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 1918

District of Nelson Quarter ending 30 September 1914 Registrar S. Blomfield

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

2 September 1914

Bertram Elwin Bird
Pearl Antoinette Israel

Bertram Elwin Bird
Pearl Antoinette Israel
💍 1914/2283

Bachelor
Spinster

Warehouseman

26
19

Nelson City
Nelson City

3 days
3 1/2 years

Residence of Mr. E. A. Israel, Tasman Street, Nelson

5983

E. A. Israel, father

2 September 1914

S. Matheson, Church of Christ

No	61
Date of Notice	2 September 1914
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Bertram Elwin Bird	Pearl Antoinette Israel
	💍 1914/2283
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Warehouseman
Age	26	19
Dwelling Place	Nelson City	Nelson City
Length of Residence	3 days	3 1/2 years
Marriage Place	Residence of Mr. E. A. Israel, Tasman Street, Nelson
Folio	5983
Consent	E. A. Israel, father
Date of Certificate	2 September 1914
Officiating Minister	S. Matheson, Church of Christ

8 September 1914

Fred Rae
Dorothy Ada Way

Fred Rae
Dorothy Ada Way
💍 1914/2241

Bachelor
Spinster

Driver
Domestic

27
20

Beachville, Nelson
Waimea Street, Nelson

6 months
20 years

Residence of James Way, Waimea Street, Nelson

5965

James Way, father

8 September 1914

T. G. Butler, Congregational Minister

No	62
Date of Notice	8 September 1914
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Fred Rae	Dorothy Ada Way
	💍 1914/2241
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Driver	Domestic
Age	27	20
Dwelling Place	Beachville, Nelson	Waimea Street, Nelson
Length of Residence	6 months	20 years
Marriage Place	Residence of James Way, Waimea Street, Nelson
Folio	5965
Consent	James Way, father
Date of Certificate	8 September 1914
Officiating Minister	T. G. Butler, Congregational Minister

9 September 1914

Harry Clark
Winnifred Mitchell

Harry Clark
Winnifred Mitchell
💍 1914/2259

Bachelor
Spinster

Seed merchant
Typiste

27
20

Brook Street, Nelson
Brook Street, Nelson

4 days
4 years

Presbyterian Church, Nile Street, Nelson

5975

Horatio Mitchell, father

9 September 1914

Jas. H. Mackenzie, Presbyterian Minister

No	63
Date of Notice	9 September 1914
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Harry Clark	Winnifred Mitchell
	💍 1914/2259
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Seed merchant	Typiste
Age	27	20
Dwelling Place	Brook Street, Nelson	Brook Street, Nelson
Length of Residence	4 days	4 years
Marriage Place	Presbyterian Church, Nile Street, Nelson
Folio	5975
Consent	Horatio Mitchell, father
Date of Certificate	9 September 1914
Officiating Minister	Jas. H. Mackenzie, Presbyterian Minister

12 September 1914

Arthur Bendigo Hurst
Audrey Bosquet Moffatt

Arthur Bendigo Hurst
Audrey Bosquet Moffatt
💍 1914/3435

Bachelor
Spinster

Photographer
Milliner

24
22

Milton Street, Nelson
Trafalgar Road, Nelson

24 years
22 years

All Saints' Church, Vanguard Street, Nelson

6858

12 September 1914

W. S. Lucas, Church of England Minister

No	64
Date of Notice	12 September 1914
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Arthur Bendigo Hurst	Audrey Bosquet Moffatt
	💍 1914/3435
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Photographer	Milliner
Age	24	22
Dwelling Place	Milton Street, Nelson	Trafalgar Road, Nelson
Length of Residence	24 years	22 years
Marriage Place	All Saints' Church, Vanguard Street, Nelson
Folio	6858
Consent
Date of Certificate	12 September 1914
Officiating Minister	W. S. Lucas, Church of England Minister

