Intentions to Marry, 1914 Wellington, Hawkes Bay, Marlborough, Nelson, Westland

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840455, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

1914 is bound in three volumes - Auckland, Taranaki (1914a), Wellington, Hawke's Bay, Marlborough, Nelson, Westland (1914b), and Canterbury, Otago, Southland, Chatham Islands (1914c).

Page 1083

District of Hastings Quarter ending 30 September 1914 Registrar Robert Brathwaite

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 1914

John Charles McNamara
Elizabeth Esther Leathem

John Charles McNamara
Elizabeth Esther Leathem
💍 1914/1709

Bachelor
Spinster

Linesman
Domestic duties

32
32

Hastings
Hastings

14 years
12 years

St. Matthews Hastings

5405

1 July 1914

Rev. J. B. Brocklehurst

No	47
Date of Notice	1 July 1914
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Charles McNamara	Elizabeth Esther Leathem
	💍 1914/1709
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Linesman	Domestic duties
Age	32	32
Dwelling Place	Hastings	Hastings
Length of Residence	14 years	12 years
Marriage Place	St. Matthews Hastings
Folio	5405
Consent
Date of Certificate	1 July 1914
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. B. Brocklehurst

2 July 1914

Albert Bernard Congdon
Ivy May Steurn

Albert Bernard Congdon
Ivy May Steven
💍 1914/1718

Bachelor
Spinster

Orchardist
Domestic duties

23
20

Hastings
Hastings

4 years
20 years

Registrars Office Hastings

5388

J. F. Steurn Father

2 July 1914

Robert Brathwaite

No	48
Date of Notice	2 July 1914
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Albert Bernard Congdon	Ivy May Steurn
BDM Match (93%)	Albert Bernard Congdon	Ivy May Steven
	💍 1914/1718
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Orchardist	Domestic duties
Age	23	20
Dwelling Place	Hastings	Hastings
Length of Residence	4 years	20 years
Marriage Place	Registrars Office Hastings
Folio	5388
Consent	J. F. Steurn Father
Date of Certificate	2 July 1914
Officiating Minister	Robert Brathwaite

6 July 1914

George Moncrieff Wright
Isabella Ann Carswell

George Moncrieff Wright
Isabella Ann Barawell
💍 1914/1717

Bachelor
Spinster

Station Manager
Domestic duties

28
23

Maraekakaho
Maraekakaho

3 days
23 years

Mr. Carswell's house Maraekakaho

5387

6 July 1914

Rev. W. R. Hutcheson

No	49
Date of Notice	6 July 1914
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Moncrieff Wright	Isabella Ann Carswell
BDM Match (95%)	George Moncrieff Wright	Isabella Ann Barawell
	💍 1914/1717
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Station Manager	Domestic duties
Age	28	23
Dwelling Place	Maraekakaho	Maraekakaho
Length of Residence	3 days	23 years
Marriage Place	Mr. Carswell's house Maraekakaho
Folio	5387
Consent
Date of Certificate	6 July 1914
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. R. Hutcheson

14 July 1914

John William Joseph Fitzgerald
Nora O'Connor

John William Joseph Fitzgerald
Nora O'Connor
💍 1914/1327

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic duties

23
28

Hastings
Hastings

4 days
2 years

Roman Catholic Church Hastings

5029

14 July 1914

Rev. Father Mahony

No	50
Date of Notice	14 July 1914
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John William Joseph Fitzgerald	Nora O'Connor
	💍 1914/1327
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic duties
Age	23	28
Dwelling Place	Hastings	Hastings
Length of Residence	4 days	2 years
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Church Hastings
Folio	5029
Consent
Date of Certificate	14 July 1914
Officiating Minister	Rev. Father Mahony

16 July 1914

Thomas William Robertson
Elsie Mary Packer

Thomas William Robertson
Elsia Mary Packer
💍 1914/1720

Bachelor
Spinster

Farm Hand
Domestic duties

25
22

Hastings
Hastings

3 days
14 days

Mr. J. C. Lean's house Havelock

5390

16 July 1914

Rev. J. A. Lush

No	51
Date of Notice	16 July 1914
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas William Robertson	Elsie Mary Packer
BDM Match (97%)	Thomas William Robertson	Elsia Mary Packer
	💍 1914/1720
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farm Hand	Domestic duties
Age	25	22
Dwelling Place	Hastings	Hastings
Length of Residence	3 days	14 days
Marriage Place	Mr. J. C. Lean's house Havelock
Folio	5390
Consent
Date of Certificate	16 July 1914
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. A. Lush

17 July 1914

John Doole
Harriette Maude Clifft

John Doole
Harriette Maude Clifft
💍 1914/1710

Bachelor
Spinster

Contractor
Waitress

30
26

Hastings
Hastings

4 years
18 months

St. Matthews Hastings

5406

17 July 1914

Rev. J. B. Brocklehurst

No	52
Date of Notice	17 July 1914
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Doole	Harriette Maude Clifft
	💍 1914/1710
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Contractor	Waitress
Age	30	26
Dwelling Place	Hastings	Hastings
Length of Residence	4 years	18 months
Marriage Place	St. Matthews Hastings
Folio	5406
Consent
Date of Certificate	17 July 1914
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. B. Brocklehurst

21 July 1914

Thomas Slade
Mary Ann Teague

Thomas Slade
Mary Ann McTagur
💍 1914/1716

Bachelor
Spinster

Engineer
Domestic duties

32
22

Havelock North
Havelock North

8 1/2 years
8 months

Presbyterian Church Havelock

5386

21 July 1914

Rev. Robert Waugh

No	53
Date of Notice	21 July 1914
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Slade	Mary Ann Teague
BDM Match (88%)	Thomas Slade	Mary Ann McTagur
	💍 1914/1716
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Engineer	Domestic duties
Age	32	22
Dwelling Place	Havelock North	Havelock North
Length of Residence	8 1/2 years	8 months
Marriage Place	Presbyterian Church Havelock
Folio	5386
Consent
Date of Certificate	21 July 1914
Officiating Minister	Rev. Robert Waugh

22 July 1914

William John Kenny Quinlivan
Margaret Eileen Hay

William John Kenny Quinlivan
Margaret Ellen Hay
💍 1914/1316

Bachelor
Spinster

Horse Trainer
Domestic duties

23
21

Hastings
Hastings

15 years
3 days

Sacred Heart Church Hastings

5028

22 July 1914

Rev. Father Keogh

No	54
Date of Notice	22 July 1914
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William John Kenny Quinlivan	Margaret Eileen Hay
BDM Match (95%)	William John Kenny Quinlivan	Margaret Ellen Hay
	💍 1914/1316
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Horse Trainer	Domestic duties
Age	23	21
Dwelling Place	Hastings	Hastings
Length of Residence	15 years	3 days
Marriage Place	Sacred Heart Church Hastings
Folio	5028
Consent
Date of Certificate	22 July 1914
Officiating Minister	Rev. Father Keogh

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).