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 325

District of Nelson Quarter ending 30 June 1867 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

1 April 1867

Frederick George Merritt
Sarah Eves

Frederick George Merritt
Sarah Eves
💍 1867/6694

Bachelor
Spinster

Painter

23
20

City of Nelson
Waimea South

8 years
20 years

at residence of Frederick George Merritt painter, Tasman St., Nelson

799

William Eves, Father

15 April 1867

Rev. John Davis

No	27
Date of Notice	1 April 1867
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Frederick George Merritt	Sarah Eves
	💍 1867/6694
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Painter
Age	23	20
Dwelling Place	City of Nelson	Waimea South
Length of Residence	8 years	20 years
Marriage Place	at residence of Frederick George Merritt painter, Tasman St., Nelson
Folio	799
Consent	William Eves, Father
Date of Certificate	15 April 1867
Officiating Minister	Rev. John Davis

2 April 1867

Henry Flower
Ellen Anderson

Henry Flower
Ellen Anderson
💍 1867/6769

Bachelor
Spinster

Sawyer

26
19

Suburban North
Suburban North

10 years
16 years

at the protestant Episcopalian Church, Suburban North

824

Robert Anderson, Father

2 April 1867

Rev. George Henry Johnstone

No	28
Date of Notice	2 April 1867
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Henry Flower	Ellen Anderson
	💍 1867/6769
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Sawyer
Age	26	19
Dwelling Place	Suburban North	Suburban North
Length of Residence	10 years	16 years
Marriage Place	at the protestant Episcopalian Church, Suburban North
Folio	824
Consent	Robert Anderson, Father
Date of Certificate	2 April 1867
Officiating Minister	Rev. George Henry Johnstone

8 April 1867

Richard Palmer
Mary Ann Hill

Richard Palmer
Mary Ann Hill
💍 1867/6853

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer

20
22

Spring Grove
Waimea East

18 years
2 years

St Paul's Church, Spring Grove

852

Elizabeth Hyde, mother

8 April 1867

Rev. Arthur Towgood

No	29
Date of Notice	8 April 1867
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Richard Palmer	Mary Ann Hill
	💍 1867/6853
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	20	22
Dwelling Place	Spring Grove	Waimea East
Length of Residence	18 years	2 years
Marriage Place	St Paul's Church, Spring Grove
Folio	852
Consent	Elizabeth Hyde, mother
Date of Certificate	8 April 1867
Officiating Minister	Rev. Arthur Towgood

8 April 1867

Benjamin Lines
Sarah Allcock

Benjamin Lines
Sarah Allcock
💍 1867/6832

Widower
Spinster

Sawyer

36
36

Wakefield
Waimea East

24 years
2 years

at the residence of Thomas Lines farmer, Waimea East

845

8 April 1867

Rev. Edward Thomas

No	30
Date of Notice	8 April 1867
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Benjamin Lines	Sarah Allcock
	💍 1867/6832
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Sawyer
Age	36	36
Dwelling Place	Wakefield	Waimea East
Length of Residence	24 years	2 years
Marriage Place	at the residence of Thomas Lines farmer, Waimea East
Folio	845
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 April 1867
Officiating Minister	Rev. Edward Thomas

11 April 1867

Peter Martin
Caroline Lambert

Peter Martin
Caroline Lambert
💍 1867/6829

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer

25
22

City of Nelson
City of Nelson

3 years
2 weeks

at the residence of Thomas Martin, Rising Sun Tavern, Waimea Road

844

11 April 1867

Rev. Edward Thomas

No	31
Date of Notice	11 April 1867
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Peter Martin	Caroline Lambert
	💍 1867/6829
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer
Age	25	22
Dwelling Place	City of Nelson	City of Nelson
Length of Residence	3 years	2 weeks
Marriage Place	at the residence of Thomas Martin, Rising Sun Tavern, Waimea Road
Folio	844
Consent
Date of Certificate	11 April 1867
Officiating Minister	Rev. Edward Thomas

