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 1214

District of Napier Quarter ending 31 March 1915 Registrar William Buchanan

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

13 January 1915

Herbert Edward Hoadley
Annie Clara Gregory

Herbert Edward Hoadley
Annie Clara Gregory
💍 1915/8829

Bachelor
Spinster

Compositor
book

24
32

Napier
Napier

3 months
3 months

St. Augustine's Church Napier

1005

13 January 1915

Rev. Canon Tuke

No	12
Date of Notice	13 January 1915
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Herbert Edward Hoadley	Annie Clara Gregory
	💍 1915/8829
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Compositor	book
Age	24	32
Dwelling Place	Napier	Napier
Length of Residence	3 months	3 months
Marriage Place	St. Augustine's Church Napier
Folio	1005
Consent
Date of Certificate	13 January 1915
Officiating Minister	Rev. Canon Tuke

14 January 1915

James Tait
Jessie Puflett

James Tait
Jessie Puflett
💍 1915/12888

Widower
Spinster

Sheep farmer
Domestic Duties

44
38

Waikari
Petane

44 years
27 years

Residence of Mrs. Puflett, Petane

1017

14 January 1915

Rev. Thos. Tait

No	13
Date of Notice	14 January 1915
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Tait	Jessie Puflett
	💍 1915/12888
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Sheep farmer	Domestic Duties
Age	44	38
Dwelling Place	Waikari	Petane
Length of Residence	44 years	27 years
Marriage Place	Residence of Mrs. Puflett, Petane
Folio	1017
Consent
Date of Certificate	14 January 1915
Officiating Minister	Rev. Thos. Tait

16 January 1915

Frank Henry St. Hill
Maud Eileen Gordon

Frank Henry St Hill
Maud Eileen Gordon
💍 1915/8816

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic Duties

24
22

Napier
Clive

3 days
22 years

Anglican Church Clive

1016

16 January 1915

Rev. L. J. Mackay

No	14
Date of Notice	16 January 1915
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Frank Henry St. Hill	Maud Eileen Gordon
BDM Match (98%)	Frank Henry St Hill	Maud Eileen Gordon
	💍 1915/8816
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic Duties
Age	24	22
Dwelling Place	Napier	Clive
Length of Residence	3 days	22 years
Marriage Place	Anglican Church Clive
Folio	1016
Consent
Date of Certificate	16 January 1915
Officiating Minister	Rev. L. J. Mackay

20 January 1915

John Henry Thomas Curran
Mildred Horner

John Henry Thomas Curran
Mildred Horner
💍 1915/8813

Bachelor
Spinster

Carpenter
Governess

27
23

Napier
Napier

4 months
3 years

St. Augustine's Church Napier

1013

20 January 1915

Rev. Canon Tuke

No	15
Date of Notice	20 January 1915
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Henry Thomas Curran	Mildred Horner
	💍 1915/8813
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carpenter	Governess
Age	27	23
Dwelling Place	Napier	Napier
Length of Residence	4 months	3 years
Marriage Place	St. Augustine's Church Napier
Folio	1013
Consent
Date of Certificate	20 January 1915
Officiating Minister	Rev. Canon Tuke

22 January 1915

James Geddes
Margaret Magill

James Geddes
Margaret Magill
💍 1915/8832

Bachelor
Spinster

Engine Driver
Drapers Assistant

29
33

Clive
Clive

3 months
16 years

St. Marks Church Clive

1008

22 January 1915

Rev. L. J. Mackay

No	16
Date of Notice	22 January 1915
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Geddes	Margaret Magill
	💍 1915/8832
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Engine Driver	Drapers Assistant
Age	29	33
Dwelling Place	Clive	Clive
Length of Residence	3 months	16 years
Marriage Place	St. Marks Church Clive
Folio	1008
Consent
Date of Certificate	22 January 1915
Officiating Minister	Rev. L. J. Mackay

