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 190

District of Palmerston North Quarter ending 31 March 1909 Registrar Robert North 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

15 February 1909

Ingen Albert Jorgensen
Annetta Mortensen

Jorgen Albert Jorgensen
Annette Mortensen
💍 1909/1001

Bachelor
Spinster

Carpenter

30
29

Palmerston North
Palmerston North

4 years
6 years

Lutheran Church, Palmerston North

09/780

15 February 1909

Rev. Mads Christensen, Lutheran Minister

No	23
Date of Notice	15 February 1909
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Ingen Albert Jorgensen	Annetta Mortensen
BDM Match (91%)	Jorgen Albert Jorgensen	Annette Mortensen
	💍 1909/1001
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carpenter
Age	30	29
Dwelling Place	Palmerston North	Palmerston North
Length of Residence	4 years	6 years
Marriage Place	Lutheran Church, Palmerston North
Folio	09/780
Consent
Date of Certificate	15 February 1909
Officiating Minister	Rev. Mads Christensen, Lutheran Minister

15 February 1909

William Croxley
Lucy Barry

William Crowley
Lucy Barry
💍 1909/1002

Bachelor
Spinster

Engine Driver

27
20

Palmerston North
Palmerston North

1 month
1 month

St. Patrick's Church, Palmerston North

09/789

Ellen Barry, Mother

15 February 1909

Rev. P. C. Costello, Catholic Priest

No	24
Date of Notice	15 February 1909
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Croxley	Lucy Barry
BDM Match (97%)	William Crowley	Lucy Barry
	💍 1909/1002
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Engine Driver
Age	27	20
Dwelling Place	Palmerston North	Palmerston North
Length of Residence	1 month	1 month
Marriage Place	St. Patrick's Church, Palmerston North
Folio	09/789
Consent	Ellen Barry, Mother
Date of Certificate	15 February 1909
Officiating Minister	Rev. P. C. Costello, Catholic Priest

16 February 1909

Herbert Owen Cross
Florence Lilian Miles

Herbert Owen Cross
Florence Lillian Miles
💍 1909/744

Bachelor
Spinster

Jeweller

23
22

Palmerston North
Palmerston North

3 days
3 days

Registrar's Office, Palmerston North

09/615

16 February 1909

R. N. Keeling, Registrar

No	25
Date of Notice	16 February 1909
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Herbert Owen Cross	Florence Lilian Miles
BDM Match (98%)	Herbert Owen Cross	Florence Lillian Miles
	💍 1909/744
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Jeweller
Age	23	22
Dwelling Place	Palmerston North	Palmerston North
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office, Palmerston North
Folio	09/615
Consent
Date of Certificate	16 February 1909
Officiating Minister	R. N. Keeling, Registrar

17 February 1909

Andrew Newton
Margaret Bason

Andrew Newton
Margaret Bason
💍 1909/3367

Bachelor
Spinster

Bricklayer
Domestic Service

26
25

Palmerston North
Arvapuni

1 year
2 years

St. Andrew's Church, Palmerston North

09/4558

17 February 1909

Rev. Isaac Jolly, Presbyterian Minister

No	26
Date of Notice	17 February 1909
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Andrew Newton	Margaret Bason
	💍 1909/3367
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Bricklayer	Domestic Service
Age	26	25
Dwelling Place	Palmerston North	Arvapuni
Length of Residence	1 year	2 years
Marriage Place	St. Andrew's Church, Palmerston North
Folio	09/4558
Consent
Date of Certificate	17 February 1909
Officiating Minister	Rev. Isaac Jolly, Presbyterian Minister

17 February 1909

William George Curtis
Annie Haddon Adams

William George Curtis
Annie Hoddon Adams
💍 1909/3366

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer

35
27

Palmerston North
Palmerston North

3 days
3 days

St. Andrew's Church, Palmerston North

09/4557

17 February 1909

Rev. Isaac Jolly, Presbyterian Minister

No	27
Date of Notice	17 February 1909
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William George Curtis	Annie Haddon Adams
BDM Match (97%)	William George Curtis	Annie Hoddon Adams
	💍 1909/3366
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	35	27
Dwelling Place	Palmerston North	Palmerston North
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	St. Andrew's Church, Palmerston North
Folio	09/4557
Consent
Date of Certificate	17 February 1909
Officiating Minister	Rev. Isaac Jolly, Presbyterian Minister

23 February 1909

Martin Moir
Frances Christine Waldegrave

Martin Moir
Francis Christine Waldegrave
💍 1909/1004

Bachelor
Spinster

Merchant

31
25

Palmerston North
Palmerston North

4 days
25 years

House of H. R. Waldegrave, Palmerston North

09/791

23 February 1909

Rev. M. O'Beirne, Catholic Priest

No	28
Date of Notice	23 February 1909
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Martin Moir	Frances Christine Waldegrave
BDM Match (98%)	Martin Moir	Francis Christine Waldegrave
	💍 1909/1004
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Merchant
Age	31	25
Dwelling Place	Palmerston North	Palmerston North
Length of Residence	4 days	25 years
Marriage Place	House of H. R. Waldegrave, Palmerston North
Folio	09/791
Consent
Date of Certificate	23 February 1909
Officiating Minister	Rev. M. O'Beirne, Catholic Priest

23 February 1909

Walter Canton
Mary Elizabeth Cuntz

Walter Carson
Mary Elizabeth Curdy
💍 1909/3368

Bachelor
Spinster

Storeman
Waitress

29
21

Palmerston North
Palmerston North

3 days
21 years

St. Andrew's Church, Palmerston North

09/4559

23 February 1909

Rev. Isaac Jolly, Presbyterian Minister

No	29
Date of Notice	23 February 1909
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Walter Canton	Mary Elizabeth Cuntz
BDM Match (85%)	Walter Carson	Mary Elizabeth Curdy
	💍 1909/3368
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Storeman	Waitress
Age	29	21
Dwelling Place	Palmerston North	Palmerston North
Length of Residence	3 days	21 years
Marriage Place	St. Andrew's Church, Palmerston North
Folio	09/4559
Consent
Date of Certificate	23 February 1909
Officiating Minister	Rev. Isaac Jolly, Presbyterian Minister

5 March 1909

Charles James
Catherine Pinner

Charles James
Catherine Pinner
💍 1909/824

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer

23
24

Roberts Line, Palmerston North
Roberts Line, Palmerston North

3 days
3 days

House of William James, Roberts Line, Palmerston North

09/72

5 March 1909

Rev. N. Beggs, Methodist Minister

No	30
Date of Notice	5 March 1909
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles James	Catherine Pinner
	💍 1909/824
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	23	24
Dwelling Place	Roberts Line, Palmerston North	Roberts Line, Palmerston North
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	House of William James, Roberts Line, Palmerston North
Folio	09/72
Consent
Date of Certificate	5 March 1909
Officiating Minister	Rev. N. Beggs, Methodist 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).