Intentions to Marry, 1904 South Island

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840426, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

Imaged by Carole at Archives NZ Wellington, October 13 2025.

1904 is bound in two volumes, North Island districts and South Island districts.

Page 146

District of Nelson Quarter ending 31 December 1904 Registrar S. Blomfield

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

3 October 1904

Fred Taylor
Ellen Ann Harwood

Fred Taylor
Ellen Ann Harwood
💍 1904/6168

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic duties

22
33

Hardy Street, Nelson
The Port, Nelson

4 days
3 days

The residence of George Dixon, Stepneyville, Nelson

04/6132

3 October 1904

Rev. Jas. Williams, Methodist Minister

No	77
Date of Notice	3 October 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Fred Taylor	Ellen Ann Harwood
	💍 1904/6168
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic duties
Age	22	33
Dwelling Place	Hardy Street, Nelson	The Port, Nelson
Length of Residence	4 days	3 days
Marriage Place	The residence of George Dixon, Stepneyville, Nelson
Folio	04/6132
Consent
Date of Certificate	3 October 1904
Officiating Minister	Rev. Jas. Williams, Methodist Minister

4 October 1904

Graham Heath
Daisy Beatrice Hunter

Graham Heath
Daisy Beatrice Hunter
💍 1904/6169

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic duties

22
21

Bridge Street, Nelson
Toi Toi Valley, Nelson

3 days
14 months

Residence of Rev. Jas. Williams, Hardy Street, Nelson

04/6133

4 October 1904

Rev. Jas. Williams, Methodist Minister

No	78
Date of Notice	4 October 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Graham Heath	Daisy Beatrice Hunter
	💍 1904/6169
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic duties
Age	22	21
Dwelling Place	Bridge Street, Nelson	Toi Toi Valley, Nelson
Length of Residence	3 days	14 months
Marriage Place	Residence of Rev. Jas. Williams, Hardy Street, Nelson
Folio	04/6133
Consent
Date of Certificate	4 October 1904
Officiating Minister	Rev. Jas. Williams, Methodist Minister

7 October 1904

Frederick Main Silver
Margaret Kate Mary Brailsford

Frederick Wair Silver
Margaret Kate Mary Brailsford
💍 1904/6170

Bachelor
Spinster

Engineer
Domestic duties

25
28

Stepneyville, Nelson
The Port, Nelson

9 months
3 days

Residence of Rev. Jas. Williams, Hardy Street, Nelson

04/6134

7 October 1904

Rev. Jas. Williams, Methodist Minister

No	79
Date of Notice	7 October 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Frederick Main Silver	Margaret Kate Mary Brailsford
BDM Match (95%)	Frederick Wair Silver	Margaret Kate Mary Brailsford
	💍 1904/6170
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Engineer	Domestic duties
Age	25	28
Dwelling Place	Stepneyville, Nelson	The Port, Nelson
Length of Residence	9 months	3 days
Marriage Place	Residence of Rev. Jas. Williams, Hardy Street, Nelson
Folio	04/6134
Consent
Date of Certificate	7 October 1904
Officiating Minister	Rev. Jas. Williams, Methodist Minister

17 October 1904

Thomas Moore
Sarah Ann Blincoe

Thomas Moore
Sarah Ann Blincoe
💍 1904/6157

Bachelor
Spinster

Engine Driver
Domestic duties

28
29

Grove Street, Nelson
Grove Street, Nelson

4 days
7 months

Salvation Army Barracks, Bridge Street, Nelson

04/6138

17 October 1904

William Hunter, Salvation Army Officer

No	80
Date of Notice	17 October 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Moore	Sarah Ann Blincoe
	💍 1904/6157
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Engine Driver	Domestic duties
Age	28	29
Dwelling Place	Grove Street, Nelson	Grove Street, Nelson
Length of Residence	4 days	7 months
Marriage Place	Salvation Army Barracks, Bridge Street, Nelson
Folio	04/6138
Consent
Date of Certificate	17 October 1904
Officiating Minister	William Hunter, Salvation Army Officer

14 October 1904

Percie Delany
Amy Maud Hunter

Percie Delaney
Amy Maud Hunter
💍 1904/6171

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic duties

22
24

Wakapuaka
Totara Street, Nelson

2 1/2 years
18 months

Residence of Rev. Wm. Jas. Williams, Hardy Street, Nelson

04/6135

14 October 1904

Rev. Jas. Williams, Methodist Minister

No	81
Date of Notice	14 October 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Percie Delany	Amy Maud Hunter
BDM Match (96%)	Percie Delaney	Amy Maud Hunter
	💍 1904/6171
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic duties
Age	22	24
Dwelling Place	Wakapuaka	Totara Street, Nelson
Length of Residence	2 1/2 years	18 months
Marriage Place	Residence of Rev. Wm. Jas. Williams, Hardy Street, Nelson
Folio	04/6135
Consent
Date of Certificate	14 October 1904
Officiating Minister	Rev. Jas. Williams, Methodist Minister

