Intentions to Marry, 1909 Wellington, Marlborough, Nelson, Westland

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840440, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

1909 is bound in three volumes - Auckland, Taranaki, Hawke's Bay (1909a), Wellington, Marlborough, Nelson, Westland (1909b), and Canterbury, Otago, Chatham Islands (1909c).

Page 555

District of Wairau Quarter ending 31 March 1909 Registrar Richard Booth Dudley Eyre

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

14 January 1909

Frank Buchanan
Ellen Ellis

Frank Buchanan
Ellen Ellis
💍 1909/1272

Bachelor
Widow

Shepherd
Housekeeper

40
39

Renwicktown
Renwicktown

1 year
3 months

Office of Registrar, Blenheim

09/1165

14 January 1909

Registrar

No	1
Date of Notice	14 January 1909
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Frank Buchanan	Ellen Ellis
	💍 1909/1272
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Shepherd	Housekeeper
Age	40	39
Dwelling Place	Renwicktown	Renwicktown
Length of Residence	1 year	3 months
Marriage Place	Office of Registrar, Blenheim
Folio	09/1165
Consent
Date of Certificate	14 January 1909
Officiating Minister	Registrar

19 January 1909

Arthur Salathiel Golding
Ellen Horsfall

Arthur Salathiel Golding
Ellen Horsfall
💍 1909/1294

Bachelor
Spinster

Railway Bridgeman
Domestic

27
24

Blenheim
Blenheim from Wellington

5 months
1 month

Wesleyan Church, Blenheim

09/1168

19 January 1909

Rev. Penney

No	2
Date of Notice	19 January 1909
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Arthur Salathiel Golding	Ellen Horsfall
	💍 1909/1294
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Railway Bridgeman	Domestic
Age	27	24
Dwelling Place	Blenheim	Blenheim from Wellington
Length of Residence	5 months	1 month
Marriage Place	Wesleyan Church, Blenheim
Folio	09/1168
Consent
Date of Certificate	19 January 1909
Officiating Minister	Rev. Penney

30 January 1909

Allen Craven
Florence May Gane

Allen Craven
Florence May Gane
💍 1909/1278

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer

25
25

Grovetown
Spring Creek

2 years
2 years

House of I. Gane, Spring Creek

09/1170

30 January 1909

Rev. J. M. Wollstein

No	3
Date of Notice	30 January 1909
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Allen Craven	Florence May Gane
	💍 1909/1278
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	25	25
Dwelling Place	Grovetown	Spring Creek
Length of Residence	2 years	2 years
Marriage Place	House of I. Gane, Spring Creek
Folio	09/1170
Consent
Date of Certificate	30 January 1909
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. M. Wollstein

2 February 1909

William Henry Maskill
Elizabeth Dew

William Henry Maskill
Elizabeth Dew
💍 1909/3549

Bachelor
Widow

Roughrider
Nurse

34
40

Blenheim
Blenheim

4 years
14 years

Roman Catholic Church, Blenheim

09/4895

2 February 1909

Rev. J. R. Holley

No	4
Date of Notice	2 February 1909
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Henry Maskill	Elizabeth Dew
	💍 1909/3549
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Roughrider	Nurse
Age	34	40
Dwelling Place	Blenheim	Blenheim
Length of Residence	4 years	14 years
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Church, Blenheim
Folio	09/4895
Consent
Date of Certificate	2 February 1909
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. R. Holley

8 February 1909

James Thomas Tetley Flood
Ellen Susan Gardiner

James Thomas Tetley Flood
Ellen Susan Gardiner
💍 1909/1277

Bachelor
Spinster

Sheep Farmer

24
19

Tuamarina (from Port Underwood)
Tuamarina

3 days
18 months

House of R. Gardiner, Tuamarina

09/1169

Robert Gilbert Gardiner, father

8 February 1909

Rev. J. M. Wollstein

No	5
Date of Notice	8 February 1909
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Thomas Tetley Flood	Ellen Susan Gardiner
	💍 1909/1277
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Sheep Farmer
Age	24	19
Dwelling Place	Tuamarina (from Port Underwood)	Tuamarina
Length of Residence	3 days	18 months
Marriage Place	House of R. Gardiner, Tuamarina
Folio	09/1169
Consent	Robert Gilbert Gardiner, father
Date of Certificate	8 February 1909
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. M. Wollstein

6 February 1909

Richard Harold Dry
Ellen Ann Carrick

Richard Harold Dry
Ellen Ann Carrick
💍 1909/1297

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer

43
28

Blenheim (from Picton)
Blenheim (from Picton)

