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 1110

District of Napier Quarter ending 31 December 1914 Registrar William 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

155

19 October 1914

Edward Harvey Noell
Ethel Frances Hirst

Edward Harvey Noell
Ethel Frances Hirst
💍 1914/3538

Bachelor
Spinster

Carpenter
Domestic

30
22

Napier
Napier

3 days
3 days

Congregational Church Napier

7343

19 October 1914

Rev. A. Hodge

No	155
Date of Notice	19 October 1914
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edward Harvey Noell	Ethel Frances Hirst
	💍 1914/3538
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carpenter	Domestic
Age	30	22
Dwelling Place	Napier	Napier
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	Congregational Church Napier
Folio	7343
Consent
Date of Certificate	19 October 1914
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. Hodge

156

19 October 1914

Kenneth Cumming Wilson
Margaret Elizabeth Frampton

Kenneth Cumming Wilson
Margaret Elizabeth Frampton
💍 1914/3560

Bachelor
Widow

Farmer
Domestic Duties

35
39

Napier
Napier

3 days
6 months

Presbyterian Church Napier

7341

19 October 1914

Rev. J. A. Asher

No	156
Date of Notice	19 October 1914
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Kenneth Cumming Wilson	Margaret Elizabeth Frampton
	💍 1914/3560
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Farmer	Domestic Duties
Age	35	39
Dwelling Place	Napier	Napier
Length of Residence	3 days	6 months
Marriage Place	Presbyterian Church Napier
Folio	7341
Consent
Date of Certificate	19 October 1914
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. A. Asher

157

23 October 1914

Samuel Ewart
Marie Lydia Hayward Widdop

Samuel Ewart
Marie Lydia Hayward Widdop
💍 1914/3559

Bachelor
Spinster

Station Hand
House maid

58
49

Puketapu
Puketapu

30 years
2 years

St. Patricks Church Napier

7340

23 October 1914

Rev. Father O'Connor

No	157
Date of Notice	23 October 1914
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Samuel Ewart	Marie Lydia Hayward Widdop
	💍 1914/3559
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Station Hand	House maid
Age	58	49
Dwelling Place	Puketapu	Puketapu
Length of Residence	30 years	2 years
Marriage Place	St. Patricks Church Napier
Folio	7340
Consent
Date of Certificate	23 October 1914
Officiating Minister	Rev. Father O'Connor

158

23 October 1914

Ernest Alfred Young
Isabel Dodds

Ernest Alfred Young
Isabel Dodds
💍 1914/3558

Bachelor
Spinster

Plumber
Domestic Duties

24
23

Napier
Napier

24 years
3 years

Congregational Church Napier

7339

23 October 1914

Rev. A. Hodge

No	158
Date of Notice	23 October 1914
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Ernest Alfred Young	Isabel Dodds
	💍 1914/3558
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Plumber	Domestic Duties
Age	24	23
Dwelling Place	Napier	Napier
Length of Residence	24 years	3 years
Marriage Place	Congregational Church Napier
Folio	7339
Consent
Date of Certificate	23 October 1914
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. Hodge

159

26 October 1914

Herbert Nathaniel Simmonds
Grace Ruby Evans

Herbert Nathaniel Simmonds
Grace Ruby Evans
💍 1914/9554

Bachelor
Spinster

Warehouse Salesman
Drapery Saleswoman

20
20

Napier
Napier

19 years
3 years

St. Augustine's Church Napier

7333

Agnes Matilda Hall formerly Simmonds mother; John Evans Father

26 October 1914

Rev. Canon Tuke

No	159
Date of Notice	26 October 1914
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Herbert Nathaniel Simmonds	Grace Ruby Evans
	💍 1914/9554
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Warehouse Salesman	Drapery Saleswoman
Age	20	20
Dwelling Place	Napier	Napier
Length of Residence	19 years	3 years
Marriage Place	St. Augustine's Church Napier
Folio	7333
Consent	Agnes Matilda Hall formerly Simmonds mother; John Evans Father
Date of Certificate	26 October 1914
Officiating Minister	Rev. Canon Tuke

