Intentions to Marry, 1912 Auckland, Taranaki, Gisborne

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840448, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

1912 is bound in three volumes - Auckland, Taranaki, Gisborne (1912a), Hawke's Bay, Wellington, Marlborough, Nelson, Westland (1912b), and Canterbury, Otago, Southland, Chatham Islands (1912c).

Page 046

District of Auckland Quarter ending 31 March 1912 Registrar Thomas Culpan

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

259

29 February 1912

Ralph Smart
Ephra Rose

Ralph Smart
Ephra Grose
💍 1912/788

Bachelor
Widow

Miner

47
47

Auckland
Auckland

1 month
20 years

House of the Bride, 10 Canada St, Auckland

12/438

29 February 1912

Rev. J. Wilson

No	259
Date of Notice	29 February 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Ralph Smart	Ephra Rose
BDM Match (91%)	Ralph Smart	Ephra Grose
	💍 1912/788
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Miner
Age	47	47
Dwelling Place	Auckland	Auckland
Length of Residence	1 month	20 years
Marriage Place	House of the Bride, 10 Canada St, Auckland
Folio	12/438
Consent
Date of Certificate	29 February 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Wilson

260

29 February 1912

William Edward Atherton Mann
Agnes Richie Robertson

William Edward Acherton Mann
Agnes Ritchie Robertson Bain
💍 1912/926

Bachelor
Spinster

Blacksmith

21
19

Auckland
Auckland

3 years
11 months

Presbyterian Church, Parnell

12/528

Isabella Campbell, mother

29 February 1912

Rev. M. Simpson

No	260
Date of Notice	29 February 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Edward Atherton Mann	Agnes Richie Robertson
BDM Match (88%)	William Edward Acherton Mann	Agnes Ritchie Robertson Bain
	💍 1912/926
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Blacksmith
Age	21	19
Dwelling Place	Auckland	Auckland
Length of Residence	3 years	11 months
Marriage Place	Presbyterian Church, Parnell
Folio	12/528
Consent	Isabella Campbell, mother
Date of Certificate	29 February 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev. M. Simpson

261

29 February 1912

Sydney Henry Parkins
Elsie Susan Proctor

Sydney Henry Parkins
Elsie Swann
💍 1912/856

Bachelor
Spinster

Painter
Tea

27
25

Auckland
Auckland

1 year
6 months

House of Mrs. Proctor, Bond St, Auckland

12/457

29 February 1912

Rev. A. R. Kempton

No	261
Date of Notice	29 February 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Sydney Henry Parkins	Elsie Susan Proctor
BDM Match (74%)	Sydney Henry Parkins	Elsie Swann
	💍 1912/856
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Painter	Tea
Age	27	25
Dwelling Place	Auckland	Auckland
Length of Residence	1 year	6 months
Marriage Place	House of Mrs. Proctor, Bond St, Auckland
Folio	12/457
Consent
Date of Certificate	29 February 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. R. Kempton

262

1 March 1912

Filbon Seattie
Loma Callaghan

Silbon Beattie
Lorna Callaghan
💍 1912/821

Bachelor
Spinster

French Polisher

22
22

Auckland
Auckland

4 years
1 month

House of Mrs. R. H. Seattie, 31 Pompallier Terrace, Ponsonby

12/420

1 March 1912

Rev. J. Crocker

No	262
Date of Notice	1 March 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Filbon Seattie	Loma Callaghan
BDM Match (86%)	Silbon Beattie	Lorna Callaghan
	💍 1912/821
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	French Polisher
Age	22	22
Dwelling Place	Auckland	Auckland
Length of Residence	4 years	1 month
Marriage Place	House of Mrs. R. H. Seattie, 31 Pompallier Terrace, Ponsonby
Folio	12/420
Consent
Date of Certificate	1 March 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Crocker

263

1 March 1912

Norman Solomon Corser
Ethel Mary McChistie

Norman Soloman Cossey
Ethel Mary McKinsbry
💍 1912/891

Bachelor
Spinster

Foreman

28
22

Auckland
Auckland

5 years
13 years

St. James Church, Auckland

12/565

1 March 1912

Rev. R. L. Walker

No	263
Date of Notice	1 March 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Norman Solomon Corser	Ethel Mary McChistie
BDM Match (78%)	Norman Soloman Cossey	Ethel Mary McKinsbry
	💍 1912/891
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Foreman
Age	28	22
Dwelling Place	Auckland	Auckland
Length of Residence	5 years	13 years
Marriage Place	St. James Church, Auckland
Folio	12/565
Consent
Date of Certificate	1 March 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev. R. L. Walker

264

1 March 1912

Richard Charles Reid
Eliza Mary Ann Postland

Richard Charles Reid
Eliza Mary Ann Tosland
💍 1912/4269

Bachelor
Spinster

Storekeeper

39
31

Alfriston, Auckland
West Tamaki

13 months
3 months

Methodist Church, Papakura

12/410

1 March 1912

Rev. E. Rowe

No	264
Date of Notice	1 March 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Richard Charles Reid	Eliza Mary Ann Postland
BDM Match (96%)	Richard Charles Reid	Eliza Mary Ann Tosland
	💍 1912/4269
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Storekeeper
Age	39	31
Dwelling Place	Alfriston, Auckland	West Tamaki
Length of Residence	13 months	3 months
Marriage Place	Methodist Church, Papakura
Folio	12/410
Consent
Date of Certificate	1 March 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev. E. Rowe

265

1 March 1912

Raymond Farnsworth
Katherine Adeline Hand

Raymond Farnsworth
Katherine Adeline Hand
💍 1912/1772

Bachelor
Spinster

Plumber

24
22

Auckland
Auckland

9 months
9 years

House of Mrs. D. Hand, Church St, Northcote

12/1357

1 March 1912

Rev. J. J. Roby

No	265
Date of Notice	1 March 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Raymond Farnsworth	Katherine Adeline Hand
	💍 1912/1772
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Plumber
Age	24	22
Dwelling Place	Auckland	Auckland
Length of Residence	9 months	9 years
Marriage Place	House of Mrs. D. Hand, Church St, Northcote
Folio	12/1357
Consent
Date of Certificate	1 March 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. J. Roby

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).