The clues are in the small print

Sir George Grey Special Collections, AWNS-19360506-45-4

Do you have any family members who had/have wedding anniversaries, or died between 1934 and 1970? If so, have you checked The New Zealand Herald anniversaries and death notices 1939 – 1970 [microform] : index & transcriptions slips*? You may just locate information that you have previously missed.

The names index was extracted from more than 22,000 handwritten transcriptions of death and anniversary notices. The second part of this resource contains the microfiched transcription slips.

The transcription slips contain the full text and date of the notice as it appeared in the newspaper. Usually the names of the people involved are included as well as a date and place. Sometimes there is even a reference to another source of information that may be followed up on later.

Often five or more people are named in an anniversary transcription slip. All of these names have been included in the index. There are over 100,000 individuals indexed, of which about 62,000 names are those of couples married. There may be more transcription slips connected to a marriage, for example when there is a notice for a couple’s silver wedding anniversary as well as one for their golden wedding anniversary.

The microfiche includes a guide on how to use the resource, including a key to abbreviations used in the transcriptions and the principles the compilers followed when putting the names of people in alphabetical order.

Have a look … You never know what (or who) you might find!

Author: Lynn, Research South

*The 1995 edition of the index and transcription slips is held at the Central Auckland Research Centre; the South Auckland Research Centre and the West Auckland Research Centre hold a 2004 edition (updated with minor amendments).