Intentions to Marry, 1907 Wellington, Marlborough, Nelson, Westland

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840434, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

1907 is bound in three volumes - Auckland, Taranaki, Hawke's Bay (1907a), Wellington, Marlborough, Nelson, Westland (1907b), and Canterbury, Otago, Chatham Islands (1907c).

Page 182

District of Palmerston North Quarter ending 31 March 1907 Registrar Robert H. Keeling

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 March 1907

William Sector
Maud Isabel Stannard

William Sexton
Maud Isabel Stannard
💍 1907/600

Bachelor
Spinster

Butcher
Domestic Service

25 years
18 years

Palmerston North
Palmerston North

9 months
4 months

All Saints Church

07/663

Mary Stannard, Mother

12 March 1907

Rev. C. C. Harper, Anglican Minister, Palmerston North

No	29
Date of Notice	12 March 1907
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Sector	Maud Isabel Stannard
BDM Match (93%)	William Sexton	Maud Isabel Stannard
	💍 1907/600
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Butcher	Domestic Service
Age	25 years	18 years
Dwelling Place	Palmerston North	Palmerston North
Length of Residence	9 months	4 months
Marriage Place	All Saints Church
Folio	07/663
Consent	Mary Stannard, Mother
Date of Certificate	12 March 1907
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. C. Harper, Anglican Minister, Palmerston North

12 March 1907

Frederick Thomas McGregor
Margaret Hogan

Frederick Thomas McGregor
Margaret Hogan
💍 1907/560

Bachelor
Spinster

Grocer
Domestic Service

21 years
25 years

Palmerston North
Palmerston North

3 days
30 days

Registrar's Office

07/645

12 March 1907

Robt. H. Keeling, Registrar, Palmerston North

No	30
Date of Notice	12 March 1907
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Frederick Thomas McGregor	Margaret Hogan
	💍 1907/560
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Grocer	Domestic Service
Age	21 years	25 years
Dwelling Place	Palmerston North	Palmerston North
Length of Residence	3 days	30 days
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office
Folio	07/645
Consent
Date of Certificate	12 March 1907
Officiating Minister	Robt. H. Keeling, Registrar, Palmerston North

15 March 1907

Charles Newson
Martha Ihlien

Charles Newson Bird
Martha Ihlien
💍 1907/593

Bachelor
Spinster

Bootmaker

27 years
23 years

Palmerston North
Palmerston North

3 days
3 days

All Saints Church

07/662

15 March 1907

Rev. C. C. Harper, Anglican Minister, Palmerston North

No	31
Date of Notice	15 March 1907
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Newson	Martha Ihlien
BDM Match (87%)	Charles Newson Bird	Martha Ihlien
	💍 1907/593
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Bootmaker
Age	27 years	23 years
Dwelling Place	Palmerston North	Palmerston North
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	All Saints Church
Folio	07/662
Consent
Date of Certificate	15 March 1907
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. C. Harper, Anglican Minister, Palmerston North

16 March 1907

Herbert Ernest Andrews
Hannah Higgins

Herbert Ernest Andrews
Hannorah Higgins
💍 1907/2850

Bachelor
Spinster

Carter
Domestic Service

25 years
19 years

Palmerston North
Palmerston North

8 days
3 weeks

Registrar's Office

07/647

Daniel Higgins, Father

16 March 1907

Robt. H. Keeling, Registrar, Palmerston North

No	32
Date of Notice	16 March 1907
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Herbert Ernest Andrews	Hannah Higgins
BDM Match (94%)	Herbert Ernest Andrews	Hannorah Higgins
	💍 1907/2850
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carter	Domestic Service
Age	25 years	19 years
Dwelling Place	Palmerston North	Palmerston North
Length of Residence	8 days	3 weeks
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office
Folio	07/647
Consent	Daniel Higgins, Father
Date of Certificate	16 March 1907
Officiating Minister	Robt. H. Keeling, Registrar, Palmerston North

16 March 1907

Thesson Donald Campbell Stevens
Dora Marion Tait

Kesson Donald Campbell Stevens
Dora Marion Tait
💍 1907/561

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer

25 years
20 years

Kairanga
Palmerston North

12 years
5 years

Registrar's Office

07/646

Johanna Tait, Mother

16 March 1907

Robt. H. Keeling, Registrar, Palmerston North

No	33
Date of Notice	16 March 1907
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thesson Donald Campbell Stevens	Dora Marion Tait
BDM Match (97%)	Kesson Donald Campbell Stevens	Dora Marion Tait
	💍 1907/561
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	25 years	20 years
Dwelling Place	Kairanga	Palmerston North
Length of Residence	12 years	5 years
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office
Folio	07/646
Consent	Johanna Tait, Mother
Date of Certificate	16 March 1907
Officiating Minister	Robt. H. Keeling, Registrar, Palmerston North

19 March 1907

Alfred Edward Pichin
Edith Christina Grenstrom

Alfred Edward Pickin
Edith Christina Erenstrom
💍 1907/563

Bachelor
Spinster

Machinist
Book Keeper

29 years
27 years

Palmerston North
Stoney Creek

5 years
7 years

House of Johan Grenstrom, Stoney Creek

07/650

25 March 1907

Mr. Thomas Rowe, Christian Brethren, Rongotea

No	34
Date of Notice	19 March 1907
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Alfred Edward Pichin	Edith Christina Grenstrom
BDM Match (96%)	Alfred Edward Pickin	Edith Christina Erenstrom
	💍 1907/563
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Machinist	Book Keeper
Age	29 years	27 years
Dwelling Place	Palmerston North	Stoney Creek
Length of Residence	5 years	7 years
Marriage Place	House of Johan Grenstrom, Stoney Creek
Folio	07/650
Consent
Date of Certificate	25 March 1907
Officiating Minister	Mr. Thomas Rowe, Christian Brethren, Rongotea

20 March 1907

William Clark Fenton
Annie Hosking

William Clark Fenton
Annie Hosking
💍 1907/569

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer

29 years
31 years

Palmerston North
Palmerston North

20 years
29 years

House of Mary Jane Hosking, Palmerston North

07/655

20 March 1907

Rev. S. J. Baker, Congregational Minister, Palmerston North

No	35
Date of Notice	20 March 1907
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Clark Fenton	Annie Hosking
	💍 1907/569
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer
Age	29 years	31 years
Dwelling Place	Palmerston North	Palmerston North
Length of Residence	20 years	29 years
Marriage Place	House of Mary Jane Hosking, Palmerston North
Folio	07/655
Consent
Date of Certificate	20 March 1907
Officiating Minister	Rev. S. J. Baker, Congregational Minister, Palmerston North

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 1903. 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).