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 322

District of Gisborne Quarter ending 30 September 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

2 July 1912

William Joseph Grant
Frances Amy Ritchie

William Joseph Grant
Frances Amy Ritchie
💍 1912/5880

Bachelor
Spinster

Commercial Traveller
Domestic Duties

27
24

Gisborne
Gisborne

3 days
5 weeks

Church of England, Patutahi

12/5793

2 July 1912

Rev Henry T. Rawnsley, Church of England

No	98
Date of Notice	2 July 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Joseph Grant	Frances Amy Ritchie
	💍 1912/5880
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Commercial Traveller	Domestic Duties
Age	27	24
Dwelling Place	Gisborne	Gisborne
Length of Residence	3 days	5 weeks
Marriage Place	Church of England, Patutahi
Folio	12/5793
Consent
Date of Certificate	2 July 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev Henry T. Rawnsley, Church of England

5 July 1912

Francis Wilfred Pettie
Kathleen Annie Fallhing

Francis Wilfred Pettie
Kathleen Annie Fabling
💍 1912/8205

Bachelor
Spinster

Accountant
Domestic Duties

31
24

Kaiti
Auckland

24 years
2 days

St. Pauls English Church, Auckland

12/6943

5 July 1912

Rev Cecil Herbert Burns Watson, Church of England, Auckland

No	99
Date of Notice	5 July 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Francis Wilfred Pettie	Kathleen Annie Fallhing
BDM Match (96%)	Francis Wilfred Pettie	Kathleen Annie Fabling
	💍 1912/8205
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Accountant	Domestic Duties
Age	31	24
Dwelling Place	Kaiti	Auckland
Length of Residence	24 years	2 days
Marriage Place	St. Pauls English Church, Auckland
Folio	12/6943
Consent
Date of Certificate	5 July 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev Cecil Herbert Burns Watson, Church of England, Auckland

100

8 July 1912

Robert Murray Barclay
Katie McRae Robb

Robert Murray Barclay
Katie McRae Robb
💍 1912/7548

Bachelor
Spinster

Butcher
Dressmaker

25
24

Puha
Te Karaka

2 1/2 years
18 months

Presbyterian Church, Te Karaka

12/5520

8 July 1912

Rev Ernest Wm. Waller, Presbyterian Minister

No	100
Date of Notice	8 July 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Robert Murray Barclay	Katie McRae Robb
	💍 1912/7548
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Butcher	Dressmaker
Age	25	24
Dwelling Place	Puha	Te Karaka
Length of Residence	2 1/2 years	18 months
Marriage Place	Presbyterian Church, Te Karaka
Folio	12/5520
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 July 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev Ernest Wm. Waller, Presbyterian Minister

101

15 July 1912

Edgar Mannering Stevens
Frances Ellen Francis

Edgar Mannering Stevens
Frances Ellen Francis
💍 1912/7549

Bachelor
Widow

Telegraph Linesman
Domestic Duties

30
38

Gisborne
Gisborne

6 years
30 years

Presbyterian Church, Ormond

12/5521

15 July 1912

Rev Ernest Wm. Waller, Presbyterian Minister

No	101
Date of Notice	15 July 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edgar Mannering Stevens	Frances Ellen Francis
	💍 1912/7549
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Telegraph Linesman	Domestic Duties
Age	30	38
Dwelling Place	Gisborne	Gisborne
Length of Residence	6 years	30 years
Marriage Place	Presbyterian Church, Ormond
Folio	12/5521
Consent
Date of Certificate	15 July 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev Ernest Wm. Waller, Presbyterian Minister

102

15 July 1912

Dugald Alexander Buchanan
Maude Kemp

Dugald Alexander Buchanan
Maude Kemp
💍 1912/7726

Bachelor
Spinster

Bootmaker
Domestic Duties

40
32

Gisborne
Gisborne

15 months
9 months

Private Residence of Mrs Swan, 68 Awapuni Road, Gisborne

12/5876

15 July 1912

Rev John F. Cochrane, Methodist Minister

No	102
Date of Notice	15 July 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Dugald Alexander Buchanan	Maude Kemp
	💍 1912/7726
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Bootmaker	Domestic Duties
Age	40	32
Dwelling Place	Gisborne	Gisborne
Length of Residence	15 months	9 months
Marriage Place	Private Residence of Mrs Swan, 68 Awapuni Road, Gisborne
Folio	12/5876
Consent
Date of Certificate	15 July 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev John F. Cochrane, Methodist Minister

103

15 July 1912

Walter Edward Loays
Annie Maria Block

Walter Edward Hays
Amy Maria Block
💍 1912/7959

Widower
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic Servant

38
27

Gisborne
Gisborne

6 years
6 years

Holy Trinity Church, Gisborne

12/6316

15 July 1912

Rev Leslie Dawson Thomas, Church of England

No	103
Date of Notice	15 July 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Walter Edward Loays	Annie Maria Block
BDM Match (83%)	Walter Edward Hays	Amy Maria Block
	💍 1912/7959
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic Servant
Age	38	27
Dwelling Place	Gisborne	Gisborne
Length of Residence	6 years	6 years
Marriage Place	Holy Trinity Church, Gisborne
Folio	12/6316
Consent
Date of Certificate	15 July 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev Leslie Dawson Thomas, Church of England

104

18 July 1912

Alfred Frederick Tester
Minnie Marguerite Kirkpatrick

Alfred Frederick Tester
Minnie Marguerite Kirkpatrick
💍 1912/6355

Bachelor
Spinster

Tally Clerk
Domestic Duties

34
23

Gisborne
Gisborne

2 years
2 years

St. Andrews Presbyterian Church, Gisborne

12/5947

18 July 1912

Rev William Grant, Presbyterian Minister

No	104
Date of Notice	18 July 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Alfred Frederick Tester	Minnie Marguerite Kirkpatrick
	💍 1912/6355
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Tally Clerk	Domestic Duties
Age	34	23
Dwelling Place	Gisborne	Gisborne
Length of Residence	2 years	2 years
Marriage Place	St. Andrews Presbyterian Church, Gisborne
Folio	12/5947
Consent
Date of Certificate	18 July 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev William Grant, Presbyterian Minister

105

19 July 1912

Dougal McMillan
Elizabeth Rentel

Dougal McMillan
Elizabeth Rentel
💍 1912/5016

Bachelor
Spinster

Blacksmith
Domestic Duties

25
20

Whatatutu, Poverty Bay
Gisborne

Life
1 year

The Office of The Registrar of Marriages, Gisborne, Poverty Bay

12/4946

19 July 1912

Registrar of Marriages, Gisborne

No	105
Date of Notice	19 July 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Dougal McMillan	Elizabeth Rentel
	💍 1912/5016
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Blacksmith	Domestic Duties
Age	25	20
Dwelling Place	Whatatutu, Poverty Bay	Gisborne
Length of Residence	Life	1 year
Marriage Place	The Office of The Registrar of Marriages, Gisborne, Poverty Bay
Folio	12/4946
Consent
Date of Certificate	19 July 1912
Officiating Minister	Registrar of Marriages, Gisborne

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).