Intentions to Marry, 1869

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840381, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

Page 456

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

1050

15 January 1869

Jonathan Lilley
Ellen Croach

Jonathan Lilley
Ellen Croach
💍 1869/7632

Widower
Widow

Farmer

65
50

Riccarton
Christchurch

7 years
8 years

In the Church of St Michael, Christchurch

1149

15 January 1869

The Very Rev. Dean Jacobs

No	1050
Date of Notice	15 January 1869
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Jonathan Lilley	Ellen Croach
	💍 1869/7632
Condition	Widower	Widow
Profession	Farmer
Age	65	50
Dwelling Place	Riccarton	Christchurch
Length of Residence	7 years	8 years
Marriage Place	In the Church of St Michael, Christchurch
Folio	1149
Consent
Date of Certificate	15 January 1869
Officiating Minister	The Very Rev. Dean Jacobs

1051

18 January 1869

John Gardner
Helena Wolf

John Gardiner
Helena Jago
💍 1869/7374

Bachelor
Widow

Farmer

24
35

Christchurch
Christchurch

3 Days
3 Days

In the house of Rev C Fraser, Christchurch

1061

18 January 1869

Rev. C Fraser

No	1051
Date of Notice	18 January 1869
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Gardner	Helena Wolf
BDM Match (78%)	John Gardiner	Helena Jago
	💍 1869/7374
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Farmer
Age	24	35
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	3 Days	3 Days
Marriage Place	In the house of Rev C Fraser, Christchurch
Folio	1061
Consent
Date of Certificate	18 January 1869
Officiating Minister	Rev. C Fraser

1052

18 January 1869

Michael Joyce
Ann Faucet

Michael Joyce
Ann Fawcett
💍 1869/7377

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Servant

25
24

Christchurch
Christchurch

2 years
4 years

In the House of Mr Harrison, Market Place

1060

18 January 1869

Rev. C Fraser

No	1052
Date of Notice	18 January 1869
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Michael Joyce	Ann Faucet
BDM Match (91%)	Michael Joyce	Ann Fawcett
	💍 1869/7377
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Servant
Age	25	24
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	2 years	4 years
Marriage Place	In the House of Mr Harrison, Market Place
Folio	1060
Consent
Date of Certificate	18 January 1869
Officiating Minister	Rev. C Fraser

1053

18 January 1869

William Langdown
Eliza Davis

William Langdown
Eliza Davis
💍 1869/7779

Widower
Spinster

Merchant

41
28

Ferry Road
Heathcote

6 years
5 years

In the Church of St. John, Heathcote

1200

18 January 1869

Rev. G. J. Cholmondeley

No	1053
Date of Notice	18 January 1869
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Langdown	Eliza Davis
	💍 1869/7779
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Merchant
Age	41	28
Dwelling Place	Ferry Road	Heathcote
Length of Residence	6 years	5 years
Marriage Place	In the Church of St. John, Heathcote
Folio	1200
Consent
Date of Certificate	18 January 1869
Officiating Minister	Rev. G. J. Cholmondeley

1054

19 January 1869

Frank Hopkins
Bridget Taaffe

Frank Hopkins
Bridget Taaffe
💍 1869/7704

Bachelor
Spinster

Butcher

24
22

Christchurch
Christchurch

15 years
2 years

In the Church of St. Luke, Christchurch

1175

19 January 1869

Rev. E. H. Lingard

No	1054
Date of Notice	19 January 1869
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Frank Hopkins	Bridget Taaffe
	💍 1869/7704
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Butcher
Age	24	22
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	15 years	2 years
Marriage Place	In the Church of St. Luke, Christchurch
Folio	1175
Consent
Date of Certificate	19 January 1869
Officiating Minister	Rev. E. H. Lingard

1055

20 January 1869

Robert Douglas Campbell
Catherine Ellen Miller

Robert Douglas Campbell
Catherine Ellen Miller
💍 1869/7782

Bachelor
Spinster

Sheep Farmer

26
20

Heathcote
Papanui

1 week
3 Days

In the Church of St. Mark, Opawa

1201

There is no person in the Colony having power to give Consent

20 January 1869

Rev. G. J. Cholmondeley

No	1055
Date of Notice	20 January 1869
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Robert Douglas Campbell	Catherine Ellen Miller
	💍 1869/7782
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Sheep Farmer
Age	26	20
Dwelling Place	Heathcote	Papanui
Length of Residence	1 week	3 Days
Marriage Place	In the Church of St. Mark, Opawa
Folio	1201
Consent	There is no person in the Colony having power to give Consent
Date of Certificate	20 January 1869
Officiating Minister	Rev. G. J. Cholmondeley

1056

21 January 1869

Aaron Pinkus
Jetty Gruhauf

Aaron Piukus
Yetty Fruhauf
💍 1869/7248

Bachelor
Spinster

Dealer
Housekeeper

36
26

Christchurch
Christchurch

4 years
4 years

In the Registration Office

1011

12 March 1869

B. Parkerson Jr.

No	1056
Date of Notice	21 January 1869
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Aaron Pinkus	Jetty Gruhauf
BDM Match (88%)	Aaron Piukus	Yetty Fruhauf
	💍 1869/7248
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Dealer	Housekeeper
Age	36	26
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	4 years	4 years
Marriage Place	In the Registration Office
Folio	1011
Consent
Date of Certificate	12 March 1869
Officiating Minister	B. Parkerson Jr.

1057

22 January 1869

Antonio Gures
Rose Ebbs

Antonio Gares
Rose Ebbs
💍 1869/7827

Bachelor
Spinster

Fish salesman
Servant

32
21

Christchurch
Christchurch

5½ years
6 mths

In the Church of St. John, Christchurch

1216

22 January 1869

Rev. C Bryen Hoare

No	1057
Date of Notice	22 January 1869
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Antonio Gures	Rose Ebbs
BDM Match (96%)	Antonio Gares	Rose Ebbs
	💍 1869/7827
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Fish salesman	Servant
Age	32	21
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	5½ years	6 mths
Marriage Place	In the Church of St. John, Christchurch
Folio	1216
Consent
Date of Certificate	22 January 1869
Officiating Minister	Rev. C Bryen Hoare

1058

23 January 1869

John Flutey
Harriet Johnston

John Flutey
Harriet Johnston
💍 1869/7380

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Servant

23
22

Christchurch
Christchurch

4 mths
3 mths

In the House of Rev C Fraser, Christchurch

1062

23 January 1869

Rev. C Fraser

No	1058
Date of Notice	23 January 1869
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Flutey	Harriet Johnston
	💍 1869/7380
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Servant
Age	23	22
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	4 mths	3 mths
Marriage Place	In the House of Rev C Fraser, Christchurch
Folio	1062
Consent
Date of Certificate	23 January 1869
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 1908. 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).