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 678

District of Nelson Quarter ending 31 March 1907 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

7 January 1907

Roland James Shea
Alice Victoria Arnold

Roland James Shea
Alice Victoria Arnold
💍 1907/950

Bachelor
Spinster

Driver
Domestic duties

19
21

Waimea Road Nelson
Halifax Street Nelson

3 weeks
5 days

Office of the Registrar of Marriages, Nelson

07/1044

Thomas Shea, father

7 January 1907

S. Blomfield, Registrar of Marriages

No	1
Date of Notice	7 January 1907
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Roland James Shea	Alice Victoria Arnold
	💍 1907/950
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Driver	Domestic duties
Age	19	21
Dwelling Place	Waimea Road Nelson	Halifax Street Nelson
Length of Residence	3 weeks	5 days
Marriage Place	Office of the Registrar of Marriages, Nelson
Folio	07/1044
Consent	Thomas Shea, father
Date of Certificate	7 January 1907
Officiating Minister	S. Blomfield, Registrar of Marriages

7 January 1907

Caleb Jesse Maslin
Ethel Mary Boyes

Cabel Jesse Maslin
Ethel Mary Boyes
💍 1907/946

Widower
Spinster

Settler
Domestic duties

49
30

Tasman Street Nelson
Cambria Street Nelson

6 months
2 years

The residence of Edward Boyes, Cambria Street, Nelson

07/1041

7 January 1907

C. H. Garland, Wesleyan Minister

No	2
Date of Notice	7 January 1907
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Caleb Jesse Maslin	Ethel Mary Boyes
BDM Match (94%)	Cabel Jesse Maslin	Ethel Mary Boyes
	💍 1907/946
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Settler	Domestic duties
Age	49	30
Dwelling Place	Tasman Street Nelson	Cambria Street Nelson
Length of Residence	6 months	2 years
Marriage Place	The residence of Edward Boyes, Cambria Street, Nelson
Folio	07/1041
Consent
Date of Certificate	7 January 1907
Officiating Minister	C. H. Garland, Wesleyan Minister

8 January 1907

Fred Smith
Mary Ann Hickey

Fred Smith
Mary Ann Hickey
💍 1907/934

Bachelor
Spinster

Pastry cook
Dressmaker

30
29

Bishopdale
Grove Street Nelson

3 months
1 month

The residence of Mary Ann Hickey, Grove Street Nelson

07/1028

8 January 1907

J. Clancy, Roman Catholic Priest

No	3
Date of Notice	8 January 1907
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Fred Smith	Mary Ann Hickey
	💍 1907/934
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Pastry cook	Dressmaker
Age	30	29
Dwelling Place	Bishopdale	Grove Street Nelson
Length of Residence	3 months	1 month
Marriage Place	The residence of Mary Ann Hickey, Grove Street Nelson
Folio	07/1028
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 January 1907
Officiating Minister	J. Clancy, Roman Catholic Priest

8 January 1907

James Powell
Fanny Sarah Cooke

James Powell
Fanny Sarah Cooke
💍 1907/949

Widower
Widow

Merchant
Domestic duties

70
52

Hardy Street Nelson
Manuka Street Nelson

3 days
30 years

The residence of Fanny Sarah Cooke, Manuka Street, Nelson

07/1044

8 January 1907

B. L. Thomas, Congregational Minister

No	4
Date of Notice	8 January 1907
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Powell	Fanny Sarah Cooke
	💍 1907/949
Condition	Widower	Widow
Profession	Merchant	Domestic duties
Age	70	52
Dwelling Place	Hardy Street Nelson	Manuka Street Nelson
Length of Residence	3 days	30 years
Marriage Place	The residence of Fanny Sarah Cooke, Manuka Street, Nelson
Folio	07/1044
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 January 1907
Officiating Minister	B. L. Thomas, Congregational Minister

11 January 1907

William Henry Herbert
Elizabeth Orsman

William Henry Herbert
Elizabeth Orsman
💍 1907/4886

Bachelor
Spinster

Railway Employee
Domestic duties

35
32

Hardy Street Nelson
Toi Toi Valley

3 days
2 months

The residence of William Orsman, Toi Toi Valley, Nelson

07/1308

11 January 1907

W. S. Lucas, Church of England Minister

No	5
Date of Notice	11 January 1907
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Henry Herbert	Elizabeth Orsman
	💍 1907/4886
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Railway Employee	Domestic duties
Age	35	32
Dwelling Place	Hardy Street Nelson	Toi Toi Valley
Length of Residence	3 days	2 months
Marriage Place	The residence of William Orsman, Toi Toi Valley, Nelson
Folio	07/1308
Consent
Date of Certificate	11 January 1907
Officiating Minister	W. S. Lucas, Church of England Minister

