Intentions to Marry, 1872

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840384, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

Page 431

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

151

December 19th 1871

Charles Ell
Mary Ell

Charles Ell
Mary Ell
💍 1872/6389

Bachelor
Widow

Farmer
Housekeeper

26
22

Halswell
Do

1 year

In the House of mr. Ell

72/1592

January 3rd 1872

Rev. J. Habens

No	151
Date of Notice	December 19th 1871
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Ell	Mary Ell
	💍 1872/6389
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Farmer	Housekeeper
Age	26	22
Dwelling Place	Halswell	Do
Length of Residence	1 year
Marriage Place	In the House of mr. Ell
Folio	72/1592
Consent
Date of Certificate	January 3rd 1872
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Habens

152

January 1st 1872

Edward Salisbury
Maria [UNCLEAR]

Edward Salisbury
Maria Hann
💍 1872/6134

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer

24
21

Cashmere

4 mnths

In the Church of St. Luke

January 23rd 1872

Rev. E.A. Lingard

No	152
Date of Notice	January 1st 1872
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edward Salisbury	Maria [UNCLEAR]
BDM Match (70%)	Edward Salisbury	Maria Hann
	💍 1872/6134
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer
Age	24	21
Dwelling Place	Cashmere
Length of Residence	4 mnths
Marriage Place	In the Church of St. Luke
Folio
Consent
Date of Certificate	January 23rd 1872
Officiating Minister	Rev. E.A. Lingard

153

January 1st 1872

John Hill
Emma Amelia Cooper

John Hill
Emma Amelia Cooper
💍 1872/9383

Bachelor
Spinster

Butcher
Dressmaker

23
21

Papanui
Christchurch

2 years
3 years

In the Church of Riccarton

72/1508

January 17th 1872

Rev. C. Bowen

No	153
Date of Notice	January 1st 1872
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Hill	Emma Amelia Cooper
	💍 1872/9383
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Butcher	Dressmaker
Age	23	21
Dwelling Place	Papanui	Christchurch
Length of Residence	2 years	3 years
Marriage Place	In the Church of Riccarton
Folio	72/1508
Consent
Date of Certificate	January 17th 1872
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Bowen

154

January 2nd 1872

Charles [UNCLEAR]
Mary Rippingale

Charles Stokes
Mary Rippingale
💍 1872/8891

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer

23
18

Selwyn
Do

8 months

In the Schoolhouse Selwyn

72/2250

Edward Rippingale Father

January 24th 1872

Rev. J. Habens

No	154
Date of Notice	January 2nd 1872
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles [UNCLEAR]	Mary Rippingale
BDM Match (74%)	Charles Stokes	Mary Rippingale
	💍 1872/8891
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	23	18
Dwelling Place	Selwyn	Do
Length of Residence	8 months
Marriage Place	In the Schoolhouse Selwyn
Folio	72/2250
Consent	Edward Rippingale Father
Date of Certificate	January 24th 1872
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Habens

155

January 3rd 1872

William Karles
Mary Barr

William Havers
Mary Barr
💍 1872/8858

Widower
Widow

Gardener
Housekeeper

60
45

Cemetery
Do

2 years

In the Wesleyan Church

72/2238

January 17th 1872

Rev. J. Fletcher

No	155
Date of Notice	January 3rd 1872
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Karles	Mary Barr
BDM Match (86%)	William Havers	Mary Barr
	💍 1872/8858
Condition	Widower	Widow
Profession	Gardener	Housekeeper
Age	60	45
Dwelling Place	Cemetery	Do
Length of Residence	2 years
Marriage Place	In the Wesleyan Church
Folio	72/2238
Consent
Date of Certificate	January 17th 1872
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Fletcher

156

January 3rd 1872

William Nickley Sandy
Ellen Maria Dighton

Bachelor
Spinster

Accountant

20
19

Christchurch
Do

2 years

In the Church of St. Michael

72/1524

Samuel Grundy Father Ellen Caroline Dighton Mother

January 18th 1872

Very Rev. Dean Jacobs

No	156
Date of Notice	January 3rd 1872
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Nickley Sandy	Ellen Maria Dighton
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Accountant
Age	20	19
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Do
Length of Residence	2 years
Marriage Place	In the Church of St. Michael
Folio	72/1524
Consent	Samuel Grundy Father Ellen Caroline Dighton Mother
Date of Certificate	January 18th 1872
Officiating Minister	Very Rev. Dean Jacobs

