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 625

District of Gisborne Quarter ending 31 March 1905 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

1519

4 January 1905

John Eade
Flora Cairney

John Eade
Flora Cairney
💍 1905/4751

Bachelor
Spinster

Laborer
Housemaid

25
18

Auckland
Howick, Auckland

25 years
18 years

Office of the Registrar of Marriages, Gisborne

05/234

John Cairney, father

4 January 1905

The Registrar of Marriages, Gisborne

No	1519
Date of Notice	4 January 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Eade	Flora Cairney
	💍 1905/4751
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Laborer	Housemaid
Age	25	18
Dwelling Place	Auckland	Howick, Auckland
Length of Residence	25 years	18 years
Marriage Place	Office of the Registrar of Marriages, Gisborne
Folio	05/234
Consent	John Cairney, father
Date of Certificate	4 January 1905
Officiating Minister	The Registrar of Marriages, Gisborne

1520

6 January 1905

Richard Henry Trotter
Selena Avenell

Richard Henry Trotter
Selena Avenell
💍 1905/5502

Bachelor
Spinster

Settler

44
26

Patutahi, Poverty Bay
Ponsonby, Auckland

5 years
all her life

All Saints Church, Ponsonby, Auckland

05/64

6 January 1905

Rev. R. W. Moore, Wesleyan

No	1520
Date of Notice	6 January 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Richard Henry Trotter	Selena Avenell
	💍 1905/5502
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Settler
Age	44	26
Dwelling Place	Patutahi, Poverty Bay	Ponsonby, Auckland
Length of Residence	5 years	all her life
Marriage Place	All Saints Church, Ponsonby, Auckland
Folio	05/64
Consent
Date of Certificate	6 January 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. R. W. Moore, Wesleyan

1521

6 January 1905

Charles Frederick Buscke
Helen Dinah Eglinton

Charles Frederick Buscke
Dinah Helen Eglinton
💍 1905/4870

Bachelor
Spinster

Accountant

26
23

Gisborne
Wellington

23 years
20 years

St. Mark's Church of England, Wellington

05/696

Rev. Richard Coffey, Church of England

No	1521
Date of Notice	6 January 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Frederick Buscke	Helen Dinah Eglinton
BDM Match (75%)	Charles Frederick Buscke	Dinah Helen Eglinton
	💍 1905/4870
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Accountant
Age	26	23
Dwelling Place	Gisborne	Wellington
Length of Residence	23 years	20 years
Marriage Place	St. Mark's Church of England, Wellington
Folio	05/696
Consent
Date of Certificate
Officiating Minister	Rev. Richard Coffey, Church of England

1522

7 January 1905

Samuel Hayward Ford
May Stubbs

Samuel Hayward Ford
May Stubbs
💍 1905/4750

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer

26
18

Mangapapa, Poverty Bay
Kaiti, Poverty Bay

26 years
18 years

Residence of Mr. Pearson Stubbs, Kaiti, Poverty Bay

05/251

Pearson Stubbs, father

7 January 1905

Rev. Leo. Hounsell, Wesleyan

No	1522
Date of Notice	7 January 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Samuel Hayward Ford	May Stubbs
	💍 1905/4750
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	26	18
Dwelling Place	Mangapapa, Poverty Bay	Kaiti, Poverty Bay
Length of Residence	26 years	18 years
Marriage Place	Residence of Mr. Pearson Stubbs, Kaiti, Poverty Bay
Folio	05/251
Consent	Pearson Stubbs, father
Date of Certificate	7 January 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. Leo. Hounsell, Wesleyan

1523

7 January 1905

Ernest Charles Hurrey
Wilhelmina Alexandra Ingram

Ernest Charles Hurrey
Wilhelmina Alexandra Robertha Ingram
💍 1905/4742

Bachelor
Spinster

Sawmiller
Domestic servant

30
25

Gisborne
Gisborne

all his life
2 years

Holy Trinity Church, Gisborne

05/243

Rev. Leslie Dawson Thomas, Church of England

No	1523
Date of Notice	7 January 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Ernest Charles Hurrey	Wilhelmina Alexandra Ingram
BDM Match (88%)	Ernest Charles Hurrey	Wilhelmina Alexandra Robertha Ingram
	💍 1905/4742
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Sawmiller	Domestic servant
Age	30	25
Dwelling Place	Gisborne	Gisborne
Length of Residence	all his life	2 years
Marriage Place	Holy Trinity Church, Gisborne
Folio	05/243
Consent
Date of Certificate
Officiating Minister	Rev. Leslie Dawson Thomas, Church of England

1524

11 January 1905

John Thomas Widdowson
Matilda Hamilton Macfarlane

John Thomas Widdowson
Matilda Hamilton
💍 1905/6983

Bachelor
Spinster

Draper

46
39

Gisborne
Whataupoko, Poverty Bay

3 years
1 year

Residence of Mrs. John Macfarlane, Whataupoko, Poverty Bay

05/2534

11 January 1905

Rev. J. W. Gillies Paterson, Presbyterian

No	1524
Date of Notice	11 January 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Thomas Widdowson	Matilda Hamilton Macfarlane
BDM Match (80%)	John Thomas Widdowson	Matilda Hamilton
	💍 1905/6983
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Draper
Age	46	39
Dwelling Place	Gisborne	Whataupoko, Poverty Bay
Length of Residence	3 years	1 year
Marriage Place	Residence of Mrs. John Macfarlane, Whataupoko, Poverty Bay
Folio	05/2534
Consent
Date of Certificate	11 January 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. W. Gillies Paterson, Presbyterian

1525

12 January 1905

George Frederick William Taylor
Rebecca Read Poswillo

George Frederick William Taylor
Rebecca Read Poswillo
💍 1905/4752

Bachelor
Spinster

Fireman

28
26

Gisborne
Gisborne

24 years
all her life

Residence of Mr. Leon Poswillo, Whataupoko, Gisborne

05/252

12 January 1905

Rev. George Hounsell, Wesleyan

No	1525
Date of Notice	12 January 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Frederick William Taylor	Rebecca Read Poswillo
	💍 1905/4752
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Fireman
Age	28	26
Dwelling Place	Gisborne	Gisborne
Length of Residence	24 years	all her life
Marriage Place	Residence of Mr. Leon Poswillo, Whataupoko, Gisborne
Folio	05/252
Consent
Date of Certificate	12 January 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. George Hounsell, Wesleyan

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).