12 April 1867

William Biggar
Mary Ann Best

William Biggar
Mary Ann Best
💍 1867/6595

Bachelor
Spinster

Inn manager

25
19

Stoke
Stoke

5 years
19 years

at the Presbyterian Church in Nelson

764

Job Best, Father

12 April 1867

Rev. Patrick Calder

No	32
Date of Notice	12 April 1867
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Biggar	Mary Ann Best
	💍 1867/6595
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Inn manager
Age	25	19
Dwelling Place	Stoke	Stoke
Length of Residence	5 years	19 years
Marriage Place	at the Presbyterian Church in Nelson
Folio	764
Consent	Job Best, Father
Date of Certificate	12 April 1867
Officiating Minister	Rev. Patrick Calder

15 April 1867

William Atkins
Sarah Anne Staples

William Atkins
Sarah Ann Staples
💍 1867/6664

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer

22
20

Motueka
City of Nelson

2 years
4 days

at the Wesleyan Chapel, Hardy St., Nelson

781

consent given at Motueka

15 April 1867

Rev. John Crump

No	33
Date of Notice	15 April 1867
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Atkins	Sarah Anne Staples
BDM Match (97%)	William Atkins	Sarah Ann Staples
	💍 1867/6664
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	22	20
Dwelling Place	Motueka	City of Nelson
Length of Residence	2 years	4 days
Marriage Place	at the Wesleyan Chapel, Hardy St., Nelson
Folio	781
Consent	consent given at Motueka
Date of Certificate	15 April 1867
Officiating Minister	Rev. John Crump

15 April 1867

Denis Conway Hurley
Jane Cate

Denis Courvay Hurley
Jane Cate
💍 1867/6724

Bachelor
Spinster

Ostler

26
22

City of Nelson
City of Nelson

6 years
22 years

at the Catholic Church, Nelson

809

18 April 1867

Rev. Ant. Marie Garin

No	34
Date of Notice	15 April 1867
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Denis Conway Hurley	Jane Cate
BDM Match (93%)	Denis Courvay Hurley	Jane Cate
	💍 1867/6724
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Ostler
Age	26	22
Dwelling Place	City of Nelson	City of Nelson
Length of Residence	6 years	22 years
Marriage Place	at the Catholic Church, Nelson
Folio	809
Consent
Date of Certificate	18 April 1867
Officiating Minister	Rev. Ant. Marie Garin

22 April 1867

Louis Albert Elerig
Hannah Bomforth

Louis Albert Elerig
Hannah Bomforth
💍 1867/6601

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer

23
21

City of Nelson
City of Nelson

1 week
21 years

at the residence of Elijah Fuller labourer, Brook Street

766

22 April 1867

Rev. Patrick Calder

No	35
Date of Notice	22 April 1867
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Louis Albert Elerig	Hannah Bomforth
	💍 1867/6601
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer
Age	23	21
Dwelling Place	City of Nelson	City of Nelson
Length of Residence	1 week	21 years
Marriage Place	at the residence of Elijah Fuller labourer, Brook Street
Folio	766
Consent
Date of Certificate	22 April 1867
Officiating Minister	Rev. Patrick Calder

24 April 1867

James Fieldes
Laura Moore

James Fieldes
Laura Moore
💍 1867/6835

Bachelor
Spinster

Carpenter

23
23

City of Nelson
City of Nelson

23 years
3 years

at the residence of The Rev. Edward Thomas, Manuka St., Nelson

846

24 April 1867

Rev. Edward Thomas

No	36
Date of Notice	24 April 1867
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Fieldes	Laura Moore
	💍 1867/6835
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carpenter
Age	23	23
Dwelling Place	City of Nelson	City of Nelson
Length of Residence	23 years	3 years
Marriage Place	at the residence of The Rev. Edward Thomas, Manuka St., Nelson
Folio	846
Consent
Date of Certificate	24 April 1867
Officiating Minister	Rev. Edward Thomas

25 April 1867

Charles Beaver
Mary Pennington

Charles Beaver
Mary Pennington
💍 1867/6775

Bachelor
Spinster

Gardener

27
22

Nelson City
Nelson City

1 year
1 year

at Christ Church, Nelson

826

24 April 1867

Rev. George Henry Johnstone

No	37
Date of Notice	25 April 1867
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Beaver	Mary Pennington
	💍 1867/6775
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Gardener
Age	27	22
Dwelling Place	Nelson City	Nelson City
Length of Residence	1 year	1 year
Marriage Place	at Christ Church, Nelson
Folio	826
Consent
Date of Certificate	24 April 1867
Officiating Minister	Rev. George Henry Johnstone

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).