Intentions to Marry, 1916 Aria to Masterton

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840465, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

1916 is bound in six volumes (a to f) with continuous page numbers. Each volume contains a different set of districts, going from north to south.

1916c contains pages 931-1380, covering districts from Aria to Masterton

Page 1307

District of Feilding Quarter ending 31 December 1916 Registrar E. G. Shapp

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 October 1916

William Henry Fowler
Ethel Frances Packer

William Henry Towler
Ethel Frances Packer
💍 1916/1070

Bachelor
Spinster

Gardener
Domestic Duties

28
20

Feilding
Feilding

28 years
3 years

Baptist Church Feilding

7668

James Packer, Father, Feilding

2 October 1916

Pastor Ernest Nicholls, Baptist

No	50
Date of Notice	2 October 1916
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Henry Fowler	Ethel Frances Packer
BDM Match (98%)	William Henry Towler	Ethel Frances Packer
	💍 1916/1070
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Gardener	Domestic Duties
Age	28	20
Dwelling Place	Feilding	Feilding
Length of Residence	28 years	3 years
Marriage Place	Baptist Church Feilding
Folio	7668
Consent	James Packer, Father, Feilding
Date of Certificate	2 October 1916
Officiating Minister	Pastor Ernest Nicholls, Baptist

2 October 1916

Duncan Macdonald Macdonald
Vera Elizabeth Frances Gordon

Duncan Macdonald Church
Vera Elizabeth Frances Condon
💍 1916/1061

Bachelor
Spinster

Jeweller
Domestic Duties

32
25

Hamilton
Feilding

1 day
2 years

St Johns Anglican Church Feilding

7660

2 October 1916

Archdeacon Alan Innes Jones, Anglican

No	51
Date of Notice	2 October 1916
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Duncan Macdonald Macdonald	Vera Elizabeth Frances Gordon
BDM Match (79%)	Duncan Macdonald Church	Vera Elizabeth Frances Condon
	💍 1916/1061
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Jeweller	Domestic Duties
Age	32	25
Dwelling Place	Hamilton	Feilding
Length of Residence	1 day	2 years
Marriage Place	St Johns Anglican Church Feilding
Folio	7660
Consent
Date of Certificate	2 October 1916
Officiating Minister	Archdeacon Alan Innes Jones, Anglican

4 October 1916

Arthur James Sapps
Mildred Florence Shepherd

Arthur James Papps
Mildred Florence Shepherd
💍 1916/1062

Bachelor
Spinster

Soldier
Teacher

27
24

Feilding
Colyton

1 day
24 years

St Andrews Anglican Church Colyton

7661

4 October 1916

Archdeacon Alan Innes Jones, Anglican

No	52
Date of Notice	4 October 1916
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Arthur James Sapps	Mildred Florence Shepherd
BDM Match (97%)	Arthur James Papps	Mildred Florence Shepherd
	💍 1916/1062
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Soldier	Teacher
Age	27	24
Dwelling Place	Feilding	Colyton
Length of Residence	1 day	24 years
Marriage Place	St Andrews Anglican Church Colyton
Folio	7661
Consent
Date of Certificate	4 October 1916
Officiating Minister	Archdeacon Alan Innes Jones, Anglican

4 October 1916

Edward Astwood
Jane Eva Elsie Price

Edward Astwood
Jane Eva Elsie Price
💍 1916/1071

Bachelor
Spinster

Painter
Dressmaker

26
21

Feilding
Feilding

3 days
3 days

Office of the Registrar of Marriages Feilding

7669

4 October 1916

Mr E G Shapp, Registrar

No	53
Date of Notice	4 October 1916
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edward Astwood	Jane Eva Elsie Price
	💍 1916/1071
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Painter	Dressmaker
Age	26	21
Dwelling Place	Feilding	Feilding
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	Office of the Registrar of Marriages Feilding
Folio	7669
Consent
Date of Certificate	4 October 1916
Officiating Minister	Mr E G Shapp, Registrar

4 October 1916

Herbert John Smith
Ellen Stella Baker

Hubert John Smith
Ellen Stella Baker
💍 1916/1063

Bachelor
Spinster

Nursery Salesman
Domestic Duties

31
20

Feilding
Feilding

3 days
1 week

Presbyterian Manse Grey Street Feilding

7662

4 October 1916

Rev Thomas Miller, Presbyterian

No	54
Date of Notice	4 October 1916
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Herbert John Smith	Ellen Stella Baker
BDM Match (94%)	Hubert John Smith	Ellen Stella Baker
	💍 1916/1063
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Nursery Salesman	Domestic Duties
Age	31	20
Dwelling Place	Feilding	Feilding
Length of Residence	3 days	1 week
Marriage Place	Presbyterian Manse Grey Street Feilding
Folio	7662
Consent
Date of Certificate	4 October 1916
Officiating Minister	Rev Thomas Miller, Presbyterian

