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 320

District of Gisborne Quarter ending 30 June 1912 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

10 June 1912

Edward Moore Cooper
Mabel Lewis

Edward Moore Cooper
Mabel Selena Lewis
💍 1912/3708

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Shop Assistant

45
34

Gisborne
Gisborne

13 years
26 years

St. Andrews Presbyterian Church Manse, Gisborne

12/3566

10 June 1912

Rev. William Grant, Presbyterian Minister

No	86
Date of Notice	10 June 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edward Moore Cooper	Mabel Lewis
BDM Match (81%)	Edward Moore Cooper	Mabel Selena Lewis
	💍 1912/3708
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Shop Assistant
Age	45	34
Dwelling Place	Gisborne	Gisborne
Length of Residence	13 years	26 years
Marriage Place	St. Andrews Presbyterian Church Manse, Gisborne
Folio	12/3566
Consent
Date of Certificate	10 June 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev. William Grant, Presbyterian Minister

10 June 1912

Ralph Morse
Violet Ellen Manning

Ralph Morse
Violet Ellen Manning
💍 1912/3136

Bachelor
Spinster

Salesman (Warehouseman)
Domestic Duties

24
21

Gisborne
Gisborne

3 1/2 years
About 7 years

Vestry St. Mary's Church, Gisborne

12/2944

10 June 1912

Rev. Thomas Kane, Roman Catholic Minister

No	87
Date of Notice	10 June 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Ralph Morse	Violet Ellen Manning
	💍 1912/3136
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Salesman (Warehouseman)	Domestic Duties
Age	24	21
Dwelling Place	Gisborne	Gisborne
Length of Residence	3 1/2 years	About 7 years
Marriage Place	Vestry St. Mary's Church, Gisborne
Folio	12/2944
Consent
Date of Certificate	10 June 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev. Thomas Kane, Roman Catholic Minister

10 June 1912

William Holter
Mellie Houghton

William Holter
Nellie Haughton
💍 1912/3126

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic Duties

39
27

Ruatamburu, Poverty Bay
Matawhero

7 months
7 months

Holy Trinity Church, Gisborne

12/2901

10 June 1912

Rev. Leslie Dawson Thomas, Church of England

No	88
Date of Notice	10 June 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Holter	Mellie Houghton
BDM Match (93%)	William Holter	Nellie Haughton
	💍 1912/3126
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic Duties
Age	39	27
Dwelling Place	Ruatamburu, Poverty Bay	Matawhero
Length of Residence	7 months	7 months
Marriage Place	Holy Trinity Church, Gisborne
Folio	12/2901
Consent
Date of Certificate	10 June 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev. Leslie Dawson Thomas, Church of England

17 June 1912

Eugene Walter Seviers
Mattie Jane Morris

Eugene Walter Ewers
Mattie Jane Morris
💍 1912/3137

Bachelor
Spinster

Carrier
Domestic Duties

29
27

Poverty Bay
Manutuke

About 6 years
6 months

St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, Gisborne

12/2912

17 June 1912

Rev. Thomas Kane, Roman Catholic Church

No	89
Date of Notice	17 June 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Eugene Walter Seviers	Mattie Jane Morris
BDM Match (91%)	Eugene Walter Ewers	Mattie Jane Morris
	💍 1912/3137
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carrier	Domestic Duties
Age	29	27
Dwelling Place	Poverty Bay	Manutuke
Length of Residence	About 6 years	6 months
Marriage Place	St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, Gisborne
Folio	12/2912
Consent
Date of Certificate	17 June 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev. Thomas Kane, Roman Catholic Church

18 June 1912

William Rowell
Emily Grace Bell

William Rowell
Emily McBride
💍 1912/3892

Widower
Spinster

Shopkeeper
Domestic Duties

41
25

Gisborne, Poverty Bay
Gisborne

7 years
18 months

Private residence of the bridegroom, 430 Palmerston Road, Gisborne

12/3702

18 June 1912

Rev. John A. Rochore, Methodist Minister

No	90
Date of Notice	18 June 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Rowell	Emily Grace Bell
BDM Match (72%)	William Rowell	Emily McBride
	💍 1912/3892
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Shopkeeper	Domestic Duties
Age	41	25
Dwelling Place	Gisborne, Poverty Bay	Gisborne
Length of Residence	7 years	18 months
Marriage Place	Private residence of the bridegroom, 430 Palmerston Road, Gisborne
Folio	12/3702
Consent
Date of Certificate	18 June 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev. John A. Rochore, Methodist Minister

18 June 1912

Percy Walsh
Grace Parkes

Percy Walsh
Grace Parkes
💍 1912/2555

Bachelor
Spinster

Bushman
Domestic Servant

28
21

Kaiteratahi
Kaiteratahi, Poverty Bay

5 years
6 years

Office of the Registrar of Marriages, Gisborne

12/2375

18 June 1912

Registrar of Marriages, Gisborne

No	91
Date of Notice	18 June 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Percy Walsh	Grace Parkes
	💍 1912/2555
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Bushman	Domestic Servant
Age	28	21
Dwelling Place	Kaiteratahi	Kaiteratahi, Poverty Bay
Length of Residence	5 years	6 years
Marriage Place	Office of the Registrar of Marriages, Gisborne
Folio	12/2375
Consent
Date of Certificate	18 June 1912
Officiating Minister	Registrar of Marriages, Gisborne

22 June 1912

Henry Bourne
Lena Johnson

Henry Bourne
Lena Johnson
💍 1912/2557

Bachelor
Divorced

Miner
Housemaid

28
37

Gisborne, Poverty Bay
Gisborne

2 1/2 years
12 years

Office of the Registrar of Marriages, Gisborne

12/2376

22 June 1912

Registrar of Marriages, Gisborne

No	92
Date of Notice	22 June 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Henry Bourne	Lena Johnson
	💍 1912/2557
Condition	Bachelor	Divorced
Profession	Miner	Housemaid
Age	28	37
Dwelling Place	Gisborne, Poverty Bay	Gisborne
Length of Residence	2 1/2 years	12 years
Marriage Place	Office of the Registrar of Marriages, Gisborne
Folio	12/2376
Consent
Date of Certificate	22 June 1912
Officiating Minister	Registrar of Marriages, Gisborne

28 June 1912

Stephen John Bisdee
Beatrice Sarah Shaw

Stephen John Bisdee
Beatrice Darrah Shaw
💍 1912/3477

Bachelor
Spinster

Orchardist
Domestic Duties

24
33

Gisborne, Poverty Bay
Gisborne, Raraurua, Poverty Bay

4 days
18 years

Private residence of Mrs. G. Shaw, Raraurua

12/3258

28 June 1912

Rev. Edward Jennings, Church of England

No	93
Date of Notice	28 June 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Stephen John Bisdee	Beatrice Sarah Shaw
BDM Match (95%)	Stephen John Bisdee	Beatrice Darrah Shaw
	💍 1912/3477
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Orchardist	Domestic Duties
Age	24	33
Dwelling Place	Gisborne, Poverty Bay	Gisborne, Raraurua, Poverty Bay
Length of Residence	4 days	18 years
Marriage Place	Private residence of Mrs. G. Shaw, Raraurua
Folio	12/3258
Consent
Date of Certificate	28 June 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev. Edward Jennings, 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).