1865 Intentions to Marry

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840377, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

Page 323

District of Christchurch Quarter ending Jan - Mar

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

763

2 January 1865

Cecil Tranter
Isabella Ellen Adams

Cecil Transom
Isabella Ellen Adam
💍 1865/7079

Bachelor
Spinster

Carpenter
Milliner

23
17

Christchurch
Do

8 mos
1 year

Congregational Church

1013

none

2 January 1865

Rev. Habens

No	763
Date of Notice	2 January 1865
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Cecil Tranter	Isabella Ellen Adams
BDM Match (86%)	Cecil Transom	Isabella Ellen Adam
	💍 1865/7079
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carpenter	Milliner
Age	23	17
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Do
Length of Residence	8 mos	1 year
Marriage Place	Congregational Church
Folio	1013
Consent	none
Date of Certificate	2 January 1865
Officiating Minister	Rev. Habens

764

5 January 1865

William Thomas King
Frances Jane Wiseman

William Thomas King South
Frances Jane Wiseman
💍 1865/7145

Bachelor
Spinster

Comedian
do

23
18

Christchurch
Do

12 weeks
12 weeks

St. Michaels Church

1035

Mary Ann Wiseman, mother

6 January 1865

Rev. H. Jacobs

No	764
Date of Notice	5 January 1865
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Thomas King	Frances Jane Wiseman
BDM Match (88%)	William Thomas King South	Frances Jane Wiseman
	💍 1865/7145
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Comedian	do
Age	23	18
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Do
Length of Residence	12 weeks	12 weeks
Marriage Place	St. Michaels Church
Folio	1035
Consent	Mary Ann Wiseman, mother
Date of Certificate	6 January 1865
Officiating Minister	Rev. H. Jacobs

765

6 January 1865

William Cole
Margaret Winson

William Cole
Margaret Atkinson
💍 1865/7402

Bachelor
Widow

Carter
House Keeper

49
38

Christchurch
Do

3 days
3 days

Mr Bodles house

1122

6 January 1865

Rev. C Fraser

No	765
Date of Notice	6 January 1865
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Cole	Margaret Winson
BDM Match (91%)	William Cole	Margaret Atkinson
	💍 1865/7402
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Carter	House Keeper
Age	49	38
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Do
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	Mr Bodles house
Folio	1122
Consent
Date of Certificate	6 January 1865
Officiating Minister	Rev. C Fraser

766

6 January 1865

Charles Nimmo
Elizabeth Streeter

Charles Kimber
Elizabeth Streeter
💍 1865/7787

Bachelor
Spinster

farmer
Servant

23
23

Lake Ellesmere
Do

2 years
1 year

Winders house

1258

6 January 1865

Rev. G Grant

No	766
Date of Notice	6 January 1865
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Nimmo	Elizabeth Streeter
BDM Match (86%)	Charles Kimber	Elizabeth Streeter
	💍 1865/7787
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	farmer	Servant
Age	23	23
Dwelling Place	Lake Ellesmere	Do
Length of Residence	2 years	1 year
Marriage Place	Winders house
Folio	1258
Consent
Date of Certificate	6 January 1865
Officiating Minister	Rev. G Grant

767

7 January 1865

James Dove
Isabella Doverty

James Dow
Isabella Doverty
💍 1865/7705

Bachelor
Spinster

Carpenter

25
23

Christchurch
Do

8 days
3 days

Registrars Office

1231

7 January 1865

Registrar

No	767
Date of Notice	7 January 1865
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Dove	Isabella Doverty
BDM Match (90%)	James Dow	Isabella Doverty
	💍 1865/7705
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carpenter
Age	25	23
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Do
Length of Residence	8 days	3 days
Marriage Place	Registrars Office
Folio	1231
Consent
Date of Certificate	7 January 1865
Officiating Minister	Registrar

768

9 January 1865

Francis Le Manquais
Clarissa Ann Webster

Francis Le Mauquais
Clarissa Ann Webster
💍 1865/7157

Bachelor
Widow

gold miner
Servant

35
35

Christchurch
Do

6 mos
17 mos

St. Michaels Church

1039

28 January 1865

Rev. H Jacobs

No	768
Date of Notice	9 January 1865
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Francis Le Manquais	Clarissa Ann Webster
BDM Match (97%)	Francis Le Mauquais	Clarissa Ann Webster
	💍 1865/7157
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	gold miner	Servant
Age	35	35
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Do
Length of Residence	6 mos	17 mos
Marriage Place	St. Michaels Church
Folio	1039
Consent
Date of Certificate	28 January 1865
Officiating Minister	Rev. H Jacobs

769

10 January 1865

John Thompson
Mary Ann Hawes

John Thompson
Mary Ann Haines
💍 1865/7151

Bachelor
Spinster

Stonemason
Servant

35
36

Christchurch
Do

11 mos
5 [UNCLEAR]

St. Michaels Church

1037

10 January 1865

Rev H Jacobs

No	769
Date of Notice	10 January 1865
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Thompson	Mary Ann Hawes
BDM Match (93%)	John Thompson	Mary Ann Haines
	💍 1865/7151
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Stonemason	Servant
Age	35	36
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Do
Length of Residence	11 mos	5 [UNCLEAR]
Marriage Place	St. Michaels Church
Folio	1037
Consent
Date of Certificate	10 January 1865
Officiating Minister	Rev H Jacobs

770

16 January 1865

William Allison
Mary Robertson

William Allison
Mary Robertson
💍 1865/7790

William Banks
Jessie Robertson
💍 1865/7802

Bachelor
Spinster

Carpenter
Servant

28
25

Christchurch
Do

1 1/2 year
3 weeks

Mr McDonalds house

1259

16 January 1865

Rev. G Grant

No	770
Date of Notice	16 January 1865
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Allison	Mary Robertson
	💍 1865/7790
BDM Match (61%)	William Banks	Jessie Robertson
	💍 1865/7802
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carpenter	Servant
Age	28	25
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Do
Length of Residence	1 1/2 year	3 weeks
Marriage Place	Mr McDonalds house
Folio	1259
Consent
Date of Certificate	16 January 1865
Officiating Minister	Rev. G Grant

771

16 January 1865

Henry Post
Emma Leigh

Henry Rost
Emma Leigh
💍 1865/7405

Bachelor
Widow

Labourer
Servant

30
27

Papanui
L. Lincoln Rd

4
1

Mr Bearmans house

1123

16 January 1865

Rev. C Fraser

No	771
Date of Notice	16 January 1865
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Henry Post	Emma Leigh
BDM Match (95%)	Henry Rost	Emma Leigh
	💍 1865/7405
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Labourer	Servant
Age	30	27
Dwelling Place	Papanui	L. Lincoln Rd
Length of Residence	4	1
Marriage Place	Mr Bearmans house
Folio	1123
Consent
Date of Certificate	16 January 1865
Officiating Minister	Rev. C Fraser

These records have been automatically transcribed and must be verified using the page image (below)

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Attribution: This image was digitised by Archives NZ Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga and is republished here under CC BY. It has been cropped and rotated for convenience.

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).