Intentions to Marry, 1913 Auckland, Taranaki

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840451, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

1913 is bound in three volumes - Auckland, Taranaki (1913a), Hawke's Bay, Wellington, Marlborough, Nelson, Westland (1913b), and Canterbury, Otago, Southland, Chatham Islands (1913c).

Page 328

District of Gisborne Quarter ending 30 September 1913 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

143

13 September 1913

Frank Ashton Grange
Edith Jane Watt

Frank Ashton Lange
Edith Jane Watt
💍 1913/5411

Bachelor
Spinster

Sheepfarmer
Home Duties

27
29

Patutahi, Poverty Bay
Patutahi, Poverty Bay

5 days
20 years

Private residence of the bride's parents, Patutahi, Poverty Bay

13/5043

13 September 1913

Rev. Henry Thos. Blair, Presbyterian Minister (Matawhero)

No	143
Date of Notice	13 September 1913
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Frank Ashton Grange	Edith Jane Watt
BDM Match (95%)	Frank Ashton Lange	Edith Jane Watt
	💍 1913/5411
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Sheepfarmer	Home Duties
Age	27	29
Dwelling Place	Patutahi, Poverty Bay	Patutahi, Poverty Bay
Length of Residence	5 days	20 years
Marriage Place	Private residence of the bride's parents, Patutahi, Poverty Bay
Folio	13/5043
Consent
Date of Certificate	13 September 1913
Officiating Minister	Rev. Henry Thos. Blair, Presbyterian Minister (Matawhero)

144

16 September 1913

John Neil Greingan
Lillian Sceats

John McNeil Breingan
Lillian Sceats
💍 1913/6626

Bachelor
Spinster

Shepherd
Domestic Duties

28
25

Patutahi, Poverty Bay
Patutahi

6 years
7 years

Holy Trinity Church, Gisborne

13/6290

16 September 1913

Rev. Leslie V. Thomas, Church of England

No	144
Date of Notice	16 September 1913
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Neil Greingan	Lillian Sceats
BDM Match (93%)	John McNeil Breingan	Lillian Sceats
	💍 1913/6626
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Shepherd	Domestic Duties
Age	28	25
Dwelling Place	Patutahi, Poverty Bay	Patutahi
Length of Residence	6 years	7 years
Marriage Place	Holy Trinity Church, Gisborne
Folio	13/6290
Consent
Date of Certificate	16 September 1913
Officiating Minister	Rev. Leslie V. Thomas, Church of England

145

20 September 1913

William James Swears
Vera Marion Dunning

William James Swears
Vera Marion Dunning
💍 1913/6627

Bachelor
Spinster

Battery Stampman
Clerk

26
21

Gisborne, Poverty Bay
Gisborne

4 days
5 years

Holy Trinity Church, Gisborne

13/6291

20 September 1913

Rev. Leslie V. Thomas, Church of England

No	145
Date of Notice	20 September 1913
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William James Swears	Vera Marion Dunning
	💍 1913/6627
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Battery Stampman	Clerk
Age	26	21
Dwelling Place	Gisborne, Poverty Bay	Gisborne
Length of Residence	4 days	5 years
Marriage Place	Holy Trinity Church, Gisborne
Folio	13/6291
Consent
Date of Certificate	20 September 1913
Officiating Minister	Rev. Leslie V. Thomas, Church of England

146

23 September 1913

Walter Houlick
Florence Maud Houlick

Walter Harlick
Florence Maud Harlick
💍 1913/4911

Bachelor
Widow

Labourer
Domestic Duties

33
27

Gisborne
Gisborne

1 year
5 years

The office of the Registrar of Marriages, Gisborne

13/4563

23 September 1913

Registrar of Marriages, Gisborne

No	146
Date of Notice	23 September 1913
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Walter Houlick	Florence Maud Houlick
BDM Match (88%)	Walter Harlick	Florence Maud Harlick
	💍 1913/4911
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Labourer	Domestic Duties
Age	33	27
Dwelling Place	Gisborne	Gisborne
Length of Residence	1 year	5 years
Marriage Place	The office of the Registrar of Marriages, Gisborne
Folio	13/4563
Consent
Date of Certificate	23 September 1913
Officiating Minister	Registrar of Marriages, Gisborne

147

23 September 1913

Walter Davidson
Olive Sarah Stevenson

Walter Davidson
Olive Sarah Stevenson
💍 1913/6628

Bachelor
Spinster

Butcher
Domestic Duties

33
19

Gisborne
Gisborne

7 years
2 years

Holy Trinity Church, Gisborne

13/6292

Henry Stevenson, father

23 September 1913

Rev. Leslie V. Thomas, Church of England

No	147
Date of Notice	23 September 1913
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Walter Davidson	Olive Sarah Stevenson
	💍 1913/6628
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Butcher	Domestic Duties
Age	33	19
Dwelling Place	Gisborne	Gisborne
Length of Residence	7 years	2 years
Marriage Place	Holy Trinity Church, Gisborne
Folio	13/6292
Consent	Henry Stevenson, father
Date of Certificate	23 September 1913
Officiating Minister	Rev. Leslie V. Thomas, Church of England

148

26 September 1913

Albert John Verry
Laura Olive Goldsmith

Albert John Verry
Laura Olive Goldsmith
💍 1913/7304

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic Duties

28
27

Gisborne, Poverty Bay
Gisborne

5 days
5 years

The Baptist Tabernacle, Palmerston Road, Gisborne

13/7091

26 September 1913

Rev. Thos. Keith Owen, Baptist Minister

No	148
Date of Notice	26 September 1913
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Albert John Verry	Laura Olive Goldsmith
	💍 1913/7304
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic Duties
Age	28	27
Dwelling Place	Gisborne, Poverty Bay	Gisborne
Length of Residence	5 days	5 years
Marriage Place	The Baptist Tabernacle, Palmerston Road, Gisborne
Folio	13/7091
Consent
Date of Certificate	26 September 1913
Officiating Minister	Rev. Thos. Keith Owen, Baptist Minister

149

26 September 1913

Alfred James Downey
Agatha Gill

Alfred James Downey
Agatha Gill
💍 1913/6916

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic Servant

28
21

Gisborne
Gisborne

7 days
4 years

The office of the Registrar of Marriages, Gisborne

13/6627

26 September 1913

Registrar of Marriages, Gisborne

No	149
Date of Notice	26 September 1913
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Alfred James Downey	Agatha Gill
	💍 1913/6916
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic Servant
Age	28	21
Dwelling Place	Gisborne	Gisborne
Length of Residence	7 days	4 years
Marriage Place	The office of the Registrar of Marriages, Gisborne
Folio	13/6627
Consent
Date of Certificate	26 September 1913
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).