22 January 1915

John Botterill
Frances Johnson

John Cotterill
Frances Johnson
💍 1915/552

Bachelor
Spinster

Clerk
Domestic Duties

26
29

Napier
Taradale

26 years
29 years

Catholic Church Meanee, Napier HB

2604

22 January 1915

Rev. Father Grogan

No	17
Date of Notice	22 January 1915
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Botterill	Frances Johnson
BDM Match (96%)	John Cotterill	Frances Johnson
	💍 1915/552
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Clerk	Domestic Duties
Age	26	29
Dwelling Place	Napier	Taradale
Length of Residence	26 years	29 years
Marriage Place	Catholic Church Meanee, Napier HB
Folio	2604
Consent
Date of Certificate	22 January 1915
Officiating Minister	Rev. Father Grogan

23 January 1915

Harry Mollett
Harriett Wood

Harry Mollett
Harriett Wood
💍 1915/7751

Bachelor
Spinster

Butcher
Domestic Duties

32
30

Petane
Napier

3 years
1 year

Office of Registrar of Marriages Napier

972

23 January 1915

W. Buchanan, Registrar

No	18
Date of Notice	23 January 1915
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Harry Mollett	Harriett Wood
	💍 1915/7751
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Butcher	Domestic Duties
Age	32	30
Dwelling Place	Petane	Napier
Length of Residence	3 years	1 year
Marriage Place	Office of Registrar of Marriages Napier
Folio	972
Consent
Date of Certificate	23 January 1915
Officiating Minister	W. Buchanan, Registrar

25 January 1915

Thomas Welsh Campbell
Isabella Thomson

Thomas Welsh Campbell
Isabella Thomson
💍 1915/8830

Bachelor
Spinster

Dyer
Domestic Duties

23
25

Napier
Napier

2 1/2 years
2 1/2 years

Congregational Manse Napier

1006

25 January 1915

Rev. A. Hodge

No	19
Date of Notice	25 January 1915
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Welsh Campbell	Isabella Thomson
	💍 1915/8830
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Dyer	Domestic Duties
Age	23	25
Dwelling Place	Napier	Napier
Length of Residence	2 1/2 years	2 1/2 years
Marriage Place	Congregational Manse Napier
Folio	1006
Consent
Date of Certificate	25 January 1915
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. Hodge

25 January 1915

Ridge Kelsey Stock
Gladys Ada Gordon

Ridge Kelsey Stock
Gladys Ada Gordon
💍 1915/8810

Bachelor
Spinster

Motor Engineer
Domestic Duties

25
19

Napier
Napier

15 years
6 years

Residence of Mrs. Foster Napier

1010

Margaret Ada Foster, Mother

25 January 1915

Rev. Charles Connor

No	20
Date of Notice	25 January 1915
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Ridge Kelsey Stock	Gladys Ada Gordon
	💍 1915/8810
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Motor Engineer	Domestic Duties
Age	25	19
Dwelling Place	Napier	Napier
Length of Residence	15 years	6 years
Marriage Place	Residence of Mrs. Foster Napier
Folio	1010
Consent	Margaret Ada Foster, Mother
Date of Certificate	25 January 1915
Officiating Minister	Rev. Charles Connor

26 January 1915

Samuel White
Maude Langley Thayer

Samuel White
Maude Langley Thayer
💍 1915/8833

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic Duties

34
34

Napier
Napier

4 days
20 years

St. Augustine's Church Napier

1009

26 January 1915

Rev. Canon Tuke

No	21
Date of Notice	26 January 1915
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Samuel White	Maude Langley Thayer
	💍 1915/8833
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic Duties
Age	34	34
Dwelling Place	Napier	Napier
Length of Residence	4 days	20 years
Marriage Place	St. Augustine's Church Napier
Folio	1009
Consent
Date of Certificate	26 January 1915
Officiating Minister	Rev. Canon Tuke

26 January 1915

James Robert Greenland
Elizabeth Ivy Chambers

James Robert Greenland
Elizabeth Ivy Chambers
💍 1915/8831

Bachelor
Spinster

Upholsterer
Dressmaker

29
25

Napier
Napier

12 months
25 years

St Augustines Church Napier

1007

26 January 1915

Rev. Canon Tuke

No	22
Date of Notice	26 January 1915
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Robert Greenland	Elizabeth Ivy Chambers
	💍 1915/8831
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Upholsterer	Dressmaker
Age	29	25
Dwelling Place	Napier	Napier
Length of Residence	12 months	25 years
Marriage Place	St Augustines Church Napier
Folio	1007
Consent
Date of Certificate	26 January 1915
Officiating Minister	Rev. Canon Tuke

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).