19 October 1904

Sydney Melville Galbraith
Isabel Garrett Jacobs

Sydney Melville Galbraith
Isabel Garrett Jacobs
💍 1904/6156

Bachelor
Spinster

Carpenter
Tailoress

24
22

Nile Street, Nelson
Church Street, Nelson

1 year
22 years

Residence of George William Jacobs, Church Street, Nelson

04/6129

19 October 1904

Jas. H. Mackenzie, Presbyterian Minister

No	82
Date of Notice	19 October 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Sydney Melville Galbraith	Isabel Garrett Jacobs
	💍 1904/6156
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carpenter	Tailoress
Age	24	22
Dwelling Place	Nile Street, Nelson	Church Street, Nelson
Length of Residence	1 year	22 years
Marriage Place	Residence of George William Jacobs, Church Street, Nelson
Folio	04/6129
Consent
Date of Certificate	19 October 1904
Officiating Minister	Jas. H. Mackenzie, Presbyterian Minister

20 October 1904

Albert Ernest Cook
Mary Ethel Mansson

Albert Ernest Cook
Mary Ethel Manssen
💍 1904/6166

Bachelor
Spinster

Clerk
Domestic duties

24
25

Hampden Street West, Nelson
Hampden Street West, Nelson

3 days
25 years

Residence of Charles Frederick Mansson, Hampden Street, Nelson

04/6130

20 October 1904

Jas. H. Mackenzie, Presbyterian Minister

No	83
Date of Notice	20 October 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Albert Ernest Cook	Mary Ethel Mansson
BDM Match (97%)	Albert Ernest Cook	Mary Ethel Manssen
	💍 1904/6166
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Clerk	Domestic duties
Age	24	25
Dwelling Place	Hampden Street West, Nelson	Hampden Street West, Nelson
Length of Residence	3 days	25 years
Marriage Place	Residence of Charles Frederick Mansson, Hampden Street, Nelson
Folio	04/6130
Consent
Date of Certificate	20 October 1904
Officiating Minister	Jas. H. Mackenzie, Presbyterian Minister

24 October 1904

Sydney John Howard
Jane Climo

Sydney John Howard
Jane Climo
💍 1904/6142

Bachelor
Spinster

Bricklayer
Cook

24
24

Brook Street, Nelson
Alton Street, Nelson

18 years
6 months

Office of the Registrar of Marriages, Nelson

04/6122

24 October 1904

S. Blomfield, Registrar of Marriages

No	84
Date of Notice	24 October 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Sydney John Howard	Jane Climo
	💍 1904/6142
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Bricklayer	Cook
Age	24	24
Dwelling Place	Brook Street, Nelson	Alton Street, Nelson
Length of Residence	18 years	6 months
Marriage Place	Office of the Registrar of Marriages, Nelson
Folio	04/6122
Consent
Date of Certificate	24 October 1904
Officiating Minister	S. Blomfield, Registrar of Marriages

25 October 1904

Neville Selmes Barnett
Jessie Elliott Sadd

Neville Selmes Barnett
Jessie Elliott Sadd
💍 1904/6173

Bachelor
Spinster

Clerk in Holy Orders
Domestic Duties

29
31

Shelbourne Street, Nelson
Tory Street, Nelson

5 days
31 years

Chapel of the Holy Evangelist, Bishopdale

04/6137

25 October 1904

C. O. Mules, Anglican Bishop

No	85
Date of Notice	25 October 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Neville Selmes Barnett	Jessie Elliott Sadd
	💍 1904/6173
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Clerk in Holy Orders	Domestic Duties
Age	29	31
Dwelling Place	Shelbourne Street, Nelson	Tory Street, Nelson
Length of Residence	5 days	31 years
Marriage Place	Chapel of the Holy Evangelist, Bishopdale
Folio	04/6137
Consent
Date of Certificate	25 October 1904
Officiating Minister	C. O. Mules, Anglican Bishop

31 October 1904

John Alexander Grant
Florence Mary James

John Alexander Grant
Florence Mary James
💍 1904/6143

Bachelor
Spinster

Waggoner
Domestic duties

26
17

Bridge Street, Nelson
Bridge Street, Nelson

3 days
3 days

Office of the Registrar of Marriages, Nelson

04/6123

George Jones, Father

31 October 1904

S. Blomfield, Registrar of Marriages

No	86
Date of Notice	31 October 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Alexander Grant	Florence Mary James
	💍 1904/6143
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Waggoner	Domestic duties
Age	26	17
Dwelling Place	Bridge Street, Nelson	Bridge Street, Nelson
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	Office of the Registrar of Marriages, Nelson
Folio	04/6123
Consent	George Jones, Father
Date of Certificate	31 October 1904
Officiating Minister	S. Blomfield, Registrar of Marriages

