Intentions to Marry, 1913 Hawke's Bay, Wellington, Marlborough, Nelson, Westland

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840452, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

1913 is bound in three volumes - Auckland, Taranaki (1913a), Hawke's Bay, Wellington, Marlborough, Nelson, Westland (1913b), and Canterbury, Otago, Southland, Chatham Islands (1913c).

Page 054

District of Napier Quarter ending 30 September 1913 Registrar W. Buchanan

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

1 July 1913

William James Edwards
Ellen Maren Hansen

William James Edwards
Ellen Maren Hansen
💍 1913/5106

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Dressmaker

29
21

Napier
Napier

7 months
6 weeks

Office of Registrar of Marriages, Napier

13/4737

1 July 1913

W. Buchanan, Registrar

No	88
Date of Notice	1 July 1913
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William James Edwards	Ellen Maren Hansen
	💍 1913/5106
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Dressmaker
Age	29	21
Dwelling Place	Napier	Napier
Length of Residence	7 months	6 weeks
Marriage Place	Office of Registrar of Marriages, Napier
Folio	13/4737
Consent
Date of Certificate	1 July 1913
Officiating Minister	W. Buchanan, Registrar

4 July 1913

Vincent Foley Gaffaney
Agnes Anne McGrath

Vincent Foley Gaffaney
Agnes Anne McGrath
💍 1913/5675

Bachelor
Spinster

Carriage Painter
Domestic Duties

27
20

Napier
Napier

3 years
19 years

St. Patrick's Church, Napier

13/5355

Michael McGrath, Father

4 July 1913

Rev. Father O'Connor

No	89
Date of Notice	4 July 1913
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Vincent Foley Gaffaney	Agnes Anne McGrath
	💍 1913/5675
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carriage Painter	Domestic Duties
Age	27	20
Dwelling Place	Napier	Napier
Length of Residence	3 years	19 years
Marriage Place	St. Patrick's Church, Napier
Folio	13/5355
Consent	Michael McGrath, Father
Date of Certificate	4 July 1913
Officiating Minister	Rev. Father O'Connor

9 July 1913

John Raphael Tohill
Helen Mary Evans

John Raphael Tohill
Helen Mary Evans
💍 1913/5674

Bachelor
Spinster

Driver
Shop Assistant

26
22

Napier
Napier

6 years
18 years

St. Patrick's Church, Napier

13/5357

9 July 1913

Rev. Father O'Connor

No	90
Date of Notice	9 July 1913
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Raphael Tohill	Helen Mary Evans
	💍 1913/5674
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Driver	Shop Assistant
Age	26	22
Dwelling Place	Napier	Napier
Length of Residence	6 years	18 years
Marriage Place	St. Patrick's Church, Napier
Folio	13/5357
Consent
Date of Certificate	9 July 1913
Officiating Minister	Rev. Father O'Connor

11 July 1913

John William Ross
Olive May Clark

John William Ross
Olive May Clark
💍 1913/8975

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Barmaid

28
29

Napier
Napier

3 days
3 days

St. John's Cathedral, Napier

8456

11 July 1913

Rev. Canon Mayne

No	91
Date of Notice	11 July 1913
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John William Ross	Olive May Clark
	💍 1913/8975
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Barmaid
Age	28	29
Dwelling Place	Napier	Napier
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	St. John's Cathedral, Napier
Folio	8456
Consent
Date of Certificate	11 July 1913
Officiating Minister	Rev. Canon Mayne

12 July 1913

Percy Garland Woon
Mary Jervois Roulston

Percy Garland Woon
Mary Jervois Roulston
💍 1913/6412

Bachelor
Spinster

Grain Clerk
Domestic Duties

31
30

Napier
Napier

7 years
30 years

The Manse, Lincoln Road, Napier

13/5338

12 July 1913

Rev. J. A. Asher

No	92
Date of Notice	12 July 1913
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Percy Garland Woon	Mary Jervois Roulston
	💍 1913/6412
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Grain Clerk	Domestic Duties
Age	31	30
Dwelling Place	Napier	Napier
Length of Residence	7 years	30 years
Marriage Place	The Manse, Lincoln Road, Napier
Folio	13/5338
Consent
Date of Certificate	12 July 1913
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. A. Asher

