Intentions to Marry, 1859

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840371, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

Imaged by Luke Howison at Archives NZ Wellington, December 12 2024

Page 147

District of Nelson Quarter ending 30 June 1859

No	Date of Notice	Names and Surnames of Parties	BDM Match	Condition	Calling or Profession	Age	Dwelling Place	Length of Residence	Marriage Place	Consent	Date of Certificate	Officiating Minister
9	6 April 1859	David Fullan Ann Hilton	David Fulton Ann Hilton 💍 1859/1930	Bachelor Spinster	Barman	35 20	Town of Nelson Town of Nelson	2 years 5 years	At the Protestant Episcopalian Church in Nelson		21 April 1859	Rev. Rob: Baleman Paul Archdeacon
10	13 April 1859	Thomas Newton Eliza Hodgson	Thomas Newton Eliza Hodgson 💍 1859/1933	Bachelor Spinster	Veterinary Surgeon	24 21	Town of Nelson Town of Nelson	3 years 3 years	At the residence of Mr Benjamin Oliver Hodgson in Scotland Street - Nelson		13 April 1859	Rev. John Warren
11	14 April 1859	Henry Silvester Bush Ellen Cant	Henry Silvester Bush Ellen Cant 💍 1859/2212	Bachelor Spinster	Wood Turner	28 22	Town of Nelson Town of Nelson	1 month 2 years	At the Protestant Episcopalian Church at Richmond Waimea East		15 April 1859	Rev. Samuel Poole
12	21 April 1859	Henry Thomson Mary Ann Coates	Henry Thomson Mary Anne Coates 💍 1859/2209	Bachelor Spinster	Master Mariner	30 21	Town of Nelson Town of Nelson	3 years 8 years	At the Protestant Episcopalian Church in Nelson		21 April 1859	Rev. Robt: Bateman Paul Archdeacon
13	7 May 1859	William Moore Sarah Gardiner Burrall	William Moore Sarah Gardiner Burrell 💍 1859/2036	Widower Spinster	Schoolmaster	48 35	Waimea West Town of Nelson	10 years 8 years	At the residence of Mr Edward Challies Farmer Waimea West		7 May 1859	Rev. Thomas Dickson Nicholson
14	7 May 1859	William Newth Ellianor Kinzett	William Newth Eleiona Kinzett 💍 1859/2206	Bachelor Spinster	Brickmaker	22 22	Waimea East Waimea East	8 years 6 years	At the residence of Mr George Kinzett Farmer Waimea East		7 May 1859	Rev. John Warren
15	13 May 1859	Frederick John Evers Dorothy Christiane Johanna Plath	Frederick John Ewers Dorothy Christine Johanna Plath 💍 1859/2192	Bachelor Spinster	Labourer	28 25	Raumati Waimea East Raumati Waimea East	2 weeks 2 weeks	In the Lutheran Church		3 June 1859	Rev. duo Will Clv. Heine
16	13 May 1859	Hans Henry Eggers Dorothy Schütt	Hans Henry Eggers Dorothea Margrethe Magdalena Schutt 💍 1859/2195	Bachelor Spinster	Labourer	22 26	Raumati Waimea East Raumati Waimea East	2 weeks 2 weeks	In the Lutheran Church		3 June 1859	Rev. Ino: Will Clv. Heine
17	19 May 1859	Joseph Gardner Elizabeth Jeffress	Joseph Gardner Elizabeth Jaffray 💍 1859/2201	Bachelor Spinster	Rope maker	27 22	Suburban South Town of Nelson	7 years 2 years	At the residence of Mr. Rob. Shallcraps Brougham St. Nelson		3 June 1859	Rev. Patrick Calder
18	23 May 1859	Antonio Fauchelli Mary Ann Elizabeth Burbush	Antonia Fauchelli Mary Ann Elizabeth Burbush 💍 1859/2198	Bachelor Spinster	Sawyer	28 19	Upper Wakefield Waimea South Eighty eight valley Waimea South	3 years 2 years	At the Office of the Reg: of marriages in the Town of Nelson	Robert Burbush Father	9 June 1859	John Poynter Registrar of Marriages
19	25 May 1859	Thomas Hargreaves Hannah Fletcher	Thomas Hargreaves Hannah Fletcher 💍 1859/2203	Bachelor Spinster	Gold digger	32 21	Town of Nelson Town of Nelson	14 days 1 year	At the residence of Mr Thos Hargreaves Waimea Rd: Nelson		25 May 1859	Rev. John Warren
20	7 June 1859	James Taylor Emma Bruce	James Taylor Emma Bruce 💍 1859/1963	Bachelor Widow	Farmer	38 26	Waimea East Waimea East	8 years 8 years	At the office of the Reg: of marriages in the Town of Nelson
21	15 June 1859	William Quinney Sarah Ann Brewerton	William Quinney Sarah Ann Brewerton 💍 1859/2189	Bachelor Spinster	Labourer	24 19	Spring Grove Waimea South Spring Grove Waimea South	2 years 10 years	At the residence of Mr. John Brewerton Farmer Spring Grove Waimea South	John Brewerton Father	15 June 1859	Rev. John Warren
22	16 June 1859	Henry Wendelborn Dorus Fanzelow	Henry Wendelborn Dorothea Fanzelow 💍 1859/1960	Bachelor Spinster	Farmer	22 21	Waimea West Waimea East	15 years 4 years	In the Lutheran Church Waimea East		16 June 1859	Rev. Ino: Will Ch. Heine
23	28 June 1859	George William Lightband Rebecca Brent	George W Lightband Rebecca Brent 💍 1859/2186	Bachelor Spinster	Gold digger	25 19	Town of Nelson Town of Nelson	15 years 3 years	At the residence of Mr. William Brent, Hardy St. Nelson	William Brent Father	28 June 1859	Rev. John Warren

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 1894. More registers will be added as the project continues.

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).