	Carrie Esther Nicoll
BDM Match (93%)	William Fletcher Smith	Caroline Esther Nicoll
	💍 1905/1441
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Cook	Housemaid
Age	26	20
Dwelling Place	Thames	Thames
Length of Residence	1 year	20 years
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Church, Thames
Folio	05/3875
Consent	Richard Nicoll, father of Carrie Esther Nicoll
Date of Certificate	11 September 1905
Officiating Minister	Right Rev. Monsignor O'Reilly, Roman Catholic

18 September 1905

Thomas Blair Cato
Lynetta Powdrill

Thomas Blair Cato
Lynetta Poudrell
💍 1905/1430

Bachelor
Spinster

Miner
Domestic duties

24
21

Hikutia
Inatatake

1 year
20 years

In the house of Mr. Powdrill, Inatatake

05/3865

18 September 1905

Rev. A. J. Thompson, Presbyterian

No	43
Date of Notice	18 September 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Blair Cato	Lynetta Powdrill
BDM Match (94%)	Thomas Blair Cato	Lynetta Poudrell
	💍 1905/1430
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Miner	Domestic duties
Age	24	21
Dwelling Place	Hikutia	Inatatake
Length of Residence	1 year	20 years
Marriage Place	In the house of Mr. Powdrill, Inatatake
Folio	05/3865
Consent
Date of Certificate	18 September 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. J. Thompson, Presbyterian

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).