15 September 1914

Henry George Day
Mary Kathleen O'Brien

Henry George Day
Mary Kathleen O'Brien
💍 1914/2282

Bachelor
Spinster

Tinsmith
Domestic

21
19

Milton Street, Nelson
Milton Street, Nelson

21 years
3 years

Residence of John Day, Milton Street, Nelson

5982

James O'Brien, father

15 September 1914

W. C. Lambert, Baptist Minister

No	65
Date of Notice	15 September 1914
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Henry George Day	Mary Kathleen O'Brien
	💍 1914/2282
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Tinsmith	Domestic
Age	21	19
Dwelling Place	Milton Street, Nelson	Milton Street, Nelson
Length of Residence	21 years	3 years
Marriage Place	Residence of John Day, Milton Street, Nelson
Folio	5982
Consent	James O'Brien, father
Date of Certificate	15 September 1914
Officiating Minister	W. C. Lambert, Baptist Minister

15 September 1914

Arthur Burt
Florence Emily Cutler

Arthur Burt
Florence Emily Cutler
💍 1914/2242

Bachelor
Spinster

Sheepfarmer

28
24

Britannia Heights, Nelson
Cambria Street, Nelson

3 days
3 days

Congregational Church, Nelson

5966

15 September 1914

T. G. Butler, Congregational Minister

No	66
Date of Notice	15 September 1914
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Arthur Burt	Florence Emily Cutler
	💍 1914/2242
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Sheepfarmer
Age	28	24
Dwelling Place	Britannia Heights, Nelson	Cambria Street, Nelson
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	Congregational Church, Nelson
Folio	5966
Consent
Date of Certificate	15 September 1914
Officiating Minister	T. G. Butler, Congregational Minister

18 September 1914

Frederick Wrigglesworth
Felicia Josephine Johanson

Frederick Wrigglesworth
Felicia Josephine Johansen
💍 1914/2281

Bachelor
Spinster

Picture framer
Domestic duties

31
27

St. Vincent Street, Nelson
Collingwood Street, Nelson

5 years
27 years

Christ Church, Trafalgar Street, Nelson

5981

18 September 1914

J. P. Kempthorne, Church of England Minister

No	67
Date of Notice	18 September 1914
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Frederick Wrigglesworth	Felicia Josephine Johanson
BDM Match (98%)	Frederick Wrigglesworth	Felicia Josephine Johansen
	💍 1914/2281
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Picture framer	Domestic duties
Age	31	27
Dwelling Place	St. Vincent Street, Nelson	Collingwood Street, Nelson
Length of Residence	5 years	27 years
Marriage Place	Christ Church, Trafalgar Street, Nelson
Folio	5981
Consent
Date of Certificate	18 September 1914
Officiating Minister	J. P. Kempthorne, Church of England Minister

26 September 1914

Allan Andrew Grainger Kerr
Martha Miller O'Hara

Allan Andrew Grainger Kerr
Martha Miller O'Hara
💍 1914/2278

Bachelor
Spinster

Carrier
Shop assistant

29
20

Hardy Street, Nelson
Maori Road, Nelson

3 days
3 days

Presbyterian Church, Nile Street, Nelson

5978

Henry O'Hara, father

26 September 1914

J. H. Mackenzie, Presbyterian Minister

No	68
Date of Notice	26 September 1914
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Allan Andrew Grainger Kerr	Martha Miller O'Hara
	💍 1914/2278
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carrier	Shop assistant
Age	29	20
Dwelling Place	Hardy Street, Nelson	Maori Road, Nelson
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	Presbyterian Church, Nile Street, Nelson
Folio	5978
Consent	Henry O'Hara, father
Date of Certificate	26 September 1914
Officiating Minister	J. H. Mackenzie, Presbyterian Minister

30 September 1914

William James Rodgers
Maud Bertha de Tracy Gould

William James Rodgers
Maud Bertha de Fray Gould
💍 1914/3436

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Household duties

35
30

Shelbourne Street, Nelson
Cambria Street, Nelson

3 days
2 years

All Saints' Church, Vanguard Street, Nelson

6859

30 September 1914

W. S. Lucas, Church of England Minister

No	69
Date of Notice	30 September 1914
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William James Rodgers	Maud Bertha de Tracy Gould
BDM Match (96%)	William James Rodgers	Maud Bertha de Fray Gould
	💍 1914/3436
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Household duties
Age	35	30
Dwelling Place	Shelbourne Street, Nelson	Cambria Street, Nelson
Length of Residence	3 days	2 years
Marriage Place	All Saints' Church, Vanguard Street, Nelson
Folio	6859
Consent
Date of Certificate	30 September 1914
Officiating Minister	W. S. Lucas, Church of England 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).