Intentions to Marry, 1910 Wellington, Marlborough, Nelson, Westland

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840443, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

1910 is bound in three volumes - Auckland, Taranaki (1910a), Wellington, , Hawke's Bay, Nelson, Westland (1910b), and Canterbury, Otago, Chatham Islands (1910c).

Page 805

District of Reefton Quarter ending 31 December 1910 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

7 October 1910

Ambrose Purcell
Martha Murdoch

Ambrose Purcell
Martha Murdoch
💍 1910/6977

Bachelor
Spinster

Engine Driver
Domestic duties

30
22

Woodville
Reefton

4 days
3 months

Roman Catholic Church, Reefton

10/7341

7 October 1910

Rev. A. Galerne Roman Catholic

No	20
Date of Notice	7 October 1910
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Ambrose Purcell	Martha Murdoch
	💍 1910/6977
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Engine Driver	Domestic duties
Age	30	22
Dwelling Place	Woodville	Reefton
Length of Residence	4 days	3 months
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Church, Reefton
Folio	10/7341
Consent
Date of Certificate	7 October 1910
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. Galerne Roman Catholic

8 November 1910

Ralph Kitchen Todd
Clara Maud Robinson

Ralph Kitchen Todd
Clara Maud Robinson
💍 1910/6973

Bachelor
Spinster

Miner
Domestic duties

23
22

Brunnerton
Reefton

3 days
10 years

Wesley Church, Reefton

10/7336

8 November 1910

Rev. Richard Wilson Wesleyan

No	21
Date of Notice	8 November 1910
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Ralph Kitchen Todd	Clara Maud Robinson
	💍 1910/6973
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Miner	Domestic duties
Age	23	22
Dwelling Place	Brunnerton	Reefton
Length of Residence	3 days	10 years
Marriage Place	Wesley Church, Reefton
Folio	10/7336
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 November 1910
Officiating Minister	Rev. Richard Wilson Wesleyan

23 November 1910

Arthur Beban
Margaret Ann Slattery

Arthur Beban
Margaret Ann Slattery
💍 1910/6975

Bachelor
Spinster

Contractor
Domestic duties

23
27

Greymouth
Capleston Reefton

3 days
27 years

Roman Catholic Church, Reefton

10/7339

23 November 1910

Rev. A. Galerne Roman Catholic

No	22
Date of Notice	23 November 1910
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Arthur Beban	Margaret Ann Slattery
	💍 1910/6975
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Contractor	Domestic duties
Age	23	27
Dwelling Place	Greymouth	Capleston Reefton
Length of Residence	3 days	27 years
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Church, Reefton
Folio	10/7339
Consent
Date of Certificate	23 November 1910
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. Galerne Roman Catholic

28 November 1910

James Williams
Jessie Frances Robbins

James Williams
Jessie Frances Robbins
💍 1910/6866

Bachelor
Spinster

Groom
Dressmaker

29
32

Reefton
Reefton

15 months
15 months

Residence of Mr. J. Robbins, Shiel St., Reefton

10/7277

28 November 1910

Rev. Fredk Quintrell Anglican

No	23
Date of Notice	28 November 1910
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Williams	Jessie Frances Robbins
	💍 1910/6866
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Groom	Dressmaker
Age	29	32
Dwelling Place	Reefton	Reefton
Length of Residence	15 months	15 months
Marriage Place	Residence of Mr. J. Robbins, Shiel St., Reefton
Folio	10/7277
Consent
Date of Certificate	28 November 1910
Officiating Minister	Rev. Fredk Quintrell Anglican

1 December 1910

John Irven Macilquham
Mary Laurence Newcombe

John Irven Macilquham
Mary Newcombe
💍 1910/7015

Bachelor
Spinster

Miner
Domestic duties

31
19

Reefton
Reefton

31 years
11 years

Presbyterian Manse, Reefton

10/7377

William Newcombe, Father

1 December 1910

Rev. David Calder Presbyterian

No	24
Date of Notice	1 December 1910
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Irven Macilquham	Mary Laurence Newcombe
BDM Match (80%)	John Irven Macilquham	Mary Newcombe
	💍 1910/7015
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Miner	Domestic duties
Age	31	19
Dwelling Place	Reefton	Reefton
Length of Residence	31 years	11 years
Marriage Place	Presbyterian Manse, Reefton
Folio	10/7377
Consent	William Newcombe, Father
Date of Certificate	1 December 1910
Officiating Minister	Rev. David Calder Presbyterian

9 December 1910

James Laurence Fitzgerald
Ann Bolitho

James Laurence Fitzgerald
Ann Bolitho
💍 1910/6867

Bachelor
Spinster

Miner
Domestic duties

35
26

Blacks Point
Blacks Point

7 years
26 years

The Residence of James Bolitho, Blacks Point

10/7278

9 December 1910

Rev. Fredk Quintrell Anglican

No	25
Date of Notice	9 December 1910
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Laurence Fitzgerald	Ann Bolitho
	💍 1910/6867
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Miner	Domestic duties
Age	35	26
Dwelling Place	Blacks Point	Blacks Point
Length of Residence	7 years	26 years
Marriage Place	The Residence of James Bolitho, Blacks Point
Folio	10/7278
Consent
Date of Certificate	9 December 1910
Officiating Minister	Rev. Fredk Quintrell Anglican

9 December 1910

Oliver Thomas Griffiths
Lilian Rose Libeau

Oliver Thomas Griffiths
Lilian Rose Libeau
💍 1910/6968

Bachelor
Spinster

Miner
Domestic duties

31
21

Reefton
Reefton

5 1/2 years
21 years

Residence of Mr. George Libeau, Soldiers Road, Reefton

10/7355

9 December 1910

Rev. Richard Wilson Wesleyan

No	26
Date of Notice	9 December 1910
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Oliver Thomas Griffiths	Lilian Rose Libeau
	💍 1910/6968
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Miner	Domestic duties
Age	31	21
Dwelling Place	Reefton	Reefton
Length of Residence	5 1/2 years	21 years
Marriage Place	Residence of Mr. George Libeau, Soldiers Road, Reefton
Folio	10/7355
Consent
Date of Certificate	9 December 1910
Officiating Minister	Rev. Richard Wilson Wesleyan

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).