16 October 1916

Fred Hoult
Lily Ethel Barber

Fred Hoult
Lily Ethel Baker
💍 1916/2979

Bachelor
Spinster

Stable Proprietor
Domestic Duties

22
23

Feilding
Feilding

16 years
23 years

Wesley Methodist Church Feilding

7684

16 October 1916

Rev. P. J. Cossum, Methodist

No	55
Date of Notice	16 October 1916
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Fred Hoult	Lily Ethel Barber
BDM Match (94%)	Fred Hoult	Lily Ethel Baker
	💍 1916/2979
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Stable Proprietor	Domestic Duties
Age	22	23
Dwelling Place	Feilding	Feilding
Length of Residence	16 years	23 years
Marriage Place	Wesley Methodist Church Feilding
Folio	7684
Consent
Date of Certificate	16 October 1916
Officiating Minister	Rev. P. J. Cossum, Methodist

20 October 1916

Henry Thomas Long
Hilda Violet Jane Hastie

Henry Thomas Loye
Hilda Violet Jane Hastie
💍 1916/2980

Bachelor
Divorced

Farmer
Lady Companion

38
39

Feilding
Feilding

37 years
37 years

Residence of Mrs Hastie Awakuri Road Feilding

7685

20 October 1916

Rev Thomas Miller, Presbyterian

No	56
Date of Notice	20 October 1916
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Henry Thomas Long	Hilda Violet Jane Hastie
BDM Match (94%)	Henry Thomas Loye	Hilda Violet Jane Hastie
	💍 1916/2980
Condition	Bachelor	Divorced
Profession	Farmer	Lady Companion
Age	38	39
Dwelling Place	Feilding	Feilding
Length of Residence	37 years	37 years
Marriage Place	Residence of Mrs Hastie Awakuri Road Feilding
Folio	7685
Consent
Date of Certificate	20 October 1916
Officiating Minister	Rev Thomas Miller, Presbyterian

25 October 1916

Albert Marsden
Ruby Alma Garlick

Albert Marsden
Ruby Alma Garlick
💍 1916/2981

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic Duties

26
20

Feilding
Feilding

3 days
20 years

Baptist Manse Bowen Street Feilding

7686

Ada M Garlick, mother, Feilding

25 October 1916

Rev Ernest Nicholls, Baptist

No	57
Date of Notice	25 October 1916
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Albert Marsden	Ruby Alma Garlick
	💍 1916/2981
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic Duties
Age	26	20
Dwelling Place	Feilding	Feilding
Length of Residence	3 days	20 years
Marriage Place	Baptist Manse Bowen Street Feilding
Folio	7686
Consent	Ada M Garlick, mother, Feilding
Date of Certificate	25 October 1916
Officiating Minister	Rev Ernest Nicholls, Baptist

8 November 1916

Charles Jenner Poole
Winifred Elsie Topp

Charles Jenner Poole
Winifred Elsie Sopp
💍 1916/1059

Bachelor
Spinster

Refrigerating Engineer
Domestic Duties

28
19

Feilding
Feilding

3 days
19 years

Presbyterian Church Feilding

7658

Henry Topp, Father, Feilding

8 November 1916

Rev Thomas Miller, Presbyterian

No	58
Date of Notice	8 November 1916
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Jenner Poole	Winifred Elsie Topp
BDM Match (97%)	Charles Jenner Poole	Winifred Elsie Sopp
	💍 1916/1059
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Refrigerating Engineer	Domestic Duties
Age	28	19
Dwelling Place	Feilding	Feilding
Length of Residence	3 days	19 years
Marriage Place	Presbyterian Church Feilding
Folio	7658
Consent	Henry Topp, Father, Feilding
Date of Certificate	8 November 1916
Officiating Minister	Rev Thomas Miller, Presbyterian

13 November 1916

George Frederick Smith
Phoebe Eleanor Sargent

George Frederick Smith
Phoebe Eleanor Sargent
💍 1916/1058

Widower
Widow

Farmer
Domestic Duties

51
44

Feilding
Feilding

3 days
4 years

Office of the Registrar of Marriages Feilding

7657

13 November 1916

Mr E G Shapp, Registrar

No	59
Date of Notice	13 November 1916
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Frederick Smith	Phoebe Eleanor Sargent
	💍 1916/1058
Condition	Widower	Widow
Profession	Farmer	Domestic Duties
Age	51	44
Dwelling Place	Feilding	Feilding
Length of Residence	3 days	4 years
Marriage Place	Office of the Registrar of Marriages Feilding
Folio	7657
Consent
Date of Certificate	13 November 1916
Officiating Minister	Mr E G Shapp, Registrar

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).