11 January 1907

Joseph Stockton
Elwyn Lyons

Joseph Stockton
Evelyn Lyons
💍 1907/951

Bachelor
Spinster

Baker
Barmaid

34
28

Bridge Street Nelson
Bridge Street Nelson

18 days
4 years

Office of the Registrar of Marriages, Nelson

07/1046

11 January 1907

S. Blomfield, Registrar of Marriages

No	6
Date of Notice	11 January 1907
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Joseph Stockton	Elwyn Lyons
BDM Match (88%)	Joseph Stockton	Evelyn Lyons
	💍 1907/951
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Baker	Barmaid
Age	34	28
Dwelling Place	Bridge Street Nelson	Bridge Street Nelson
Length of Residence	18 days	4 years
Marriage Place	Office of the Registrar of Marriages, Nelson
Folio	07/1046
Consent
Date of Certificate	11 January 1907
Officiating Minister	S. Blomfield, Registrar of Marriages

14 January 1907

Alexander Leckie
Harriet Witt

Alexander Leckie
Harriet Witt
💍 1907/966

Bachelor
Widow

Hotelkeeper

27
39

Collingwood Street Nelson
Bridge Street Nelson

11 months
9 years

Residence of Rev. J. H. Mackenzie, Nile Street, Nelson

07/1037

14 January 1907

Jas H. MacKenzie, Presbyterian Minister

No	7
Date of Notice	14 January 1907
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Alexander Leckie	Harriet Witt
	💍 1907/966
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession		Hotelkeeper
Age	27	39
Dwelling Place	Collingwood Street Nelson	Bridge Street Nelson
Length of Residence	11 months	9 years
Marriage Place	Residence of Rev. J. H. Mackenzie, Nile Street, Nelson
Folio	07/1037
Consent
Date of Certificate	14 January 1907
Officiating Minister	Jas H. MacKenzie, Presbyterian Minister

30 January 1907

Hedley Vicars Irvine
Ethel Dudley York

Hedley Vicars Irvine
Ethel Dudley York
💍 1907/947

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic duties

30
24

Bishopdale
Bishopdale

3 days
24 years

The Chapel of the Holy Evangelist, Bishopdale

07/1042

30 January 1907

G. W. York, Church of England Minister

No	8
Date of Notice	30 January 1907
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Hedley Vicars Irvine	Ethel Dudley York
	💍 1907/947
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic duties
Age	30	24
Dwelling Place	Bishopdale	Bishopdale
Length of Residence	3 days	24 years
Marriage Place	The Chapel of the Holy Evangelist, Bishopdale
Folio	07/1042
Consent
Date of Certificate	30 January 1907
Officiating Minister	G. W. York, Church of England Minister

30 January 1907

Samuel Wadsworth
Maude Catholina Ruff

Samuel Wadsworth
Maude Catholina Ruff
💍 1907/943

Widower
Spinster

Butcher
Domestic duties

40
22

Bridge Street Nelson
Haven Road Nelson

3 days
22 years

Trinity Presbyterian Church, Nile Street, Nelson

07/1038

30 January 1907

Jas H. MacKenzie, Presbyterian Minister

No	9
Date of Notice	30 January 1907
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Samuel Wadsworth	Maude Catholina Ruff
	💍 1907/943
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Butcher	Domestic duties
Age	40	22
Dwelling Place	Bridge Street Nelson	Haven Road Nelson
Length of Residence	3 days	22 years
Marriage Place	Trinity Presbyterian Church, Nile Street, Nelson
Folio	07/1038
Consent
Date of Certificate	30 January 1907
Officiating Minister	Jas H. MacKenzie, Presbyterian Minister

31 January 1907

Rainsford Toms
Mary Eliza Tavendale

Rainsford Toms
Mary Eliza Tavendale
💍 1907/1774

Bachelor
Spinster

Grocer
Domestic duties

23
24

Brook Street Nelson
Collingwood Street Nelson

23 years
4 years

Residence of S. W. Jenkin, Waimea Rd., Nelson

07/1894

31 January 1907

S. W. Jenkin, Baptist Minister

No	10
Date of Notice	31 January 1907
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Rainsford Toms	Mary Eliza Tavendale
	💍 1907/1774
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Grocer	Domestic duties
Age	23	24
Dwelling Place	Brook Street Nelson	Collingwood Street Nelson
Length of Residence	23 years	4 years
Marriage Place	Residence of S. W. Jenkin, Waimea Rd., Nelson
Folio	07/1894
Consent
Date of Certificate	31 January 1907
Officiating Minister	S. W. Jenkin, Baptist Minister

