Intentions to Marry, 1867

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840379, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

Page 224

District of Wellington 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

January 29th 1867

Richard Pierce
Jane Orr

Richard Pierce
Jane Orr
💍 1867/5965

Bachelor
Spinster

Surveyor

36
33

Wellington
Wellington

nearly 2 years
1 year

St Paul's Church Thorndon

551

January 29th 1867

The Revd P.H. Maxwill M.A. and others

No	10
Date of Notice	January 29th 1867
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Richard Pierce	Jane Orr
	💍 1867/5965
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Surveyor
Age	36	33
Dwelling Place	Wellington	Wellington
Length of Residence	nearly 2 years	1 year
Marriage Place	St Paul's Church Thorndon
Folio	551
Consent
Date of Certificate	January 29th 1867
Officiating Minister	The Revd P.H. Maxwill M.A. and others

January 30th 1867

William Patrick Crawford
Louisa Emma Webb

Wm Patrick Crawford
Louisa Emma Wild
💍 1867/5896

Bachelor
Spinster

Clerk

26
22

Wellington
Wellington

7 months
6 months

Residence of Mrs Wellington Street

527

January 30th 1867

The Rev John Moir and others

No	11
Date of Notice	January 30th 1867
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Patrick Crawford	Louisa Emma Webb
BDM Match (80%)	Wm Patrick Crawford	Louisa Emma Wild
	💍 1867/5896
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Clerk
Age	26	22
Dwelling Place	Wellington	Wellington
Length of Residence	7 months	6 months
Marriage Place	Residence of Mrs Wellington Street
Folio	527
Consent
Date of Certificate	January 30th 1867
Officiating Minister	The Rev John Moir and others

January 30th 1867

Edward Vaughan
Jane Gourlay

Edward Vaughan
Jane Gourlay
💍 1867/5893

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer

31
28

Hutt
Wellington

3 months
1 week

Free Church of Scotland Willis Street

526

January 30th 1867

The Rev. John Moir and others

No	12
Date of Notice	January 30th 1867
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edward Vaughan	Jane Gourlay
	💍 1867/5893
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer
Age	31	28
Dwelling Place	Hutt	Wellington
Length of Residence	3 months	1 week
Marriage Place	Free Church of Scotland Willis Street
Folio	526
Consent
Date of Certificate	January 30th 1867
Officiating Minister	The Rev. John Moir and others

February 1st 1867

James Headifen
Eliza Elizabeth Bird

James Stendifen
Eliza Elizabeth Bird
💍 1867/5929

Bachelor
Spinster

Ships cook

26
19

Wellington
Wellington

about 9 years
6 years

Willis Street

538

William Bird, Father

February 1st 1867

The Rev [UNCLEAR] and others

No	13
Date of Notice	February 1st 1867
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Headifen	Eliza Elizabeth Bird
BDM Match (90%)	James Stendifen	Eliza Elizabeth Bird
	💍 1867/5929
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Ships cook
Age	26	19
Dwelling Place	Wellington	Wellington
Length of Residence	about 9 years	6 years
Marriage Place	Willis Street
Folio	538
Consent	William Bird, Father
Date of Certificate	February 1st 1867
Officiating Minister	The Rev [UNCLEAR] and others

February 4th 1867

Hugh Ingram
Ann Rebecca Lambert

Hugh Ingram
Ann Rebekah Lambert
💍 1867/6037

Bachelor
Widow

Shoemaker

35
40

Wellington
Wellington

12 months
10 years

St Peter's Church Willis Street

570

February 19th 1867

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

No	14
Date of Notice	February 4th 1867
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Hugh Ingram	Ann Rebecca Lambert
BDM Match (92%)	Hugh Ingram	Ann Rebekah Lambert
	💍 1867/6037
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Shoemaker
Age	35	40
Dwelling Place	Wellington	Wellington
Length of Residence	12 months	10 years
Marriage Place	St Peter's Church Willis Street
Folio	570
Consent
Date of Certificate	February 19th 1867
Officiating Minister	The Rev. A. Stock, B.A. and others

February 5th 1867

William George Rance
Catherine Cashen

George Raines
Catharine Cashen
💍 1867/6016

Bachelor
Spinster

Mariner

26
20

Wellington
Wellington

6 years
over 3 years

Roman Catholic Chapel Manners Street

569

There was no person in the Colony authorized to give consent

February 5th 1867

The Rev. J G O'Reilly and others

No	15
Date of Notice	February 5th 1867
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William George Rance	Catherine Cashen
BDM Match (69%)	George Raines	Catharine Cashen
	💍 1867/6016
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Mariner
Age	26	20
Dwelling Place	Wellington	Wellington
Length of Residence	6 years	over 3 years
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Chapel Manners Street
Folio	569
Consent	There was no person in the Colony authorized to give consent
Date of Certificate	February 5th 1867
Officiating Minister	The Rev. J G O'Reilly and others

February 12th 1867

William Thomson
Eliza Green

William Thomson
Eliza Green
💍 1867/5926

Bachelor
Spinster

Iron-moulder

28
nearly 21 years

Wellington
Wellington

2 years
18 years

Scotch Church Lambton Quay

537

Isaac Green, Father

February 12th 1867

The Rev. J. Tums and others

No	16
Date of Notice	February 12th 1867
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Thomson	Eliza Green
	💍 1867/5926
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Iron-moulder
Age	28	nearly 21 years
Dwelling Place	Wellington	Wellington
Length of Residence	2 years	18 years
Marriage Place	Scotch Church Lambton Quay
Folio	537
Consent	Isaac Green, Father
Date of Certificate	February 12th 1867
Officiating Minister	The Rev. J. Tums and others

February 18th 1867

Florence Romwald McCarthy
Margaret Sarah Bird

Florence Ronald McCarthy
Margaret Sarah Bird
💍 1867/5902

Bachelor
Spinster

Printer

33
20

Wellington
Wellington

2 years
2 years

Residence of the said F. R. McCarthy Willis Street

529

William Bird, Father

February 22nd 1867

The Rev John Moir, and others

No	17
Date of Notice	February 18th 1867
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Florence Romwald McCarthy	Margaret Sarah Bird
BDM Match (96%)	Florence Ronald McCarthy	Margaret Sarah Bird
	💍 1867/5902
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Printer
Age	33	20
Dwelling Place	Wellington	Wellington
Length of Residence	2 years	2 years
Marriage Place	Residence of the said F. R. McCarthy Willis Street
Folio	529
Consent	William Bird, Father
Date of Certificate	February 22nd 1867
Officiating Minister	The Rev John Moir, and others

February 18th 1867

Arthur Hayward Coven
Kate Hoffard

Arthur Hayward Owen
Kate Hoggard
💍 1867/6034

Bachelor
Spinster

Chemical

30
20

Wellington
Wellington

about 10 years
2 years

St Peter's Church Te Aro

575

Sarah Levy, mother

February 19th 1867

The Rev A. Stock BA and others

No	18
Date of Notice	February 18th 1867
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Arthur Hayward Coven	Kate Hoffard
BDM Match (84%)	Arthur Hayward Owen	Kate Hoggard
	💍 1867/6034
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Chemical
Age	30	20
Dwelling Place	Wellington	Wellington
Length of Residence	about 10 years	2 years
Marriage Place	St Peter's Church Te Aro
Folio	575
Consent	Sarah Levy, mother
Date of Certificate	February 19th 1867
Officiating Minister	The Rev A. Stock BA and others

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).