Intentions to Marry, 1912 Hawkes Bay, Wellington, Marlborough, Nelson, Westland

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840449, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

1912 is bound in three volumes - Auckland, Taranaki, Gisborne (1912a), Hawke's Bay, Wellington, Marlborough, Nelson, Westland (1912b), and Canterbury, Otago, Southland, Chatham Islands (1912c).

Page 747

District of Wairau Quarter ending 30 June 1912 Registrar Stanley Ernest Harrop

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 April 1912

Ernest Joseph Ham
Julia Margaret O'Leary

Ernest Joseph Ham
Julia Margaret OLeary
💍 1912/7878

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic

25
26

Blenheim
Fairhall

24 years
26 years

R. C. Presbytery, Maxwell Road, Blenheim

12/6210

15 April 1912

Rev. J. Bowden

No	23
Date of Notice	15 April 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Ernest Joseph Ham	Julia Margaret O'Leary
BDM Match (98%)	Ernest Joseph Ham	Julia Margaret OLeary
	💍 1912/7878
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic
Age	25	26
Dwelling Place	Blenheim	Fairhall
Length of Residence	24 years	26 years
Marriage Place	R. C. Presbytery, Maxwell Road, Blenheim
Folio	12/6210
Consent
Date of Certificate	15 April 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Bowden

15 April 1912

Arthur Charles Thompson
Hettie May Mears

Arthur Charles Thompson
Hettie May Mears
💍 1912/3908

Widower
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic

32
26

Grovetown
Springlands

32 years
26 years

Wesleyan Church, Blenheim

12/3770

15 April 1912

Rev. T. R. Richards

No	24
Date of Notice	15 April 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Arthur Charles Thompson	Hettie May Mears
	💍 1912/3908
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic
Age	32	26
Dwelling Place	Grovetown	Springlands
Length of Residence	32 years	26 years
Marriage Place	Wesleyan Church, Blenheim
Folio	12/3770
Consent
Date of Certificate	15 April 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev. T. R. Richards

16 April 1912

Albert Fitzroy Howard
Isabella Beswick

Albert Fitzroy Howard
Isabella Beswick
💍 1912/4215

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Teacher

39
51

Ward
Blenheim

3 years
8 years

Church of England, Seddon

12/4057

16 April 1912

Rev. A. W. C. Stace

No	25
Date of Notice	16 April 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Albert Fitzroy Howard	Isabella Beswick
	💍 1912/4215
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Teacher
Age	39	51
Dwelling Place	Ward	Blenheim
Length of Residence	3 years	8 years
Marriage Place	Church of England, Seddon
Folio	12/4057
Consent
Date of Certificate	16 April 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. W. C. Stace

17 April 1912

William Everhard Wilkey
Amy Louisa Rodgerson

William Everhard Wilkey
Amy Louisa Rodgerson
💍 1912/7856

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic

26
25

Blenheim
Blenheim

5 years
1 month

Roman Catholic Church, Blenheim

12/6204

17 April 1912

Rev. A. McDonald

No	26
Date of Notice	17 April 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Everhard Wilkey	Amy Louisa Rodgerson
	💍 1912/7856
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic
Age	26	25
Dwelling Place	Blenheim	Blenheim
Length of Residence	5 years	1 month
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Church, Blenheim
Folio	12/6204
Consent
Date of Certificate	17 April 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. McDonald

24 April 1912

James Hagen
Robena Christina Thoms

James Hagen
Robina Christina Thoms
💍 1912/7867

Bachelor
Spinster

Blacksmith
Domestic

27
24

Wairau Valley
Blenheim

6 years
24 years

Roman Catholic Church, Blenheim

12/6205

24 April 1912

Rev. A. F. McDonald

No	27
Date of Notice	24 April 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Hagen	Robena Christina Thoms
BDM Match (98%)	James Hagen	Robina Christina Thoms
	💍 1912/7867
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Blacksmith	Domestic
Age	27	24
Dwelling Place	Wairau Valley	Blenheim
Length of Residence	6 years	24 years
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Church, Blenheim
Folio	12/6205
Consent
Date of Certificate	24 April 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. F. McDonald

24 April 1912

Francis Henry Grattan Galvin
Agnes Mary Morrison

Frances Henry Grattan Galvin
Agnes Mary Morrison
💍 1912/7874

Bachelor
Spinster

Clerk
Domestic

27
33

Blenheim
Blenheim

3 days
33 years

Roman Catholic Church, Blenheim

12/6206

24 April 1912

Rev. P. Fay

No	28
Date of Notice	24 April 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Francis Henry Grattan Galvin	Agnes Mary Morrison
BDM Match (98%)	Frances Henry Grattan Galvin	Agnes Mary Morrison
	💍 1912/7874
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Clerk	Domestic
Age	27	33
Dwelling Place	Blenheim	Blenheim
Length of Residence	3 days	33 years
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Church, Blenheim
Folio	12/6206
Consent
Date of Certificate	24 April 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev. P. Fay