8 November 1904

James Alfred Laurence
Florence Florenda Brown

James Alfred Lawrence
Florence Florenda Brown
💍 1904/6147

Bachelor
Spinster

Tailor
Dressmaker

20
21

Bridge Street, Nelson
Halifax Street, Nelson

20 years
12 months

All Saints' Church, Vanguard Street, Nelson

04/6127

Frederick Laurence, Father

8 November 1904

W. S. Lucas, Church of England Minister

No	87
Date of Notice	8 November 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Alfred Laurence	Florence Florenda Brown
BDM Match (98%)	James Alfred Lawrence	Florence Florenda Brown
	💍 1904/6147
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Tailor	Dressmaker
Age	20	21
Dwelling Place	Bridge Street, Nelson	Halifax Street, Nelson
Length of Residence	20 years	12 months
Marriage Place	All Saints' Church, Vanguard Street, Nelson
Folio	04/6127
Consent	Frederick Laurence, Father
Date of Certificate	8 November 1904
Officiating Minister	W. S. Lucas, Church of England Minister

16 November 1904

William Smith
Hatty Redfern

William Smith
Hattie Redfern
💍 1904/6172

Bachelor
Spinster

Commission Agent

28
21

Nile Street, Nelson
Hardy Street, Nelson

3 days
3 days

St. John's Methodist Church, Hardy Street, Nelson

04/6136

16 November 1904

Rev. Jas. Williams, Methodist Minister

No	88
Date of Notice	16 November 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Smith	Hatty Redfern
BDM Match (93%)	William Smith	Hattie Redfern
	💍 1904/6172
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Commission Agent
Age	28	21
Dwelling Place	Nile Street, Nelson	Hardy Street, Nelson
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	St. John's Methodist Church, Hardy Street, Nelson
Folio	04/6136
Consent
Date of Certificate	16 November 1904
Officiating Minister	Rev. Jas. Williams, Methodist Minister

24 November 1904

Thomas Hector Manson
Ada Stewart

Thomas Hector Manson
Ada Stewart
💍 1904/6167

Bachelor
Spinster

Cab Proprietor
Tailoress

28
22

New Street, Nelson
Weka Street, Nelson

7 years
22 years

Residence of Thomas Hector Manson, New Street, Nelson

04/6131

24 November 1904

Jas. H. Mackenzie, Presbyterian Minister

No	89
Date of Notice	24 November 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Hector Manson	Ada Stewart
	💍 1904/6167
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Cab Proprietor	Tailoress
Age	28	22
Dwelling Place	New Street, Nelson	Weka Street, Nelson
Length of Residence	7 years	22 years
Marriage Place	Residence of Thomas Hector Manson, New Street, Nelson
Folio	04/6131
Consent
Date of Certificate	24 November 1904
Officiating Minister	Jas. H. Mackenzie, Presbyterian Minister

12 December 1904

Walter Sowman
Mary Ann Brunell

Walter Sowman
Mary Ann Brunell
💍 1904/6145

Bachelor
Spinster

Dealer
Domestic Servant

26
24

Maitai Valley, Nelson
Bridge Street, Nelson

12 months
6 months

Office of the Registrar of Marriages, Nelson

04/6124

12 December 1904

S. Blomfield, Registrar of Marriages

No	90
Date of Notice	12 December 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Walter Sowman	Mary Ann Brunell
	💍 1904/6145
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Dealer	Domestic Servant
Age	26	24
Dwelling Place	Maitai Valley, Nelson	Bridge Street, Nelson
Length of Residence	12 months	6 months
Marriage Place	Office of the Registrar of Marriages, Nelson
Folio	04/6124
Consent
Date of Certificate	12 December 1904
Officiating Minister	S. Blomfield, Registrar of Marriages

14 December 1904

Guy Reginald Ellis
Maud Jeannette Harris

Guy Reginald Ellis
Maud Jeannette Harris
💍 1904/6146

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer

28
26

Trafalgar Street, Nelson
Bronte Street, Nelson

3 days
17 years

Christ Church, Trafalgar Street, Nelson

04/6125

14 December 1904

J. P. Kempthorne, Church of England Minister

No	91
Date of Notice	14 December 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Guy Reginald Ellis	Maud Jeannette Harris
	💍 1904/6146
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	28	26
Dwelling Place	Trafalgar Street, Nelson	Bronte Street, Nelson
Length of Residence	3 days	17 years
Marriage Place	Christ Church, Trafalgar Street, Nelson
Folio	04/6125
Consent
Date of Certificate	14 December 1904
Officiating Minister	J. P. Kempthorne, Church of England Minister

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).