160

27 October 1914

John Dare Stocks Heaton
Florence Emily Burgess

John Dare Stocks Heaton
Florence Emily Burgess
💍 1914/3548

Bachelor
Spinster

Government Servant
Domestic Duties

33
28

Napier
Napier

3 days
28 years

St. Johns Cathedral Napier

7335

27 October 1914

Rev. Canon Mayne

No	160
Date of Notice	27 October 1914
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Dare Stocks Heaton	Florence Emily Burgess
	💍 1914/3548
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Government Servant	Domestic Duties
Age	33	28
Dwelling Place	Napier	Napier
Length of Residence	3 days	28 years
Marriage Place	St. Johns Cathedral Napier
Folio	7335
Consent
Date of Certificate	27 October 1914
Officiating Minister	Rev. Canon Mayne

161

2 November 1914

Charles Napier Spiller
Harriet Ethel Simmonds

Charles Napier Spillen
Harriet Ethel Simmonds
💍 1914/3557

Bachelor
Spinster

Clerk
Servant

23
22

Napier
Napier

23 years
22 years

St. Augustines Church Napier

7338

2 November 1914

Rev. Canon Tuke

No	161
Date of Notice	2 November 1914
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Napier Spiller	Harriet Ethel Simmonds
BDM Match (98%)	Charles Napier Spillen	Harriet Ethel Simmonds
	💍 1914/3557
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Clerk	Servant
Age	23	22
Dwelling Place	Napier	Napier
Length of Residence	23 years	22 years
Marriage Place	St. Augustines Church Napier
Folio	7338
Consent
Date of Certificate	2 November 1914
Officiating Minister	Rev. Canon Tuke

162

3 November 1914

Herbert Alexandra Hulford
Annie Garland

Herbert Alexandra Hulford
Annie Garland
💍 1914/3399

Bachelor
Spinster

Clerk
Domestic Duties

35
26

Napier
Napier

3 months
9 months

Office of Registrar of Marriages Napier

7303

3 November 1914

W. Buchanan, Registrar

No	162
Date of Notice	3 November 1914
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Herbert Alexandra Hulford	Annie Garland
	💍 1914/3399
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Clerk	Domestic Duties
Age	35	26
Dwelling Place	Napier	Napier
Length of Residence	3 months	9 months
Marriage Place	Office of Registrar of Marriages Napier
Folio	7303
Consent
Date of Certificate	3 November 1914
Officiating Minister	W. Buchanan, Registrar

163

4 November 1914

Frank Lusher
Fanny Pedley

Frank Lusher
Fanny Pedley
💍 1914/3400

Bachelor
Spinster

Grocer
School Teacher

28
37

Napier
Napier

7 months
4 days

Office of Registrar of Marriages Napier

7304

4 November 1914

W. Buchanan Registrar

No	163
Date of Notice	4 November 1914
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Frank Lusher	Fanny Pedley
	💍 1914/3400
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Grocer	School Teacher
Age	28	37
Dwelling Place	Napier	Napier
Length of Residence	7 months	4 days
Marriage Place	Office of Registrar of Marriages Napier
Folio	7304
Consent
Date of Certificate	4 November 1914
Officiating Minister	W. Buchanan Registrar

164

10 November 1914

Edward Loraine Weaver
Marion Turney

Edward Loraine Weaver
Marion Turney
💍 1914/9552

Bachelor
Spinster

Brewery Hand
Waitress

23
23

Napier
Napier

23 years
2 years

St. Augustines Church Napier

7331

10 November 1914

Rev. Canon Tuke

No	164
Date of Notice	10 November 1914
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edward Loraine Weaver	Marion Turney
	💍 1914/9552
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Brewery Hand	Waitress
Age	23	23
Dwelling Place	Napier	Napier
Length of Residence	23 years	2 years
Marriage Place	St. Augustines Church Napier
Folio	7331
Consent
Date of Certificate	10 November 1914
Officiating Minister	Rev. Canon Tuke

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).