Intentions to Marry, 1868

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840380, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

Page 355

District of Nelson Quarter ending 31 December 1868 Registrar Robert Pickett

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

3 October 1868

John Flett
Isabella Flett

John Flett
Isabella Flett
💍 1868/7934

Bachelor
Spinster

Carpenter

33
25

City of Nelson
City of Nelson

5 years
2 years

at the residence of William Flett constable, Collingwood St., Nelson

1147

3 October 1868

Rev. Patrick Calder

No	99
Date of Notice	3 October 1868
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Flett	Isabella Flett
	💍 1868/7934
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carpenter
Age	33	25
Dwelling Place	City of Nelson	City of Nelson
Length of Residence	5 years	2 years
Marriage Place	at the residence of William Flett constable, Collingwood St., Nelson
Folio	1147
Consent
Date of Certificate	3 October 1868
Officiating Minister	Rev. Patrick Calder

100

12 October 1868

Isaac Ostegen
Margaret Elizabeth Evans

Isaac Ostegen
Margaret Elizabeth Evans
💍 1868/7937

Bachelor
Spinster

Stoker

28
22

City of Nelson
City of Nelson

2 years
1 year

At the Presbyterian Church, Nelson

1148

12 October 1868

Rev. Patrick Calder

No	100
Date of Notice	12 October 1868
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Isaac Ostegen	Margaret Elizabeth Evans
	💍 1868/7937
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Stoker
Age	28	22
Dwelling Place	City of Nelson	City of Nelson
Length of Residence	2 years	1 year
Marriage Place	At the Presbyterian Church, Nelson
Folio	1148
Consent
Date of Certificate	12 October 1868
Officiating Minister	Rev. Patrick Calder

101

13 October 1868

Thomas Hodgson
Catherine Smith

Thomas Hodgson
Catherine Smith
💍 1868/7940

Widower
Spinster

Artist

36
32

City of Nelson
City of Nelson

7 years
10 years

At the residence of Thomas Hodgson artist, Shelbourne St., Nelson

1149

13 Oct. 1868

Rev. Patrick Calder

No	101
Date of Notice	13 October 1868
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Hodgson	Catherine Smith
	💍 1868/7940
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Artist
Age	36	32
Dwelling Place	City of Nelson	City of Nelson
Length of Residence	7 years	10 years
Marriage Place	At the residence of Thomas Hodgson artist, Shelbourne St., Nelson
Folio	1149
Consent
Date of Certificate	13 Oct. 1868
Officiating Minister	Rev. Patrick Calder

102

17 October 1868

John Whent
Annie Maria Knight

John Whent
Anne Maria Knight
💍 1868/8183

Widower
Widow

Publican

51
30

City of Nelson
City of Nelson

10 years
7 months

At the residence of John Whent publican, Nile St. East, Nelson

1233

17 October 1868

Rev. Edward Thomas

No	102
Date of Notice	17 October 1868
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Whent	Annie Maria Knight
BDM Match (97%)	John Whent	Anne Maria Knight
	💍 1868/8183
Condition	Widower	Widow
Profession	Publican
Age	51	30
Dwelling Place	City of Nelson	City of Nelson
Length of Residence	10 years	7 months
Marriage Place	At the residence of John Whent publican, Nile St. East, Nelson
Folio	1233
Consent
Date of Certificate	17 October 1868
Officiating Minister	Rev. Edward Thomas

103

19 October 1868

Stuart Walpole Watts
Mary Ann Kay

Stuart Walpole Walls
Mary Ann Kay
💍 1868/8009

Bachelor
Spinster

Jeweller

26
25

City of Nelson
City of Nelson

14 months
3 years

At the residence of Donald Swanson tailor, Alton St., Nelson

1172

19 October 1868

Rev. John Crump

No	103
Date of Notice	19 October 1868
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Stuart Walpole Watts	Mary Ann Kay
BDM Match (95%)	Stuart Walpole Walls	Mary Ann Kay
	💍 1868/8009
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Jeweller
Age	26	25
Dwelling Place	City of Nelson	City of Nelson
Length of Residence	14 months	3 years
Marriage Place	At the residence of Donald Swanson tailor, Alton St., Nelson
Folio	1172
Consent
Date of Certificate	19 October 1868
Officiating Minister	Rev. John Crump

