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 356

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

113

16 November 1868

Thomas Goodman
Harriett Grooby

Thomas Goodman
Harriett Grooby
💍 1868/4353

Bachelor
Spinster

farm labourer

21
20

City of Nelson
City of Nelson

3 days
3 months

at the residence of Florenze Banile South hairdresser, Nile St. West, Nelson

1236

John Grooby, father

17 November 1868

Rev. Edward Thom

No	113
Date of Notice	16 November 1868
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Goodman	Harriett Grooby
	💍 1868/4353
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	farm labourer
Age	21	20
Dwelling Place	City of Nelson	City of Nelson
Length of Residence	3 days	3 months
Marriage Place	at the residence of Florenze Banile South hairdresser, Nile St. West, Nelson
Folio	1236
Consent	John Grooby, father
Date of Certificate	17 November 1868
Officiating Minister	Rev. Edward Thom

114

10 December 1868

Frederick Pearce
Mary Beveridge Scott

Frederick Pearce
Mary Beveridge Scott
💍 1868/8015

Bachelor
spinster

Mariner

34
26

City of Nelson
City of Nelson

2 years
2 years

At the residence of William Bettamy fellmonger, Washington Rd., Nelson

1174

24 December 1868

Rev. John Crump

No	114
Date of Notice	10 December 1868
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Frederick Pearce	Mary Beveridge Scott
	💍 1868/8015
Condition	Bachelor	spinster
Profession	Mariner
Age	34	26
Dwelling Place	City of Nelson	City of Nelson
Length of Residence	2 years	2 years
Marriage Place	At the residence of William Bettamy fellmonger, Washington Rd., Nelson
Folio	1174
Consent
Date of Certificate	24 December 1868
Officiating Minister	Rev. John Crump

115

14 December 1868

Andrew Blick
Emma Jane Dew

Andrew Blick
Emma Jane Dew
💍 1868/8207

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer

26
20

Waimea East
Waimea East

2 weeks
14 years

at the residence of Emanuel Dew farmer, Waimea East

1244

Emanuel Dew, father

14 December 1868

Rev. John Crump

No	115
Date of Notice	14 December 1868
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Andrew Blick	Emma Jane Dew
	💍 1868/8207
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer
Age	26	20
Dwelling Place	Waimea East	Waimea East
Length of Residence	2 weeks	14 years
Marriage Place	at the residence of Emanuel Dew farmer, Waimea East
Folio	1244
Consent	Emanuel Dew, father
Date of Certificate	14 December 1868
Officiating Minister	Rev. John Crump

116

15 December 1868

David Barrie
Janet Stewart

David Barrie
Janet Stewart
💍 1868/8195

Bachelor
Spinster

Store Keeper

28
26

City of Nelson
City of Nelson

4 days
6 days

At All Saints Church, Nelson

1239

15 December 1868

Rev. Rich. Joshua H.

No	116
Date of Notice	15 December 1868
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	David Barrie	Janet Stewart
	💍 1868/8195
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Store Keeper
Age	28	26
Dwelling Place	City of Nelson	City of Nelson
Length of Residence	4 days	6 days
Marriage Place	At All Saints Church, Nelson
Folio	1239
Consent
Date of Certificate	15 December 1868
Officiating Minister	Rev. Rich. Joshua H.

117

15 December 1868

William Gibbs
Margaret Sloss

William Gibbs
Margaret Sloss
💍 1868/8018

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer

25
17

Motupiko valley
Motupiko valley

25 years
17 years

At the residence of Isaac Gibbs, Southdown farm, Waimea South

1175

Esther Coleman, mother

15 December 1868

Rev. John Crump

No	117
Date of Notice	15 December 1868
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Gibbs	Margaret Sloss
	💍 1868/8018
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	25	17
Dwelling Place	Motupiko valley	Motupiko valley
Length of Residence	25 years	17 years
Marriage Place	At the residence of Isaac Gibbs, Southdown farm, Waimea South
Folio	1175
Consent	Esther Coleman, mother
Date of Certificate	15 December 1868
Officiating Minister	Rev. John Crump

118

17 December 1868

Joshua Webley
Eliza Jane Nation

Joshua Webley
Eliza Jane Nation
💍 1869/6579

Bachelor
Spinster

Cloth manufacturer

25
23

City of Nelson
City of Nelson

11 years
11 years

At the residence of William Nation publisher, Manuka St., Nelson

785

31 December 1868

Rev. William Moore

No	118
Date of Notice	17 December 1868
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Joshua Webley	Eliza Jane Nation
	💍 1869/6579
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Cloth manufacturer
Age	25	23
Dwelling Place	City of Nelson	City of Nelson
Length of Residence	11 years	11 years
Marriage Place	At the residence of William Nation publisher, Manuka St., Nelson
Folio	785
Consent
Date of Certificate	31 December 1868
Officiating Minister	Rev. William Moore

