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 291

District of Gisborne Quarter ending 31 March 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

11 February 1911

Peter Wilson Muir
Jessie Grey Poulgrain

Peter Wilson Muir
Jessie Gray Poulgrain
💍 1911/1093

Bachelor
Spinster

Carrier
Domestic Duties

25
22

Manutuke Te Arai
Makaraka Poverty Bay

4 1/2 years
Life

Private residence of the uncle of the bridegroom Makaraka

11/445

11 February 1911

Rev Henry Thomas Blair Presbyterian Minister

No	23
Date of Notice	11 February 1911
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Peter Wilson Muir	Jessie Grey Poulgrain
BDM Match (98%)	Peter Wilson Muir	Jessie Gray Poulgrain
	💍 1911/1093
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carrier	Domestic Duties
Age	25	22
Dwelling Place	Manutuke Te Arai	Makaraka Poverty Bay
Length of Residence	4 1/2 years	Life
Marriage Place	Private residence of the uncle of the bridegroom Makaraka
Folio	11/445
Consent
Date of Certificate	11 February 1911
Officiating Minister	Rev Henry Thomas Blair Presbyterian Minister

11 February 1911

Henry Kininmont
Jessie Grey Poulgrain

Bachelor
Spinster

Slaughterman
Domestic Duties

22
22

Gisborne Poverty Bay
Makaraka Poverty Bay

4 years
Life

St Andrews Presbyterian Church

11/451

11 February 1911

Rev William Grant Presbyterian Minister

No	24
Date of Notice	11 February 1911
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Henry Kininmont	Jessie Grey Poulgrain
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Slaughterman	Domestic Duties
Age	22	22
Dwelling Place	Gisborne Poverty Bay	Makaraka Poverty Bay
Length of Residence	4 years	Life
Marriage Place	St Andrews Presbyterian Church
Folio	11/451
Consent
Date of Certificate	11 February 1911
Officiating Minister	Rev William Grant Presbyterian Minister

13 February 1911

Cecil John Hyland
Mildred Ellen Freeman

Henry Kininmont
Mildred Ellen Freeman
💍 1911/1100

Bachelor
Spinster

Farm Hand
Domestic Servant

22
21

Waerenga-a-hika Poverty Bay
Gisborne

Life
Life

Private residence of the Bride's Parents Matawhero

11/474

13 February 1911

Rev Edgar Ward Church of England

No	25
Date of Notice	13 February 1911
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Cecil John Hyland	Mildred Ellen Freeman
BDM Match (62%)	Henry Kininmont	Mildred Ellen Freeman
	💍 1911/1100
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farm Hand	Domestic Servant
Age	22	21
Dwelling Place	Waerenga-a-hika Poverty Bay	Gisborne
Length of Residence	Life	Life
Marriage Place	Private residence of the Bride's Parents Matawhero
Folio	11/474
Consent
Date of Certificate	13 February 1911
Officiating Minister	Rev Edgar Ward Church of England

15 February 1911

Frank Bradfield Wylds
Florence Mabel Jones

Bachelor
Spinster

Bank Clerk
Domestic Duties

28
18

Gisborne Poverty Bay
Makauri Poverty Bay

4 days
Life

Holy Trinity Church Gisborne

11/300

Walter George Jones (Father)

15 February 1911

Rev Leslie Townson Thomas Church of England

No	26
Date of Notice	15 February 1911
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Frank Bradfield Wylds	Florence Mabel Jones
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Bank Clerk	Domestic Duties
Age	28	18
Dwelling Place	Gisborne Poverty Bay	Makauri Poverty Bay
Length of Residence	4 days	Life
Marriage Place	Holy Trinity Church Gisborne
Folio	11/300
Consent	Walter George Jones (Father)
Date of Certificate	15 February 1911
Officiating Minister	Rev Leslie Townson Thomas Church of England

15 February 1911

Archer Govat Fraser
Valentine Petrie Simson

Bachelor
Spinster

Draughtsman
Domestic Duties

27
22

Auckland
Gisborne Poverty Bay

2 years
12 years

Church of England Auckland

[illegible]

15 February 1911

Rev Henry Samuel Davies Church of England Ellerslie

No	27
Date of Notice	15 February 1911
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Archer Govat Fraser	Valentine Petrie Simson
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Draughtsman	Domestic Duties
Age	27	22
Dwelling Place	Auckland	Gisborne Poverty Bay
Length of Residence	2 years	12 years
Marriage Place	Church of England Auckland
Folio	[illegible]
Consent
Date of Certificate	15 February 1911
Officiating Minister	Rev Henry Samuel Davies Church of England Ellerslie

15 February 1911

John Jamieson
Lilian Nelson Watt

Archer Lovat Fraser
Lilian Nelson Watt
💍 1911/764

Widower
Spinster

Sheepfarmer
Domestic Duties

48
29

Gisborne Poverty Bay
Ellerslie Auckland

Almost life
Life

Holy Trinity Church Gisborne

11/299

15 February 1911

Rev Herbert Wm Williams (Archdeacon) Church of England

No	28
Date of Notice	15 February 1911
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Jamieson	Lilian Nelson Watt
BDM Match (61%)	Archer Lovat Fraser	Lilian Nelson Watt
	💍 1911/764
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Sheepfarmer	Domestic Duties
Age	48	29
Dwelling Place	Gisborne Poverty Bay	Ellerslie Auckland
Length of Residence	Almost life	Life
Marriage Place	Holy Trinity Church Gisborne
Folio	11/299
Consent
Date of Certificate	15 February 1911
Officiating Minister	Rev Herbert Wm Williams (Archdeacon) Church of England

16 February 1911

Daniel Higgins
Alice Leonora Reynolds

Daniel Higgins
Elizabeth Mary West
💍 1911/1113

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic Duties

30
37

Makaraka Poverty Bay
Gisborne Poverty Bay

6 years
6 years

Roman Catholic Church Makaraka

11/565

16 February 1911

Rev Ferdinand J. Dignan Roman Catholic Minister

No	29
Date of Notice	16 February 1911
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Daniel Higgins	Alice Leonora Reynolds
BDM Match (61%)	Daniel Higgins	Elizabeth Mary West
	💍 1911/1113
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic Duties
Age	30	37
Dwelling Place	Makaraka Poverty Bay	Gisborne Poverty Bay
Length of Residence	6 years	6 years
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Church Makaraka
Folio	11/565
Consent
Date of Certificate	16 February 1911
Officiating Minister	Rev Ferdinand J. Dignan Roman Catholic Minister

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).