104

27 October 1868

William Haydon Leech
Pauline Constance Augarde

William Haydon Leech
Pauline Constnace Augarde
💍 1868/8132

Bachelor
Spinster

Commision Agent

27
17

City of Nelson
Suburban SouthNelson

9 months
18 months

At Christ church, Nelson

1215

Henry John Louis Augarde Father

27 October 1868

Rev. Geo: Henry Johnstone

No	104
Date of Notice	27 October 1868
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Haydon Leech	Pauline Constance Augarde
BDM Match (96%)	William Haydon Leech	Pauline Constnace Augarde
	💍 1868/8132
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Commision Agent
Age	27	17
Dwelling Place	City of Nelson	Suburban SouthNelson
Length of Residence	9 months	18 months
Marriage Place	At Christ church, Nelson
Folio	1215
Consent	Henry John Louis Augarde Father
Date of Certificate	27 October 1868
Officiating Minister	Rev. Geo: Henry Johnstone

105

31 October 1868

Evan Lloyd
Louisa Denne

Evan Lloyd
Louisa Denne
💍 1868/8012

Widower
Spinster

Baker

41
20

City of Nelson
City of Nelson

3 years
7 years

At the residence of Evan Lloyd baker, Nile St. East, Nelson

1173

John George Denne, father

31 October 1868

Rev. John Crump

No	105
Date of Notice	31 October 1868
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Evan Lloyd	Louisa Denne
	💍 1868/8012
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Baker
Age	41	20
Dwelling Place	City of Nelson	City of Nelson
Length of Residence	3 years	7 years
Marriage Place	At the residence of Evan Lloyd baker, Nile St. East, Nelson
Folio	1173
Consent	John George Denne, father
Date of Certificate	31 October 1868
Officiating Minister	Rev. John Crump

106

2 November 1868

Alfred Waters
Mary Berry

Alfred Waters
Mary Perry
💍 1868/8138

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer

28
42

Spring Grove
Richmond

1 year
5 years

At Holy Trinity Church, Richmond

1217

2 Nov. 1868

Rev. Will David Rob: Lewis

No	106
Date of Notice	2 November 1868
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Alfred Waters	Mary Berry
BDM Match (95%)	Alfred Waters	Mary Perry
	💍 1868/8138
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer
Age	28	42
Dwelling Place	Spring Grove	Richmond
Length of Residence	1 year	5 years
Marriage Place	At Holy Trinity Church, Richmond
Folio	1217
Consent
Date of Certificate	2 Nov. 1868
Officiating Minister	Rev. Will David Rob: Lewis

107

2 November 1868

Stephen Wybourn Clark
Luna Maria Gibson

Stephen Mybourn Clark
Luna Maria Gibson
💍 1868/8186

Widower
Spinster

Carter

41
26

City of Nelson
City of Nelson

14 years
24 years

At the residence of Stephen Wybourn Clark carter, Harley St., Nelson

1234

2 Nov. 1868

Rev. Edward Thomas

No	107
Date of Notice	2 November 1868
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Stephen Wybourn Clark	Luna Maria Gibson
BDM Match (98%)	Stephen Mybourn Clark	Luna Maria Gibson
	💍 1868/8186
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Carter
Age	41	26
Dwelling Place	City of Nelson	City of Nelson
Length of Residence	14 years	24 years
Marriage Place	At the residence of Stephen Wybourn Clark carter, Harley St., Nelson
Folio	1234
Consent
Date of Certificate	2 Nov. 1868
Officiating Minister	Rev. Edward Thomas

