Intentions to Marry, 1860

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840372, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

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

Page 090

District of Wellington Quarter ending 30 June 1860

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

24 April 1860

Thomas Bennett
Maria Cole

Thomas Bennett
Maria Cole
💍 1860/2880

Bachelor
Spinster

Sawyer

21 years & some months
18 years

Hutt
Karori

2 1/2 years
2 years

In the Private Residence of Mr. George Biddle at the Waiwetu

John Camden Cole - Father of Maria Cole

24 April 1860

The Rev. John Thom, & others

No	22
Date of Notice	24 April 1860
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Bennett	Maria Cole
	💍 1860/2880
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Sawyer
Age	21 years & some months	18 years
Dwelling Place	Hutt	Karori
Length of Residence	2 1/2 years	2 years
Marriage Place	In the Private Residence of Mr. George Biddle at the Waiwetu
Folio
Consent	John Camden Cole - Father of Maria Cole
Date of Certificate	24 April 1860
Officiating Minister	The Rev. John Thom, & others

17 May 1860

Henry Moore
Amelia Elizabeth Hart

Henry Moore
Amelia Elizabeth Hart
💍 1860/2883

Widower
Spinster

Shoemaker

39 years
about 35 years

Wellington
Wellington

about 3 months
about 5 years

In the Episcopalian Church known as "St Paul's" in Wellington

1 June 1860

The Right Rev. The Bishop of Wellington, and others

No	23
Date of Notice	17 May 1860
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Henry Moore	Amelia Elizabeth Hart
	💍 1860/2883
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Shoemaker
Age	39 years	about 35 years
Dwelling Place	Wellington	Wellington
Length of Residence	about 3 months	about 5 years
Marriage Place	In the Episcopalian Church known as "St Paul's" in Wellington
Folio
Consent
Date of Certificate	1 June 1860
Officiating Minister	The Right Rev. The Bishop of Wellington, and others

19 May 1860

William Nicholson
Betsy Garside

William Nicholson
Betsy Garside
💍 1860/2866

Bachelor
Spinster

Cabinet maker

33 years
37 years

Cuba Street Wellington
Cuba Street Wellington

11 months
about 18 months

In the Private Residence of William Nicholson in Cuba Street

19 May 1860

The Rev. Joshua Smith, and others

No	24
Date of Notice	19 May 1860
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Nicholson	Betsy Garside
	💍 1860/2866
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Cabinet maker
Age	33 years	37 years
Dwelling Place	Cuba Street Wellington	Cuba Street Wellington
Length of Residence	11 months	about 18 months
Marriage Place	In the Private Residence of William Nicholson in Cuba Street
Folio
Consent
Date of Certificate	19 May 1860
Officiating Minister	The Rev. Joshua Smith, and others

1 June 1860

Alexander Ramsay
Elizabeth Woodman

Alexander Ramsay
Elizabeth Woodman
💍 1860/2863

Bachelor
Spinster

Wheelwright

24 years
about 20 years

Wellington
Taua Flat near Wellington

20 years
20 years

In the Private Residence of Mr. William Camm, Taua Flat

Mary Camm, Mother of Elizabeth Woodman

16 June 1860

The Rev. Joshua Smith, and others

No	25
Date of Notice	1 June 1860
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Alexander Ramsay	Elizabeth Woodman
	💍 1860/2863
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Wheelwright
Age	24 years	about 20 years
Dwelling Place	Wellington	Taua Flat near Wellington
Length of Residence	20 years	20 years
Marriage Place	In the Private Residence of Mr. William Camm, Taua Flat
Folio
Consent	Mary Camm, Mother of Elizabeth Woodman
Date of Certificate	16 June 1860
Officiating Minister	The Rev. Joshua Smith, and others

7 June 1860

Richard Norman Gilbreath
Emma Anderson

Richard Norman Galbreath
Emma Anderson
💍 1860/2860

Bachelor
Spinster

Mariner

23 years
27 years

Wellington
Wellington

3 years
about 2 years

In the Private Residence of The Rev. John Moir, in Wellington

7 June 1860

The Rev. John Moir, and others

No	26
Date of Notice	7 June 1860
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Richard Norman Gilbreath	Emma Anderson
BDM Match (98%)	Richard Norman Galbreath	Emma Anderson
	💍 1860/2860
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Mariner
Age	23 years	27 years
Dwelling Place	Wellington	Wellington
Length of Residence	3 years	about 2 years
Marriage Place	In the Private Residence of The Rev. John Moir, in Wellington
Folio
Consent
Date of Certificate	7 June 1860
Officiating Minister	The Rev. John Moir, and others

14 June 1860

John Chittey
Mary Ann Holmes

John Chitty
Mary Ann Holmes
💍 1860/2895

Bachelor
Spinster

Turnkey of the Wellington gaol

28 years
Full age

Wellington
Wellington

3 years
about 18 years

St Peter's Church in Willis Street Wellington

14 June 1860

The Rev. Arthur Stock, B. A. and others

No	27
Date of Notice	14 June 1860
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Chittey	Mary Ann Holmes
BDM Match (96%)	John Chitty	Mary Ann Holmes
	💍 1860/2895
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Turnkey of the Wellington gaol
Age	28 years	Full age
Dwelling Place	Wellington	Wellington
Length of Residence	3 years	about 18 years
Marriage Place	St Peter's Church in Willis Street Wellington
Folio
Consent
Date of Certificate	14 June 1860
Officiating Minister	The Rev. Arthur Stock, B. A. and others

14 June 1860

Edward Price Jackson
Mary Ann Murphy

Edward P Jackson
Mary A Murphy
💍 1860/2872

Bachelor
Spinster

Mariner

24 years
18 years

Wellington
Wellington

about 3 years
18 years

In the Roman Catholic Chapel known as "St Mary's" in Manners Street

Margaret Murphy, Mother of Mary Ann Murphy

14 June 1860

The Rev. J. J. P. O'Reilly, and others

No	28
Date of Notice	14 June 1860
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edward Price Jackson	Mary Ann Murphy
BDM Match (83%)	Edward P Jackson	Mary A Murphy
	💍 1860/2872
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Mariner
Age	24 years	18 years
Dwelling Place	Wellington	Wellington
Length of Residence	about 3 years	18 years
Marriage Place	In the Roman Catholic Chapel known as "St Mary's" in Manners Street
Folio
Consent	Margaret Murphy, Mother of Mary Ann Murphy
Date of Certificate	14 June 1860
Officiating Minister	The Rev. J. J. P. O'Reilly, and others

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).