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 308

District of Thames Quarter ending 30 June 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

14 April 1905

George Lapraik
Marian Eliza Buell

George Lapraik
Marian Eliza Bush
💍 1905/6645

Bachelor
Spinster

Surgeon
Domestic duties

41
29

Thames
Thames

7 years
7 years

Church of England, Thames

05/1939

14 April 1905

Rev. G. R. Coales, Church of England

No	17
Date of Notice	14 April 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Lapraik	Marian Eliza Buell
BDM Match (92%)	George Lapraik	Marian Eliza Bush
	💍 1905/6645
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Surgeon	Domestic duties
Age	41	29
Dwelling Place	Thames	Thames
Length of Residence	7 years	7 years
Marriage Place	Church of England, Thames
Folio	05/1939
Consent
Date of Certificate	14 April 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. G. R. Coales, Church of England

14 April 1905

John Alexander Smith
Mary Wadsworth Peterson

John Alexander Smith
Mary Wadsworth Peterson
💍 1905/6646

Bachelor
Spinster

Mill hand
Domestic duties

26
24

Kopu
Thames

14 years
24 years

St. George's Church, Thames

05/1940

17 April 1905

Rev. R. D. Coales, Church of England

No	18
Date of Notice	14 April 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Alexander Smith	Mary Wadsworth Peterson
	💍 1905/6646
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Mill hand	Domestic duties
Age	26	24
Dwelling Place	Kopu	Thames
Length of Residence	14 years	24 years
Marriage Place	St. George's Church, Thames
Folio	05/1940
Consent
Date of Certificate	17 April 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. R. D. Coales, Church of England

19 April 1905

Andrew McKenzie
Martha Bingham

Andras McKenzie
Martha Kingham
💍 1905/6594

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic duties

30
21

Piriri
Thames

30 years
5 years

At the house of Mr. Bingham, Davey Street, Thames

05/1932

22 April 1905

Rev. A. G. Thompson, Presbyterian

No	19
Date of Notice	19 April 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Andrew McKenzie	Martha Bingham
BDM Match (90%)	Andras McKenzie	Martha Kingham
	💍 1905/6594
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic duties
Age	30	21
Dwelling Place	Piriri	Thames
Length of Residence	30 years	5 years
Marriage Place	At the house of Mr. Bingham, Davey Street, Thames
Folio	05/1932
Consent
Date of Certificate	22 April 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. G. Thompson, Presbyterian

20 April 1905

Albert Ernest Smith
Rose Amelia Heatt

Albert Ernest Smith
Rose Amelia Hieatt
💍 1905/6642

Bachelor
Spinster

Saw mill hand
Domestic duties

22
19

Thames
Thames

1 day
3 years

At the house of Mr. Heatt, Parawai

05/1936

22 April 1905

Rev. J. A. Williams, Baptist

No	20
Date of Notice	20 April 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Albert Ernest Smith	Rose Amelia Heatt
BDM Match (97%)	Albert Ernest Smith	Rose Amelia Hieatt
	💍 1905/6642
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Saw mill hand	Domestic duties
Age	22	19
Dwelling Place	Thames	Thames
Length of Residence	1 day	3 years
Marriage Place	At the house of Mr. Heatt, Parawai
Folio	05/1936
Consent
Date of Certificate	22 April 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. A. Williams, Baptist

27 April 1905

Thomas Henry Brownlee
Bertha Dolidge

Thomas Henry Brownlee
Bertha Doidge
💍 1905/344

Bachelor
Spinster

Blacksmith
Domestic duties

19
19

Thames
Thames

19 years
19 years

At the house of Mr. Brownlee, Thames

05/1933

Henry Brownlee, father of groom; Dora Dolidge, mother of bride

27 April 1905

Rev. A. G. Thompson, Presbyterian

No	21
Date of Notice	27 April 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Henry Brownlee	Bertha Dolidge
BDM Match (96%)	Thomas Henry Brownlee	Bertha Doidge
	💍 1905/344
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Blacksmith	Domestic duties
Age	19	19
Dwelling Place	Thames	Thames
Length of Residence	19 years	19 years
Marriage Place	At the house of Mr. Brownlee, Thames
Folio	05/1933
Consent	Henry Brownlee, father of groom; Dora Dolidge, mother of bride
Date of Certificate	27 April 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. G. Thompson, Presbyterian

8 May 1905

James Glasgow
Mary Ann Foster

James Glasgow
Mary Ann Foster
💍 1905/7005

William Henry Brown
Mary Ann Foster
💍 1905/1106

Bachelor
Spinster

Miner
Domestic duties

28
24

Thames
Thames

28 years
27 years

At the house of J. Booth, Hape Road, Thames

05/2556

8 May 1905

Rev. J. Henderson, Primitive Methodist

No	22
Date of Notice	8 May 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Glasgow	Mary Ann Foster
	💍 1905/7005
BDM Match (61%)	William Henry Brown	Mary Ann Foster
	💍 1905/1106
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Miner	Domestic duties
Age	28	24
Dwelling Place	Thames	Thames
Length of Residence	28 years	27 years
Marriage Place	At the house of J. Booth, Hape Road, Thames
Folio	05/2556
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 May 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Henderson, Primitive Methodist

9 May 1905

Thomas Robert Judd
Matilda Harrison

Thomas Robert Judd
Matilda Harrison
💍 1905/7004

Bachelor
Spinster

Engineer
Domestic duties

26
21

Thames
Thames

26 years
21 years

At the house of Mr. Harrison, Thames

05/2555

9 May 1905

Rev. J. Henderson, Primitive Methodist

No	23
Date of Notice	9 May 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Robert Judd	Matilda Harrison
	💍 1905/7004
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Engineer	Domestic duties
Age	26	21
Dwelling Place	Thames	Thames
Length of Residence	26 years	21 years
Marriage Place	At the house of Mr. Harrison, Thames
Folio	05/2555
Consent
Date of Certificate	9 May 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Henderson, Primitive Methodist

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).