119

21 December 1868

John Gordon McPherson
Lydia Eliza Squire

John Gordon McPherson
Lydia Eliza Squire
💍 1868/8216

Widower
Spinster

Carpenter

31
21

Wakefield
Wakefield

18 months
17 years

At St: Johns Church, Wakefield

1247

21 December 1868

The Bishop of Nelson

No	119
Date of Notice	21 December 1868
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Gordon McPherson	Lydia Eliza Squire
	💍 1868/8216
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Carpenter
Age	31	21
Dwelling Place	Wakefield	Wakefield
Length of Residence	18 months	17 years
Marriage Place	At St: Johns Church, Wakefield
Folio	1247
Consent
Date of Certificate	21 December 1868
Officiating Minister	The Bishop of Nelson

120

24 December 1868

Joseph Short Scott
Bridget Ellen Armstrong

Joseph Short Scott
Bridget Ellen Armstrong
💍 1868/8072

Bachelor
Spinster

Brewer

29
22

City of Nelson
City of Nelson

3 years
13 years

At St. Mary's Catholic Church, Nelson

1195

24 December 1868

Rev. Antoine Marie Garin

No	120
Date of Notice	24 December 1868
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Joseph Short Scott	Bridget Ellen Armstrong
	💍 1868/8072
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Brewer
Age	29	22
Dwelling Place	City of Nelson	City of Nelson
Length of Residence	3 years	13 years
Marriage Place	At St. Mary's Catholic Church, Nelson
Folio	1195
Consent
Date of Certificate	24 December 1868
Officiating Minister	Rev. Antoine Marie Garin

121

28 December 1868

John Atwood
Mary Ann Gentry

John Atwood
Mary Ann Gentry
💍 1868/4299

Widower
Widow

Farmer

63
48

City of Nelson
City of Nelson

1 week
10 years

At the residence of Mary Ann Gentry, Shelbourne St., Nelson

1237

28 December 1868

Rev. Edward Tho

No	121
Date of Notice	28 December 1868
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Atwood	Mary Ann Gentry
	💍 1868/4299
Condition	Widower	Widow
Profession	Farmer
Age	63	48
Dwelling Place	City of Nelson	City of Nelson
Length of Residence	1 week	10 years
Marriage Place	At the residence of Mary Ann Gentry, Shelbourne St., Nelson
Folio	1237
Consent
Date of Certificate	28 December 1868
Officiating Minister	Rev. Edward Tho

122

28 December 1868

James Hector
Maria Georgiana Monro

James Hector
Maria Georgiana Monro
💍 1868/8135

Bachelor
Spinster

M. D.

34
20

City of Nelson
City of Nelson

6 weeks
20 years

At Christ Church, Nelson

1216

Sir David Monro, father

28 December 1868

Rev. Geo: Henry Johnstone

No	122
Date of Notice	28 December 1868
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Hector	Maria Georgiana Monro
	💍 1868/8135
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	M. D.
Age	34	20
Dwelling Place	City of Nelson	City of Nelson
Length of Residence	6 weeks	20 years
Marriage Place	At Christ Church, Nelson
Folio	1216
Consent	Sir David Monro, father
Date of Certificate	28 December 1868
Officiating Minister	Rev. Geo: Henry Johnstone

123

30 December 1868

William Webley
Frances Elizabeth Oxley

William Webley
Francis Elizabeth Oxley
💍 1869/6423

Bachelor
Spinster

Cloth manufacturer

22
20

City of Nelson
City of Nelson

11 years
20 years

At the residence of William Webley cloth worker, Bridge St., Nelson

722

Declaration no person in N.Z having authority

30 December 1868

Rev. John Crump

No	123
Date of Notice	30 December 1868
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Webley	Frances Elizabeth Oxley
BDM Match (98%)	William Webley	Francis Elizabeth Oxley
	💍 1869/6423
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Cloth manufacturer
Age	22	20
Dwelling Place	City of Nelson	City of Nelson
Length of Residence	11 years	20 years
Marriage Place	At the residence of William Webley cloth worker, Bridge St., Nelson
Folio	722
Consent	Declaration no person in N.Z having authority
Date of Certificate	30 December 1868
Officiating Minister	Rev. John Crump

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).