Intentions to Marry, 1911 Auckland, Taranaki

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840445, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

1911 is bound in three volumes - Auckland, Taranaki, (1911a), Hawke's Bay, Wellington, Marlborough, Nelson, Westland (1911b), and Canterbury, Otago, Chatham Islands (1911c).

Page 299

District of Gisborne Quarter ending 30 June 1911 Registrar Henry Ewart Hill

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

13 April 1911

Alfred Groves
Apikara Hamia Tupara

Alfred Groves
Apikara Hamia Tupara
💍 1911/2755

Bachelor
Widow

Travelling Agent
Aboriginal Native Woman, Domestic Duties

36
44

Gisborne, Poverty Bay
Gisborne

3 weeks
3 weeks

Te Rau College Church of England

11/2404

13 April 1911

Rev. Fredk. Wm. Chatterton, Church of England

No	67
Date of Notice	13 April 1911
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Alfred Groves	Apikara Hamia Tupara
	💍 1911/2755
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Travelling Agent	Aboriginal Native Woman, Domestic Duties
Age	36	44
Dwelling Place	Gisborne, Poverty Bay	Gisborne
Length of Residence	3 weeks	3 weeks
Marriage Place	Te Rau College Church of England
Folio	11/2404
Consent
Date of Certificate	13 April 1911
Officiating Minister	Rev. Fredk. Wm. Chatterton, Church of England

13 April 1911

Harry George John Heine
Hilda Myrtle Sheppard

Bachelor
Spinster

Butcher
Assistant

36
19

Makaraka, Poverty Bay
Makaraka

6 months
12 months

Private residence of the bride's parents

11/2333

William Charles Sheppard (Father)

13 April 1911

Rev. Edgar Ward, Church of England

No	68
Date of Notice	13 April 1911
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Harry George John Heine	Hilda Myrtle Sheppard
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Butcher	Assistant
Age	36	19
Dwelling Place	Makaraka, Poverty Bay	Makaraka
Length of Residence	6 months	12 months
Marriage Place	Private residence of the bride's parents
Folio	11/2333
Consent	William Charles Sheppard (Father)
Date of Certificate	13 April 1911
Officiating Minister	Rev. Edgar Ward, Church of England

18 April 1911

Welsford William Carter
Crucie Constance Hambleton

Welsford Lillicrap Carter
Lucie Constance Lambton Carter
💍 1911/4082

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic Duties

32
31

Gisborne, Poverty Bay
Gisborne, Poverty Bay

6 days
4 years

Holy Trinity Church, Gisborne

11/3854

18 April 1911

Rev. Leslie S. Thomas, Church of England

No	69
Date of Notice	18 April 1911
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Welsford William Carter	Crucie Constance Hambleton
BDM Match (72%)	Welsford Lillicrap Carter	Lucie Constance Lambton Carter
	💍 1911/4082
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic Duties
Age	32	31
Dwelling Place	Gisborne, Poverty Bay	Gisborne, Poverty Bay
Length of Residence	6 days	4 years
Marriage Place	Holy Trinity Church, Gisborne
Folio	11/3854
Consent
Date of Certificate	18 April 1911
Officiating Minister	Rev. Leslie S. Thomas, Church of England

19 April 1911

Frederick Arthur Herbert
Dora Bantie Butler

Frederick Arthur Herbert
Ivy Bertie Butler
💍 1911/3033

Bachelor
Spinster

Railway Shunter
Domestic Duties

26
21

Gisborne, Poverty Bay
Upper Hutt, Wellington

10 months
Life

Presbyterian Church, Upper Hutt, Wellington

11/2606

19 April 1911

Rev. Samuel Buchanan, Presbyterian Church

No	70
Date of Notice	19 April 1911
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Frederick Arthur Herbert	Dora Bantie Butler
BDM Match (83%)	Frederick Arthur Herbert	Ivy Bertie Butler
	💍 1911/3033
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Railway Shunter	Domestic Duties
Age	26	21
Dwelling Place	Gisborne, Poverty Bay	Upper Hutt, Wellington
Length of Residence	10 months	Life
Marriage Place	Presbyterian Church, Upper Hutt, Wellington
Folio	11/2606
Consent
Date of Certificate	19 April 1911
Officiating Minister	Rev. Samuel Buchanan, Presbyterian Church

20 April 1911

Sydney Newman
Ellen M. Kenzie

Sydney Newman
Ellen McKenzie
💍 1911/3090

Bachelor
Spinster

Sheep Farmer
Domestic Duties

31
23

Kanakawa, Te Karaka
Burnside, Patutahi

Life
Life

Presbyterian Church, Patutahi

11/2778

20 April 1911

Rev. Henry Thomas Blair, Presbyterian Minister

No	71
Date of Notice	20 April 1911
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Sydney Newman	Ellen M. Kenzie
BDM Match (93%)	Sydney Newman	Ellen McKenzie
	💍 1911/3090
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Sheep Farmer	Domestic Duties
Age	31	23
Dwelling Place	Kanakawa, Te Karaka	Burnside, Patutahi
Length of Residence	Life	Life
Marriage Place	Presbyterian Church, Patutahi
Folio	11/2778
Consent
Date of Certificate	20 April 1911
Officiating Minister	Rev. Henry Thomas Blair, Presbyterian Minister

26 April 1911

James Steel
Annie Sangster Oughton Todd

James Steel
Annie Sangster Oughton Todd
💍 1911/489

Bachelor
Spinster

Engineer
Domestic Duties

31
33

Gisborne, Poverty Bay
Gisborne

5 years
1 year

The Office of the Registrar of Marriages, Gisborne

11/1858

26 April 1911

Registrar of Marriages, Gisborne

No	72
Date of Notice	26 April 1911
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Steel	Annie Sangster Oughton Todd
	💍 1911/489
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Engineer	Domestic Duties
Age	31	33
Dwelling Place	Gisborne, Poverty Bay	Gisborne
Length of Residence	5 years	1 year
Marriage Place	The Office of the Registrar of Marriages, Gisborne
Folio	11/1858
Consent
Date of Certificate	26 April 1911
Officiating Minister	Registrar of Marriages, Gisborne

26 April 1911

George Henry Parsons
Minnie Thompson

George Henry Parsons
Minnie Thompson
💍 1911/3089

George Richard Marshall
Phenie Thompson
💍 1912/1549

Bachelor
Spinster

Contractor
Domestic Servant

34
23

Ormond, Poverty Bay
Kaiteratahi, Poverty Bay

Life
Life

Church of England, Te Karaka, Poverty Bay

11/2777

26 April 1911

Rev. Theodore Albert Meyer, Church of England

No	73
Date of Notice	26 April 1911
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Henry Parsons	Minnie Thompson
	💍 1911/3089
BDM Match (66%)	George Richard Marshall	Phenie Thompson
	💍 1912/1549
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Contractor	Domestic Servant
Age	34	23
Dwelling Place	Ormond, Poverty Bay	Kaiteratahi, Poverty Bay
Length of Residence	Life	Life
Marriage Place	Church of England, Te Karaka, Poverty Bay
Folio	11/2777
Consent
Date of Certificate	26 April 1911
Officiating Minister	Rev. Theodore Albert Meyer, 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 1908. 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).