14 days
3 weeks

Church of the Nativity, Blenheim

09/1121

6 February 1909

Rev. T. S. Grace

No	6
Date of Notice	6 February 1909
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Richard Harold Dry	Ellen Ann Carrick
	💍 1909/1297
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer
Age	43	28
Dwelling Place	Blenheim (from Picton)	Blenheim (from Picton)
Length of Residence	14 days	3 weeks
Marriage Place	Church of the Nativity, Blenheim
Folio	09/1121
Consent
Date of Certificate	6 February 1909
Officiating Minister	Rev. T. S. Grace

12 February 1909

Francis Tucker Robinson
Ethel Furness

Francis Tucker Robinson
Ethel Furness
💍 1909/1298

Bachelor
Spinster

Telegraphist

27
27

Blenheim
Blenheim

27 years
27 years

Church of the Nativity, Blenheim

09/1122

12 February 1909

Rev. T. S. Grace

No	7
Date of Notice	12 February 1909
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Francis Tucker Robinson	Ethel Furness
	💍 1909/1298
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Telegraphist
Age	27	27
Dwelling Place	Blenheim	Blenheim
Length of Residence	27 years	27 years
Marriage Place	Church of the Nativity, Blenheim
Folio	09/1122
Consent
Date of Certificate	12 February 1909
Officiating Minister	Rev. T. S. Grace

16 February 1909

William Farley Smith
Amy Sarah Mason

William Varley Smith
Amy Sarah Mason
💍 1909/1299

Bachelor
Spinster

Commission Agent

29
30

Blenheim (from Wellington)
Blenheim (from Wellington)

4 days
1 month

Church of the Nativity, Blenheim

09/1123

16 February 1909

Rev. T. S. Grace

No	8
Date of Notice	16 February 1909
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Farley Smith	Amy Sarah Mason
BDM Match (98%)	William Varley Smith	Amy Sarah Mason
	💍 1909/1299
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Commission Agent
Age	29	30
Dwelling Place	Blenheim (from Wellington)	Blenheim (from Wellington)
Length of Residence	4 days	1 month
Marriage Place	Church of the Nativity, Blenheim
Folio	09/1123
Consent
Date of Certificate	16 February 1909
Officiating Minister	Rev. T. S. Grace

16 February 1909

John Joseph Halloran
Helena Kate Morrisey

John Joseph Halloran
Helena Kate Morrisey
💍 1909/3550

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer

30
25

Blenheim
Blenheim

2 years
since birth

Roman Catholic Church, Blenheim

09/4896

16 February 1909

Rev. J. R. Holley

No	9
Date of Notice	16 February 1909
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Joseph Halloran	Helena Kate Morrisey
	💍 1909/3550
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	30	25
Dwelling Place	Blenheim	Blenheim
Length of Residence	2 years	since birth
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Church, Blenheim
Folio	09/4896
Consent
Date of Certificate	16 February 1909
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. R. Holley

17 February 1909

George Jones
Ada Mitchell

George Jones
Ada Mitchell
💍 1909/1360

Bachelor
Spinster

Joiner

30
30

Blenheim (from Wellington)
Seddon (from Wellington)

3 days
3 weeks

House of J. Cunliffe, Seddon

09/1179

17 February 1909

Rev. J. M. Finlayson

No	10
Date of Notice	17 February 1909
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Jones	Ada Mitchell
	💍 1909/1360
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Joiner
Age	30	30
Dwelling Place	Blenheim (from Wellington)	Seddon (from Wellington)
Length of Residence	3 days	3 weeks
Marriage Place	House of J. Cunliffe, Seddon
Folio	09/1179
Consent
Date of Certificate	17 February 1909
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. M. Finlayson

22 February 1909

James Sylvanius Lickey
Beatrice Victoria Coombe

James Sylvanius Hickey
Beatrice Victoria Coombe
💍 1909/3551

Bachelor
Spinster

Grocer's Assistant

21
21

Redwoodtown Blenheim
Redwoodtown Blenheim

2 years
2 weeks

Roman Catholic Church, Blenheim

09/4897

22 February 1909

Rev. J. R. Holley

No	11
Date of Notice	22 February 1909
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Sylvanius Lickey	Beatrice Victoria Coombe
BDM Match (98%)	James Sylvanius Hickey	Beatrice Victoria Coombe
	💍 1909/3551
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Grocer's Assistant
Age	21	21
Dwelling Place	Redwoodtown Blenheim	Redwoodtown Blenheim
Length of Residence	2 years	2 weeks
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Church, Blenheim
Folio	09/4897
Consent
Date of Certificate	22 February 1909
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. R. Holley

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).