Intentions to Marry, 1915 Aria to Masterton

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840459, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

1915 is bound in six volumes (a to f) with continuous page numbers. Each volume contains a different set of districts, going from north to south.

1915c contains pages 1021-1500, covering districts from Aria to Masterton

Page 1193

District of Hastings Quarter ending 31 March 1915 Registrar Robert Braithwaite

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

12 February 1915

Ernest Charles Digby
Susan Macgregor

Ernest Charles Digby
Susan Macgregor
💍 1915/8800

Bachelor
Spinster

Gardener
Domestic

53
41

Maraekakaho
Maraekakaho

2 1/2 years
3 years

Mr. Blackert's house, Eastbourne St. Hastings

949

12 February 1915

Rev. W. H. Hutcheson

No	15
Date of Notice	12 February 1915
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Ernest Charles Digby	Susan Macgregor
	💍 1915/8800
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Gardener	Domestic
Age	53	41
Dwelling Place	Maraekakaho	Maraekakaho
Length of Residence	2 1/2 years	3 years
Marriage Place	Mr. Blackert's house, Eastbourne St. Hastings
Folio	949
Consent
Date of Certificate	12 February 1915
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. H. Hutcheson

14 February 1915

Reginald Heathcote Pavitt
Lucy Jane Mason

Reginald Heathcote Pavitt
Lucy Jane Mason
💍 1915/10169

Bachelor
Spinster

Secretary Fire Insurance
Domestic duties

34
26

Napier
Hastings

3 days
1 year

Napier Cathedral

2848

15 February 1915

Canon Mayne

No	16
Date of Notice	14 February 1915
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Reginald Heathcote Pavitt	Lucy Jane Mason
	💍 1915/10169
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Secretary Fire Insurance	Domestic duties
Age	34	26
Dwelling Place	Napier	Hastings
Length of Residence	3 days	1 year
Marriage Place	Napier Cathedral
Folio	2848
Consent
Date of Certificate	15 February 1915
Officiating Minister	Canon Mayne

16 February 1915

Charles Henry Leads
Nellie Mitchell

Charles Henry Meads
Nellie Mitchell
💍 1915/7755

Bachelor
Spinster

Painter
Domestic

28
22

Havelock North
Havelock North

9 months
4 years

St. Luke's Church Havelock North

953

16 February 1915

Rev. J. A. Lush

No	17
Date of Notice	16 February 1915
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Henry Leads	Nellie Mitchell
BDM Match (97%)	Charles Henry Meads	Nellie Mitchell
	💍 1915/7755
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Painter	Domestic
Age	28	22
Dwelling Place	Havelock North	Havelock North
Length of Residence	9 months	4 years
Marriage Place	St. Luke's Church Havelock North
Folio	953
Consent
Date of Certificate	16 February 1915
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. A. Lush

20 February 1915

Harry Weyman Duffield
Clara Dorothy Chapman

Harry Weyman Dudfield
Clara Dorothy Chapman
💍 1915/14003

Bachelor
Spinster

Plumber
Housemaid

30
31

Hastings
Hastings

8 years
2 years

St. Matthew's Hastings

2600

20 February 1915

Rev. J. B. Brocklehurst

No	18
Date of Notice	20 February 1915
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Harry Weyman Duffield	Clara Dorothy Chapman
BDM Match (98%)	Harry Weyman Dudfield	Clara Dorothy Chapman
	💍 1915/14003
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Plumber	Housemaid
Age	30	31
Dwelling Place	Hastings	Hastings
Length of Residence	8 years	2 years
Marriage Place	St. Matthew's Hastings
Folio	2600
Consent
Date of Certificate	20 February 1915
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. B. Brocklehurst

22 February 1915

Alfred Franklin
Joan Little

Alfred Franklin
Joan Little
💍 1915/7744

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic

20
24

Hastings
Hastings

20 years
18 months

Registrar's Office Hastings

966

W Franklin Father

22 February 1915

Robert Braithwaite

No	19
Date of Notice	22 February 1915
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Alfred Franklin	Joan Little
	💍 1915/7744
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic
Age	20	24
Dwelling Place	Hastings	Hastings
Length of Residence	20 years	18 months
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office Hastings
Folio	966
Consent	W Franklin Father
Date of Certificate	22 February 1915
Officiating Minister	Robert Braithwaite

23 February 1915

Harry Cook
Ethel Maria Spence

Harry Cook
Ethel Marie Spence
💍 1915/7726

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic duties

26
28

Havelock
Napier

4 years
28 years

St. Augustine's Church Napier

997

23 February 1915

Canon Tuke

No	20
Date of Notice	23 February 1915
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Harry Cook	Ethel Maria Spence
BDM Match (97%)	Harry Cook	Ethel Marie Spence
	💍 1915/7726
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic duties
Age	26	28
Dwelling Place	Havelock	Napier
Length of Residence	4 years	28 years
Marriage Place	St. Augustine's Church Napier
Folio	997
Consent
Date of Certificate	23 February 1915
Officiating Minister	Canon Tuke

10 March 1915

Edgar George Finch Leicester
Violet Lucy Parks

Edgar George Finch Leicester
Violet May Parks
💍 1915/7737

Bachelor
Spinster

Fellmonger
Typist

24
23

Hastings
Hastings

2 years
6 months

St. Matthews Hastings

951

10 March 1915

Rev. J. B. Brocklehurst

No	21
Date of Notice	10 March 1915
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edgar George Finch Leicester	Violet Lucy Parks
BDM Match (91%)	Edgar George Finch Leicester	Violet May Parks
	💍 1915/7737
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Fellmonger	Typist
Age	24	23
Dwelling Place	Hastings	Hastings
Length of Residence	2 years	6 months
Marriage Place	St. Matthews Hastings
Folio	951
Consent
Date of Certificate	10 March 1915
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. B. Brocklehurst

2 March 1915

Henry Golding
Ellen Clara Agnes Green

Henry Golding
Ellen Clara Agness Green
💍 1915/7743

Bachelor
Spinster

Orchardist
Domestic duties

20
19

Havelock
Hastings

20 years
4 years

Registrar's Office Hastings

965

Henry Golding Father, a. Green Father

2 March 1915

Robert Braithwaite

No	22
Date of Notice	2 March 1915
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Henry Golding	Ellen Clara Agnes Green
BDM Match (98%)	Henry Golding	Ellen Clara Agness Green
	💍 1915/7743
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Orchardist	Domestic duties
Age	20	19
Dwelling Place	Havelock	Hastings
Length of Residence	20 years	4 years
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office Hastings
Folio	965
Consent	Henry Golding Father, a. Green Father
Date of Certificate	2 March 1915
Officiating Minister	Robert Braithwaite

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).