157

January 9th 1872

William Edward Ward
Mary Ann Larkman

William Edward Ward
Sarah Mary Agnes Larkman
💍 1872/6428

Bachelor
Spinster

Brickmaker
Servant

31
25

Christchurch
Do

1 week

In the House of mr. Stewart

72/1608

January 24th 1872

Rev. C. Fraser

No	157
Date of Notice	January 9th 1872
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Edward Ward	Mary Ann Larkman
BDM Match (81%)	William Edward Ward	Sarah Mary Agnes Larkman
	💍 1872/6428
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Brickmaker	Servant
Age	31	25
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Do
Length of Residence	1 week
Marriage Place	In the House of mr. Stewart
Folio	72/1608
Consent
Date of Certificate	January 24th 1872
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Fraser

158

January 9th 1872

Alexander Alfred Smith
Barbara [UNCLEAR]

Alexander Alfred Smith
Barbara Esselbarn
💍 1872/6431

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Dressmaker

37
22

Fendale Town
Papanui

6 years
1 year

In the House of Rev. C. Fraser

72/1620

January 25th 1872

Rev. C. Fraser

No	158
Date of Notice	January 9th 1872
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Alexander Alfred Smith	Barbara [UNCLEAR]
BDM Match (74%)	Alexander Alfred Smith	Barbara Esselbarn
	💍 1872/6431
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Dressmaker
Age	37	22
Dwelling Place	Fendale Town	Papanui
Length of Residence	6 years	1 year
Marriage Place	In the House of Rev. C. Fraser
Folio	72/1620
Consent
Date of Certificate	January 25th 1872
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Fraser

159

January 11th 1872

George Charles Rivers
Marion Webb

George Charles Rivers
Marian Webb
💍 1872/6179

Bachelor
Widow

Accountant

31
25

Christchurch
Do

3 Days

In the Church of St. Michael

72/1523

January [UNCLEAR] 1872

Very Rev. Dean Jacobs

No	159
Date of Notice	January 11th 1872
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Charles Rivers	Marion Webb
BDM Match (95%)	George Charles Rivers	Marian Webb
	💍 1872/6179
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Accountant
Age	31	25
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Do
Length of Residence	3 Days
Marriage Place	In the Church of St. Michael
Folio	72/1523
Consent
Date of Certificate	January [UNCLEAR] 1872
Officiating Minister	Very Rev. Dean Jacobs

160

January 12th 1872

James Knight Watts
Mary Jane McIlroy

Bachelor
Spinster

Storekeeper

Christchurch
Do

9 years

In the House of Rev. A.F. Douglas

72/68

Samuel McIlroy Father

January [UNCLEAR] 1872

[UNCLEAR]

No	160
Date of Notice	January 12th 1872
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Knight Watts	Mary Jane McIlroy
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Storekeeper
Age	32
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Do
Length of Residence	9 years
Marriage Place	In the House of Rev. A.F. Douglas
Folio	72/68
Consent	Samuel McIlroy Father
Date of Certificate	January [UNCLEAR] 1872
Officiating Minister	[UNCLEAR]

161

January 13th 1872

John Carpenter
Michael [UNCLEAR]

John Carpenter
Rachel Benger
💍 1872/6188

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Servant

19
22

Christchurch
Do

4 years

In the Church of St. Michael

72/1526

January [UNCLEAR] 1872

Very Rev. Dean Jacobs

No	161
Date of Notice	January 13th 1872
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Carpenter	Michael [UNCLEAR]
BDM Match (65%)	John Carpenter	Rachel Benger
	💍 1872/6188
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Servant
Age	19	22
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Do
Length of Residence	4 years
Marriage Place	In the Church of St. Michael
Folio	72/1526
Consent
Date of Certificate	January [UNCLEAR] 1872
Officiating Minister	Very Rev. Dean Jacobs

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).