Intentions to Marry, 1858

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840370, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

Imaged by Luke Howison at Archives NZ Wellington, December 13 2024

Page 098

District of Wellington Quarter ending 30 September 1858

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

13 July 1858

James Henry Chapfull
Elizabeth Maria Sarah Chappell

James Henry Chappell
Eliza M Sarah Chappell
💍 1858/2356

Bachelor
Spinster

Carpenter

22
20 years 9 months

Wellington Terrace
Wellington Terrace

1 year
4 months

Residence of Mr. Jas. Chappell on Wellington Terrace

Henry Chappell, father

13 July 1858

The Rev. J. Moir

No	53
Date of Notice	13 July 1858
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Henry Chapfull	Elizabeth Maria Sarah Chappell
BDM Match (82%)	James Henry Chappell	Eliza M Sarah Chappell
	💍 1858/2356
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carpenter
Age	22	20 years 9 months
Dwelling Place	Wellington Terrace	Wellington Terrace
Length of Residence	1 year	4 months
Marriage Place	Residence of Mr. Jas. Chappell on Wellington Terrace
Folio
Consent	Henry Chappell, father
Date of Certificate	13 July 1858
Officiating Minister	The Rev. J. Moir

29 July 1858

Henry Norman
Mary Ann Edwards

Henry Norman
Mary Ann Edwards
💍 1858/2454

Bachelor
Spinster

Grazier

25
19

Wellington
Hutt

3 days
10 years

St. Peters, Wellington

Robert Edwards, Father

29 July 1858

Rev. C. Stock. B.A

No	55
Date of Notice	29 July 1858
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Henry Norman	Mary Ann Edwards
	💍 1858/2454
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Grazier
Age	25	19
Dwelling Place	Wellington	Hutt
Length of Residence	3 days	10 years
Marriage Place	St. Peters, Wellington
Folio
Consent	Robert Edwards, Father
Date of Certificate	29 July 1858
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Stock. B.A

2 August 1858

Mackwood Smith
Elizabeth Brough

Mackwood Smith
Elizabeth Brough
💍 1858/2487

Bachelor
Spinster

Mariner

26
21 years 7 months

Wellington
Wellington

2 years
18 months

Roman Catholic Chapel known as 'Mays', at Shantom

Sept. 2nd 1858

Right Rev. Bishop Viard

No	56
Date of Notice	2 August 1858
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Mackwood Smith	Elizabeth Brough
	💍 1858/2487
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Mariner
Age	26	21 years 7 months
Dwelling Place	Wellington	Wellington
Length of Residence	2 years	18 months
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Chapel known as 'Mays', at Shantom
Folio
Consent
Date of Certificate	Sept. 2nd 1858
Officiating Minister	Right Rev. Bishop Viard

16 August 1858

Auston Bonthcott Nilson
Sarah Campbell

Anton Bernhardt Nilsin
Sarah Campbell
💍 1858/2410

Bachelor
Spinster

Carpenter

29
24

Wellington
Wellington

3 months
4 months

Episcopalian Church known as St. Pauls in Wellington

Sept. 2nd 1858

Rev A Baker. M. A

No	57
Date of Notice	16 August 1858
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Auston Bonthcott Nilson	Sarah Campbell
BDM Match (80%)	Anton Bernhardt Nilsin	Sarah Campbell
	💍 1858/2410
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carpenter
Age	29	24
Dwelling Place	Wellington	Wellington
Length of Residence	3 months	4 months
Marriage Place	Episcopalian Church known as St. Pauls in Wellington
Folio
Consent
Date of Certificate	Sept. 2nd 1858
Officiating Minister	Rev A Baker. M. A

11 August 1858

Edward Lawrence
Sarah Ann Nixon

Edward Laurence
Sarah Ann Mexted
💍 1858/2288

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer

25
17

Pororua Road
Porurua Road

4 years
15 years

Episcopalian Church known as St. Pauls in Wellington

George Musted, Father

August 20th 1858

Rev. A. Baker. M. A

No	58
Date of Notice	11 August 1858
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edward Lawrence	Sarah Ann Nixon
BDM Match (81%)	Edward Laurence	Sarah Ann Mexted
	💍 1858/2288
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer
Age	25	17
Dwelling Place	Pororua Road	Porurua Road
Length of Residence	4 years	15 years
Marriage Place	Episcopalian Church known as St. Pauls in Wellington
Folio
Consent	George Musted, Father
Date of Certificate	August 20th 1858
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. Baker. M. A

21 August 1858

James Pickup
Mary Overeno

James Pickup
Mary Overend
💍 1858/2460

Bachelor
Spinster

Fruakerin

22
18

Mount Cook Barracks
Sectro Flat

2 years 4 months
nearly 18 years

Episcopalian Church known as 'St. Peters' in Willis St.

Elizabeth Overend, Mother

No	59
Date of Notice	21 August 1858
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Pickup	Mary Overeno
BDM Match (96%)	James Pickup	Mary Overend
	💍 1858/2460
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Fruakerin
Age	22	18
Dwelling Place	Mount Cook Barracks	Sectro Flat
Length of Residence	2 years 4 months	nearly 18 years
Marriage Place	Episcopalian Church known as 'St. Peters' in Willis St.
Folio
Consent	Elizabeth Overend, Mother
Date of Certificate
Officiating Minister

28 August 1858

George Morrell
Mary Anne Payes

George Morrell
Mary Ann Payne
💍 1858/2383

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer

38
38

Lambton Quay
Lambton Quay

About 4 weeks
About 2 years

Roman Catholic Chapel in Manners St.

August 27 1858

Rev. J. J. P. O'Reilly

No	60
Date of Notice	28 August 1858
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Morrell	Mary Anne Payes
BDM Match (90%)	George Morrell	Mary Ann Payne
	💍 1858/2383
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer
Age	38	38
Dwelling Place	Lambton Quay	Lambton Quay
Length of Residence	About 4 weeks	About 2 years
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Chapel in Manners St.
Folio
Consent
Date of Certificate	August 27 1858
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. J. P. O'Reilly

1154

20 July 1858

William Smith
Mary Trout

"Certificate cancelled after it appeared that Mary Trout is not a widow but is simply living separated from her husband"

Bachelor
Widow

Carpenter

28
38

Wellington
Wellington

4 months
2 1/2 years

Cottage on Thorndon Quay known as "The Cottage of Content"

1 August 1858

The Rev. W. Kirton

No	1154
Date of Notice	20 July 1858
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Smith	Mary Trout
BDM Match (9%)
	💍 "Certificate cancelled after it appeared that Mary Trout is not a widow but is simply living separated from her husband"
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Carpenter
Age	28	38
Dwelling Place	Wellington	Wellington
Length of Residence	4 months	2 1/2 years
Marriage Place	Cottage on Thorndon Quay known as "The Cottage of Content"
Folio
Consent
Date of Certificate	1 August 1858
Officiating Minister	The Rev. W. Kirton

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 1903. 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).