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 693

District of Reefton Quarter ending 30 June 1907 Registrar Henry Smith

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

4 May 1907

John Shannon Prentice
Elizabeth Hooe

John Shannon Prentice
Elizabeth Hore
💍 1907/3358

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Dressmaker

32
25

Reefton
Reefton

32 years
25 years

Wesley Church, Shiel Street, Reefton

07/3989

4 May 1907

Rev B. F. Rothwell

No	13
Date of Notice	4 May 1907
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Shannon Prentice	Elizabeth Hooe
BDM Match (96%)	John Shannon Prentice	Elizabeth Hore
	💍 1907/3358
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Dressmaker
Age	32	25
Dwelling Place	Reefton	Reefton
Length of Residence	32 years	25 years
Marriage Place	Wesley Church, Shiel Street, Reefton
Folio	07/3989
Consent
Date of Certificate	4 May 1907
Officiating Minister	Rev B. F. Rothwell

13 May 1907

William Mitchell
Edith Patterson

William Mitchell
Edith Patterson
💍 1907/3360

Bachelor
Spinster

Miner
Domestic Duties

26
21

Reefton
Reefton

3 days
21 years

At the residence of Wm James Patterson, Crampton Road, Reefton

07/3991

15 May 1907

Rev. B. F. Rothwell

No	14
Date of Notice	13 May 1907
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Mitchell	Edith Patterson
	💍 1907/3360
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Miner	Domestic Duties
Age	26	21
Dwelling Place	Reefton	Reefton
Length of Residence	3 days	21 years
Marriage Place	At the residence of Wm James Patterson, Crampton Road, Reefton
Folio	07/3991
Consent
Date of Certificate	15 May 1907
Officiating Minister	Rev. B. F. Rothwell

21 May 1907

Frank Arthur Baldock
Catherine Phelan

Frank Arthur Baldock
Catherine Phelan
💍 1907/4662

Bachelor
Spinster

Diamond Drill Foreman
Teacher

31
23

Globe Hill
Greymouth

1 1/2 yrs
3 days

Anglican Church, Greymouth

07/4025

21 May 1907

Rev. G. D. York

No	15
Date of Notice	21 May 1907
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Frank Arthur Baldock	Catherine Phelan
	💍 1907/4662
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Diamond Drill Foreman	Teacher
Age	31	23
Dwelling Place	Globe Hill	Greymouth
Length of Residence	1 1/2 yrs	3 days
Marriage Place	Anglican Church, Greymouth
Folio	07/4025
Consent
Date of Certificate	21 May 1907
Officiating Minister	Rev. G. D. York

1 June 1907

William Percy Bailey
Emily Holling

William Percy Bailey
Emily Holling
💍 1907/4541

Bachelor
Spinster

Laborer
Domestic Duties

30
20

Reefton
Reefton

5 days
5 days

The Residence of Mrs Julia Walsh, Reefton

07/3868

Father, Henry Holling

1 June 1907

Rev. H. J. York

No	16
Date of Notice	1 June 1907
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Percy Bailey	Emily Holling
	💍 1907/4541
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Laborer	Domestic Duties
Age	30	20
Dwelling Place	Reefton	Reefton
Length of Residence	5 days	5 days
Marriage Place	The Residence of Mrs Julia Walsh, Reefton
Folio	07/3868
Consent	Father, Henry Holling
Date of Certificate	1 June 1907
Officiating Minister	Rev. H. J. York

1 June 1907

George Ward
Annie Jane Catherine Pascoe

George Ward
Annie Jane Catherine Pascoe
💍 1907/3359

Bachelor
Spinster

Miner
Domestic Duties

23
21

Reefton
Blackspoint

3 years
2 1/2 years

Wesley Church, Reefton

07/3990

1 June 1907

Rev. B. F. Rothwell

No	17
Date of Notice	1 June 1907
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Ward	Annie Jane Catherine Pascoe
	💍 1907/3359
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Miner	Domestic Duties
Age	23	21
Dwelling Place	Reefton	Blackspoint
Length of Residence	3 years	2 1/2 years
Marriage Place	Wesley Church, Reefton
Folio	07/3990
Consent
Date of Certificate	1 June 1907
Officiating Minister	Rev. B. F. Rothwell

15 June 1907

James Armstrong Rea
Mary Milligan

James Armstrong Rea
Mary Milligan
💍 1907/4519

Bachelor
Spinster

Carter
Domestic Duties

31
21

Cronadon
Landing Creek near Reefton

4 years
17 years

Roman Catholic Church, Reefton

07/3829

15 June 1907

Rev P. A. Galerne

No	18
Date of Notice	15 June 1907
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Armstrong Rea	Mary Milligan
	💍 1907/4519
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carter	Domestic Duties
Age	31	21
Dwelling Place	Cronadon	Landing Creek near Reefton
Length of Residence	4 years	17 years
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Church, Reefton
Folio	07/3829
Consent
Date of Certificate	15 June 1907
Officiating Minister	Rev P. A. Galerne

24 June 1907

Donald Black
Florence Barrow

Donald Black
Florence Barrow
💍 1907/4552

Bachelor
Spinster

Bushman
Domestic Duties

29
24 1/2

Blackspoint
Blackspoint

6 years
5 years

Presbyterian Church, Reefton

07/3869

24 June 1907

Rev. D. Calder

No	19
Date of Notice	24 June 1907
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Donald Black	Florence Barrow
	💍 1907/4552
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Bushman	Domestic Duties
Age	29	24 1/2
Dwelling Place	Blackspoint	Blackspoint
Length of Residence	6 years	5 years
Marriage Place	Presbyterian Church, Reefton
Folio	07/3869
Consent
Date of Certificate	24 June 1907
Officiating Minister	Rev. D. Calder

These records have been automatically transcribed and must be verified using the page image (below)

100% Contrast

100% Brightness

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).