108

2 November 1868

Thomas John Tester
Elizabeth Manley

Thomas John Tester
Elizabeth Manley
💍 1868/7943

Bachelor
Spinster

Mariner

24
23

City of Nelson
City of Nelson

2 years
1 year

At the residence of Thomas John Tester mariner, Waimea Rd., Nelson

1150

2 Nov. 1868

Rev. Patrick Calder

No	108
Date of Notice	2 November 1868
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas John Tester	Elizabeth Manley
	💍 1868/7943
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Mariner
Age	24	23
Dwelling Place	City of Nelson	City of Nelson
Length of Residence	2 years	1 year
Marriage Place	At the residence of Thomas John Tester mariner, Waimea Rd., Nelson
Folio	1150
Consent
Date of Certificate	2 Nov. 1868
Officiating Minister	Rev. Patrick Calder

109

5 November 1868

Henry Moore
Emily Gill

Henry Moore
Emily Gill
💍 1868/8189

Bachelor
Spinster

Shoemaker

22
22

City of Nelson
City of Nelson

3 years
15 years

At the Post Boy Hotel, Vanguard St., Nelson

1235

5 Nov. 1868

Rev. Edward Thomas

No	109
Date of Notice	5 November 1868
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Henry Moore	Emily Gill
	💍 1868/8189
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Shoemaker
Age	22	22
Dwelling Place	City of Nelson	City of Nelson
Length of Residence	3 years	15 years
Marriage Place	At the Post Boy Hotel, Vanguard St., Nelson
Folio	1235
Consent
Date of Certificate	5 Nov. 1868
Officiating Minister	Rev. Edward Thomas

110

6 November 1868

William Dickson
Margaret McMillan

William Dunn
Margaret Sinclair
💍 1868/8843

William Gibbs
Margaret Sloss
💍 1868/8018

William Patton
Margaret Thompson
💍 1868/9308

Widower
Spinster

Miner

32
26

City of Nelson
City of Nelson

9 months
20 months

At the manse of the Presbyterian Church, Nelson

not yet issued

No	110
Date of Notice	6 November 1868
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Dickson	Margaret McMillan
BDM Match (63%)	William Dunn	Margaret Sinclair
	💍 1868/8843
BDM Match (63%)	William Gibbs	Margaret Sloss
	💍 1868/8018
BDM Match (63%)	William Patton	Margaret Thompson
	💍 1868/9308
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Miner
Age	32	26
Dwelling Place	City of Nelson	City of Nelson
Length of Residence	9 months	20 months
Marriage Place	At the manse of the Presbyterian Church, Nelson
Folio
Consent
Date of Certificate	not yet issued
Officiating Minister

111

10 November 1868

John Moore
Jane Robinson

John Moon
Jane Robinson
💍 1868/7946

Bachelor
Spinster

Mariner

36
27

City of Nelson
City of Nelson

2 years
8 years

At the Presbyterian Church, Nelson

1157

10 Nov. 1868

Rev. Patrick Calder

No	111
Date of Notice	10 November 1868
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Moore	Jane Robinson
BDM Match (90%)	John Moon	Jane Robinson
	💍 1868/7946
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Mariner
Age	36	27
Dwelling Place	City of Nelson	City of Nelson
Length of Residence	2 years	8 years
Marriage Place	At the Presbyterian Church, Nelson
Folio	1157
Consent
Date of Certificate	10 Nov. 1868
Officiating Minister	Rev. Patrick Calder

112

14 November 1868

James Cross Burford
Martha Field

James Cross Burford
Martha Field
💍 1868/8192

Bachelor
Spinster

Clerk

26
22

City of Nelson
City of Nelson

5 years
14 years

At All Saints Church, Nelson

1238

14 Nov. 1868

Rev. Rich: Joshua Thorpe

No	112
Date of Notice	14 November 1868
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Cross Burford	Martha Field
	💍 1868/8192
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Clerk
Age	26	22
Dwelling Place	City of Nelson	City of Nelson
Length of Residence	5 years	14 years
Marriage Place	At All Saints Church, Nelson
Folio	1238
Consent
Date of Certificate	14 Nov. 1868
Officiating Minister	Rev. Rich: Joshua Thorpe

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).