24 April 1912

Thomas Mitchell
Marion Margo Ileen Browne

Thomas Mitchell
Marion Margo Ileen Browne
💍 1912/7875

Bachelor
Spinster

Accountant
Domestic

27
23

Blenheim
Blenheim

4 years
23 years

Roman Catholic Church, Blenheim

12/6207

24 April 1912

Rev. P. Fay

No	29
Date of Notice	24 April 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Mitchell	Marion Margo Ileen Browne
	💍 1912/7875
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Accountant	Domestic
Age	27	23
Dwelling Place	Blenheim	Blenheim
Length of Residence	4 years	23 years
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Church, Blenheim
Folio	12/6207
Consent
Date of Certificate	24 April 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev. P. Fay

29 April 1912

Joseph Henry Callaghan
Elizabeth Dunn

Joseph Henry Callaghan
Elizabeth Dunn
💍 1912/7876

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic

29
22

Blenheim
Blenheim

4 years
18 years

Roman Catholic Church, Blenheim

12/6208

29 April 1912

Rev. A. F. McDonald

No	30
Date of Notice	29 April 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Joseph Henry Callaghan	Elizabeth Dunn
	💍 1912/7876
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic
Age	29	22
Dwelling Place	Blenheim	Blenheim
Length of Residence	4 years	18 years
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Church, Blenheim
Folio	12/6208
Consent
Date of Certificate	29 April 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. F. McDonald

3 May 1912

Frederick Heckman Robinson
Maude Francis Annie Vorbach

Frederick Jeckman Robinson
Maude Francis Annie Jorbach
💍 1912/4216

Bachelor
Spinster

Butcher
Domestic

29
21

Blenheim
Renwicktown

21 years
21 years

House of J. Vorbach, Renwicktown

12/4058

3 May 1912

Rev. A. W. C. Stace

No	31
Date of Notice	3 May 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Frederick Heckman Robinson	Maude Francis Annie Vorbach
BDM Match (96%)	Frederick Jeckman Robinson	Maude Francis Annie Jorbach
	💍 1912/4216
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Butcher	Domestic
Age	29	21
Dwelling Place	Blenheim	Renwicktown
Length of Residence	21 years	21 years
Marriage Place	House of J. Vorbach, Renwicktown
Folio	12/4058
Consent
Date of Certificate	3 May 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. W. C. Stace

2 May 1912

James Tanner
Annie Ellen McIsaac

James Tanner
Annie Ellen McIsaac
💍 1912/3535

Bachelor
Spinster

Carpenter
Domestic

28
20

Blenheim
Blenheim

14 months
20 years

Hoise of Mrs. W. Colwell, Springlands

12/3365

Jane Ellen McIsaac, mother of bride

2 May 1912

Rev. W. O. Robb

No	32
Date of Notice	2 May 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Tanner	Annie Ellen McIsaac
	💍 1912/3535
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carpenter	Domestic
Age	28	20
Dwelling Place	Blenheim	Blenheim
Length of Residence	14 months	20 years
Marriage Place	Hoise of Mrs. W. Colwell, Springlands
Folio	12/3365
Consent	Jane Ellen McIsaac, mother of bride
Date of Certificate	2 May 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. O. Robb

8 May 1912

William Henry Mark
Beatrice Marlborough Earp

William Henry Mark
Beatrice Marlborough Earp
💍 1912/2324

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic

30
25

Blenheim
Blenheim

27 years
25 years

Office of Registrar, Blenheim

12/2113

8 May 1912

Mr. S. E. Harrop, Registrar

No	33
Date of Notice	8 May 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Henry Mark	Beatrice Marlborough Earp
	💍 1912/2324
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic
Age	30	25
Dwelling Place	Blenheim	Blenheim
Length of Residence	27 years	25 years
Marriage Place	Office of Registrar, Blenheim
Folio	12/2113
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 May 1912
Officiating Minister	Mr. S. E. Harrop, Registrar

10 May 1912

Thomas Taylor Gill
Ruby May Ohlson

Thomas Taylor Gill
Ruby May Ohlson
💍 1912/4057

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic

25
16

Grovetown
Grovetown

25 years
16 years

House of Mark Ohlson, Grovetown

12/3896

Mark Ohlson, father of bride

10 May 1912

Rev. W. Wollstein

No	34
Date of Notice	10 May 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Taylor Gill	Ruby May Ohlson
	💍 1912/4057
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic
Age	25	16
Dwelling Place	Grovetown	Grovetown
Length of Residence	25 years	16 years
Marriage Place	House of Mark Ohlson, Grovetown
Folio	12/3896
Consent	Mark Ohlson, father of bride
Date of Certificate	10 May 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. Wollstein

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).