16 July 1913

Samuel Frederick Ashton
Bella Doran

Samuel Frederick Ashton
Bella Doran
💍 1913/5107

Bachelor
Spinster

Cabinet Maker
Waitress

25
26

Napier
Napier

25 years
12 months

Office of Registrar of Marriages, Napier

13/4738

16 July 1913

W. Buchanan, Registrar

No	93
Date of Notice	16 July 1913
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Samuel Frederick Ashton	Bella Doran
	💍 1913/5107
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Cabinet Maker	Waitress
Age	25	26
Dwelling Place	Napier	Napier
Length of Residence	25 years	12 months
Marriage Place	Office of Registrar of Marriages, Napier
Folio	13/4738
Consent
Date of Certificate	16 July 1913
Officiating Minister	W. Buchanan, Registrar

18 July 1913

William Chapman
Alice Bridson

William Chapman
Alice Budson
💍 1913/8930

William Chapman
Edith Booker
💍 1913/3789

Bachelor
Spinster

Driver
Domestic

32
26

Napier
Napier

8 days
8 days

St. John's Cathedral, Napier

V8310

18 July 1913

Rev. Canon Mayne

No	94
Date of Notice	18 July 1913
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Chapman	Alice Bridson
BDM Match (92%)	William Chapman	Alice Budson
	💍 1913/8930
BDM Match (62%)	William Chapman	Edith Booker
	💍 1913/3789
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Driver	Domestic
Age	32	26
Dwelling Place	Napier	Napier
Length of Residence	8 days	8 days
Marriage Place	St. John's Cathedral, Napier
Folio	V8310
Consent
Date of Certificate	18 July 1913
Officiating Minister	Rev. Canon Mayne

19 July 1913

Samuel Smith
Flora Haywood

Samuel Smith
Flora Haywood
💍 1913/6204

Bachelor
Spinster

Contractor
Housekeeper

38
20

Napier
Whetukura, Dannevirke

3 days
3 days

Office of Registrar of Marriages, Napier

13/4740

19 July 1913

W. Buchanan, Registrar

No	95
Date of Notice	19 July 1913
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Samuel Smith	Flora Haywood
	💍 1913/6204
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Contractor	Housekeeper
Age	38	20
Dwelling Place	Napier	Whetukura, Dannevirke
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	Office of Registrar of Marriages, Napier
Folio	13/4740
Consent
Date of Certificate	19 July 1913
Officiating Minister	W. Buchanan, Registrar

22 July 1913

William John Johnston McCoubrie
Elizabeth Logan Christy

William John Johnston McCoubrie
Elizabeth Logan Christy
💍 1913/6430

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic Duties

29
29

Napier
Napier

3 days
29 years

House of Mrs. J. Christy, Napier

13/5332

22 July 1913

Rev. Thos. Tait

No	96
Date of Notice	22 July 1913
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William John Johnston McCoubrie	Elizabeth Logan Christy
	💍 1913/6430
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic Duties
Age	29	29
Dwelling Place	Napier	Napier
Length of Residence	3 days	29 years
Marriage Place	House of Mrs. J. Christy, Napier
Folio	13/5332
Consent
Date of Certificate	22 July 1913
Officiating Minister	Rev. Thos. Tait

22 July 1913

Cecil Aulbury William Shaw
Jane Brook

Cecil Aulbury William Shaw
Jane Crook
💍 1913/5673

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic

25
19

Napier
Napier

7 months
5 months

St. Patrick's Church, Napier

13/5336

Edward Brook, Father

22 July 1913

Rev. Father O'Sullivan

No	97
Date of Notice	22 July 1913
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Cecil Aulbury William Shaw	Jane Brook
BDM Match (95%)	Cecil Aulbury William Shaw	Jane Crook
	💍 1913/5673
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic
Age	25	19
Dwelling Place	Napier	Napier
Length of Residence	7 months	5 months
Marriage Place	St. Patrick's Church, Napier
Folio	13/5336
Consent	Edward Brook, Father
Date of Certificate	22 July 1913
Officiating Minister	Rev. Father O'Sullivan

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).