Intentions to Marry, 1864

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840376, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

Page 210

District of Nelson Quarter ending 31 March 1864 Registrar John Poynter

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 February 1864

George Porter Flower
Eliza Nicol

George Porter Flower
Eliza Allcot
💍 1864/7951

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer

26
21

Waimea East
Waimea East

14 years
10 years

At the office of the Registrar of marriages, Nelson

778

24 February 1864

The Registrar of marriages

No	14
Date of Notice	24 February 1864
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Porter Flower	Eliza Nicol
BDM Match (83%)	George Porter Flower	Eliza Allcot
	💍 1864/7951
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	26	21
Dwelling Place	Waimea East	Waimea East
Length of Residence	14 years	10 years
Marriage Place	At the office of the Registrar of marriages, Nelson
Folio	778
Consent
Date of Certificate	24 February 1864
Officiating Minister	The Registrar of marriages

29 February 1864

John Frost
Emma McDonald

John Frost
Emma McDonald
💍 1864/8073

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer

25
19

Suburban North
City of Nelson

12 years
8 years

At Christ church, Nelson

729

Ann Gray mother

29 February 1864

The Rev. Geo. Henry Johnstone

No	15
Date of Notice	29 February 1864
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Frost	Emma McDonald
	💍 1864/8073
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer
Age	25	19
Dwelling Place	Suburban North	City of Nelson
Length of Residence	12 years	8 years
Marriage Place	At Christ church, Nelson
Folio	729
Consent	Ann Gray mother
Date of Certificate	29 February 1864
Officiating Minister	The Rev. Geo. Henry Johnstone

5 March 1864

Thomas Shirtliff
Ann Cawthron

Thomas Shirtliff
Ann Cawthron
💍 1864/8329

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer

24
21

City of Nelson
City of Nelson

2 years
16 years

At the residence of Thomas Cawthron agent, Collingwood Street

703

5 March 1864

The Rev. Will. Moore Biss

No	16
Date of Notice	5 March 1864
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Shirtliff	Ann Cawthron
	💍 1864/8329
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer
Age	24	21
Dwelling Place	City of Nelson	City of Nelson
Length of Residence	2 years	16 years
Marriage Place	At the residence of Thomas Cawthron agent, Collingwood Street
Folio	703
Consent
Date of Certificate	5 March 1864
Officiating Minister	The Rev. Will. Moore Biss

7 March 1864

Robert Simpson the younger
Sarah Ann Thompson

Robert Simpson
Sarah Ann Thompson
💍 1864/7894

Bachelor
Spinster

Cooper

23
22

City of Nelson
City of Nelson

14 years
20 years

At the residence of Robt Simpson the elder, blacksmith, Washington Road

756

29 March 1864

The Rev. Patrick Calder

No	17
Date of Notice	7 March 1864
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Robert Simpson the younger	Sarah Ann Thompson
BDM Match (77%)	Robert Simpson	Sarah Ann Thompson
	💍 1864/7894
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Cooper
Age	23	22
Dwelling Place	City of Nelson	City of Nelson
Length of Residence	14 years	20 years
Marriage Place	At the residence of Robt Simpson the elder, blacksmith, Washington Road
Folio	756
Consent
Date of Certificate	29 March 1864
Officiating Minister	The Rev. Patrick Calder

15 March 1864

James McMurray
Charlotte Kite

James McMurray
Charlotte Kite
💍 1864/7888

Bachelor
Spinster

Baker

26
17

Richmond
Richmond

2 years
17 years

At the residence of James McMurray baker, Richmond

754

Lucy Kite mother

15 March 1864

The Rev. Patrick Calder

No	18
Date of Notice	15 March 1864
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James McMurray	Charlotte Kite
	💍 1864/7888
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Baker
Age	26	17
Dwelling Place	Richmond	Richmond
Length of Residence	2 years	17 years
Marriage Place	At the residence of James McMurray baker, Richmond
Folio	754
Consent	Lucy Kite mother
Date of Certificate	15 March 1864
Officiating Minister	The Rev. Patrick Calder

19 March 1864

Edmund George Woolcott
Mary Anne Gilbert

Edward George Woolcott
Mary Ann Gilbert
💍 1864/8299

Bachelor
Spinster

Builder

29
19

Suburban North
Suburban North

4 months
4 years

At the residence of Thomas Gilbert schoolmaster, Suburban North

693

Thomas Gilbert father

19 March 1864

The Rev. Edward Thomas

No	19
Date of Notice	19 March 1864
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edmund George Woolcott	Mary Anne Gilbert
BDM Match (90%)	Edward George Woolcott	Mary Ann Gilbert
	💍 1864/8299
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Builder
Age	29	19
Dwelling Place	Suburban North	Suburban North
Length of Residence	4 months	4 years
Marriage Place	At the residence of Thomas Gilbert schoolmaster, Suburban North
Folio	693
Consent	Thomas Gilbert father
Date of Certificate	19 March 1864
Officiating Minister	The Rev. Edward Thomas

24 March 1864

George Winter
Margaret Stewart

George Winter
Margaret Stewart
💍 1864/7900

George Winter
Mary Beaton Brock
💍 1864/3835

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer

26
20

City of Nelson
City of Nelson

22 years
8 years

At the residence of Daniel Stewart labourer, Wakapuaka Road

758

Daniel Stewart father

not yet issued

No	20
Date of Notice	24 March 1864
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Winter	Margaret Stewart
	💍 1864/7900
BDM Match (65%)	George Winter	Mary Beaton Brock
	💍 1864/3835
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	26	20
Dwelling Place	City of Nelson	City of Nelson
Length of Residence	22 years	8 years
Marriage Place	At the residence of Daniel Stewart labourer, Wakapuaka Road
Folio	758
Consent	Daniel Stewart father
Date of Certificate	not yet issued
Officiating Minister

26 March 1864

Walter Sturney
Rebecca Robinson

Walter Sturney
Rebecca Robinson
💍 1864/7891

Bachelor
Spinster

Billard marker

23
17

City of Nelson
City of Nelson

18 months
6 years

At the Presbyterian Church in Nelson

755

Joseph Robinson father

26 March 1864

The Rev. Patrick Calder

No	21
Date of Notice	26 March 1864
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Walter Sturney	Rebecca Robinson
	💍 1864/7891
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Billard marker
Age	23	17
Dwelling Place	City of Nelson	City of Nelson
Length of Residence	18 months	6 years
Marriage Place	At the Presbyterian Church in Nelson
Folio	755
Consent	Joseph Robinson father
Date of Certificate	26 March 1864
Officiating Minister	The Rev. Patrick Calder

31 March 1864

William Flett
Mary Ann McDonald

William Flett
Mary Ann McDonald
💍 1864/7897

Bachelor
Spinster

Sawyer

27
17

City of Nelson
City of Nelson

1 month
17 years

At the residence of Janet McDonald widow, Bridge Street

757

Janet McDonald, mother

31 March 1864

The Rev. Patrick Calder

No	22
Date of Notice	31 March 1864
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Flett	Mary Ann McDonald
	💍 1864/7897
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Sawyer
Age	27	17
Dwelling Place	City of Nelson	City of Nelson
Length of Residence	1 month	17 years
Marriage Place	At the residence of Janet McDonald widow, Bridge Street
Folio	757
Consent	Janet McDonald, mother
Date of Certificate	31 March 1864
Officiating Minister	The Rev. Patrick Calder

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).