4 February 1907

Ernest Alfred Wood
Beatrice Black

Ernest Alfred Wood
Beatrice Black
💍 1907/1773

Bachelor
Spinster

Grocer
Domestic duties

28
22

Halifax Street Nelson
Wakapuaka

27 years
21 years

The Baptist Church, Bridge Street, Nelson

07/1893

4 February 1907

Stanley W. Jenkin, Baptist Minister

No	11
Date of Notice	4 February 1907
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Ernest Alfred Wood	Beatrice Black
	💍 1907/1773
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Grocer	Domestic duties
Age	28	22
Dwelling Place	Halifax Street Nelson	Wakapuaka
Length of Residence	27 years	21 years
Marriage Place	The Baptist Church, Bridge Street, Nelson
Folio	07/1893
Consent
Date of Certificate	4 February 1907
Officiating Minister	Stanley W. Jenkin, Baptist Minister

6 February 1907

Michael Green
Ethel Margaret East

Michael Green
Elizabeth Margaret East
💍 1907/4892

Bachelor
Spinster

Tailor
Tailoress

29
24

Cambria Street Nelson
Cambria Street Nelson

3 days
24 years

All Saints' Church, Vanguard Street, Nelson

07/4309

6 February 1907

F. W. Chatterton, Church of England Minister

No	12
Date of Notice	6 February 1907
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Michael Green	Ethel Margaret East
BDM Match (85%)	Michael Green	Elizabeth Margaret East
	💍 1907/4892
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Tailor	Tailoress
Age	29	24
Dwelling Place	Cambria Street Nelson	Cambria Street Nelson
Length of Residence	3 days	24 years
Marriage Place	All Saints' Church, Vanguard Street, Nelson
Folio	07/4309
Consent
Date of Certificate	6 February 1907
Officiating Minister	F. W. Chatterton, Church of England Minister

8 February 1907

George Thomas Gundersen
Lydia Scott

George Thomas Gundersen
Lydia Scott
💍 1907/953

Bachelor
Spinster

Tailor
Domestic duties

27
31

Grove Street Nelson
Tasman Street Nelson

27 years
31 years

St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, Manuka Street, Nelson

07/1030

8 February 1907

John Clancy, Roman Catholic Priest

No	13
Date of Notice	8 February 1907
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Thomas Gundersen	Lydia Scott
	💍 1907/953
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Tailor	Domestic duties
Age	27	31
Dwelling Place	Grove Street Nelson	Tasman Street Nelson
Length of Residence	27 years	31 years
Marriage Place	St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, Manuka Street, Nelson
Folio	07/1030
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 February 1907
Officiating Minister	John Clancy, Roman Catholic Priest

11 February 1907

Wilfrid Henry Redwood
Sophia Ann Charlotte Duff

Wilfred Henry Redwood
Sophia Ann Charlotte Duff
💍 1907/942

Bachelor
Spinster

Brewer
Music Teacher

37
38

Alton Street Nelson
Shelbourne Street Nelson

3 days
22 years

St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, Manuka Street, Nelson

07/1029

11 February 1907

John Clancy, Roman Catholic Priest

No	14
Date of Notice	11 February 1907
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Wilfrid Henry Redwood	Sophia Ann Charlotte Duff
BDM Match (98%)	Wilfred Henry Redwood	Sophia Ann Charlotte Duff
	💍 1907/942
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Brewer	Music Teacher
Age	37	38
Dwelling Place	Alton Street Nelson	Shelbourne Street Nelson
Length of Residence	3 days	22 years
Marriage Place	St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, Manuka Street, Nelson
Folio	07/1029
Consent
Date of Certificate	11 February 1907
Officiating Minister	John Clancy, Roman Catholic Priest

11 February 1907

George Hoby
Muriel Violet Boyd

George Hoby
Muriel Violet Boyd
💍 1907/933

Bachelor
Spinster

Dentist

26
23

Hardy Street Nelson
Collingwood Street Nelson

4 years
5 years

Christ Church, Trafalgar Street, Nelson

07/1027

11 February 1907

C. O. Mules, Anglican Bishop

No	15
Date of Notice	11 February 1907
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Hoby	Muriel Violet Boyd
	💍 1907/933
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Dentist
Age	26	23
Dwelling Place	Hardy Street Nelson	Collingwood Street Nelson
Length of Residence	4 years	5 years
Marriage Place	Christ Church, Trafalgar Street, Nelson
Folio	07/1027
Consent
Date of Certificate	11 February 1907
Officiating Minister	C. O. Mules, Anglican Bishop

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).