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 433

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

2600

23 January 1872

Azariah Ashley
Sophia Holloway

Azariah Ashley
Sophia Kelloway
💍 1872/6452

Bachelor
Widow

Grocer
Nurse

46
47

Christchurch
Christchurch

7 mths
10 years

In the House of

72/1563

6 February 1872

Rev. C. Fraser

No	2600
Date of Notice	23 January 1872
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Azariah Ashley	Sophia Holloway
BDM Match (93%)	Azariah Ashley	Sophia Kelloway
	💍 1872/6452
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Grocer	Nurse
Age	46	47
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	7 mths	10 years
Marriage Place	In the House of
Folio	72/1563
Consent
Date of Certificate	6 February 1872
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Fraser

2601

24 January 1872

John Mullin
Emily Frances Lachlan

John Mullin
Emily Francis McConnell
💍 1872/8783

Bachelor
Spinster

Constable
Servant

32
23

Christchurch
Do

3 Days
3 years

In the Roman Catholic Chapel

72/241

24 January 1872

Rev. J. M. Eauger

No	2601
Date of Notice	24 January 1872
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Mullin	Emily Frances Lachlan
BDM Match (80%)	John Mullin	Emily Francis McConnell
	💍 1872/8783
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Constable	Servant
Age	32	23
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Do
Length of Residence	3 Days	3 years
Marriage Place	In the Roman Catholic Chapel
Folio	72/241
Consent
Date of Certificate	24 January 1872
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. M. Eauger

2602

27 January 1872

Archibald McLeod
Catherine Colephance

Archibald McLeod
Janet Don
💍 1872/7031

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer

36
19

Throughton
Do

2 weeks
7 years

Residence of Robert Colephance

12 February 1872

R. J. F. Longlas

No	2602
Date of Notice	27 January 1872
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Archibald McLeod	Catherine Colephance
BDM Match (63%)	Archibald McLeod	Janet Don
	💍 1872/7031
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	36	19
Dwelling Place	Throughton	Do
Length of Residence	2 weeks	7 years
Marriage Place	Residence of Robert Colephance
Folio
Consent
Date of Certificate	12 February 1872
Officiating Minister	R. J. F. Longlas

2603

27 January 1872

Andrew Black
Emma Bustead

Andrew Clark
Emma Binstead
💍 1872/5591

Bachelor
Spinster

Salesman
Dressmaker

32
21

Christchurch
Do

7 years
7 years

In the House of

72/1325

27 January 1872

Rev. Mr. Baxter

No	2603
Date of Notice	27 January 1872
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Andrew Black	Emma Bustead
BDM Match (84%)	Andrew Clark	Emma Binstead
	💍 1872/5591
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Salesman	Dressmaker
Age	32	21
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Do
Length of Residence	7 years	7 years
Marriage Place	In the House of
Folio	72/1325
Consent
Date of Certificate	27 January 1872
Officiating Minister	Rev. Mr. Baxter

2604

29 January 1872

George Venables
Henrietta Maria Patience Thompson

George Vennell
Henrietta Maria Patience Lydia Sanderson Thompson
💍 1872/6137

Widower
Widow

Gardener

57
52

Christchurch
Do

2 years
1 year

St. Luke's Church

72/7509

29 January 1872

Rev. E. A. Lingard

No	2604
Date of Notice	29 January 1872
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Venables	Henrietta Maria Patience Thompson
BDM Match (70%)	George Vennell	Henrietta Maria Patience Lydia Sanderson Thompson
	💍 1872/6137
Condition	Widower	Widow
Profession	Gardener
Age	57	52
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Do
Length of Residence	2 years	1 year
Marriage Place	St. Luke's Church
Folio	72/7509
Consent
Date of Certificate	29 January 1872
Officiating Minister	Rev. E. A. Lingard

2605

31 January 1872

Daniel Maher
Mary Counley

Daniel Maher
Mary Connolly
💍 1872/8795

Bachelor
Spinster

Carpenter
Servant

27
21

Christchurch
Do

11 months
3 Days

In the Roman Catholic Chapel

72/245

15 February 1872

Rev. J. M. Eauger

No	2605
Date of Notice	31 January 1872
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Daniel Maher	Mary Counley
BDM Match (88%)	Daniel Maher	Mary Connolly
	💍 1872/8795
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carpenter	Servant
Age	27	21
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Do
Length of Residence	11 months	3 Days
Marriage Place	In the Roman Catholic Chapel
Folio	72/245
Consent
Date of Certificate	15 February 1872
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. M. Eauger

2606

31 January 1872

John Arney
Eliza Harriet Rawnsley

Bachelor
Spinster

Shepherd
Servant

31
28

Christchurch
Do

3 Days
2 weeks

In the House of

72/1611

31 January 1872

Rev. C. Fraser

No	2606
Date of Notice	31 January 1872
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Arney	Eliza Harriet Rawnsley
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Shepherd	Servant
Age	31	28
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Do
Length of Residence	3 Days	2 weeks
Marriage Place	In the House of
Folio	72/1611
Consent
Date of Certificate	31 January 1872
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Fraser

2607

31 January 1872

Elijah Yeamans Lee
Eliza Jemima Lee

William Jannaway
Eliza Jemima Lee
💍 1872/9389

Widower
Widow

Coachman
Servant

38
35

[UNCLEAR]
Christchurch

2 months
2 months

In the Church of St. John

72/1626

29 January 1872

Rev. G. Bailey

No	2607
Date of Notice	31 January 1872
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Elijah Yeamans Lee	Eliza Jemima Lee
BDM Match (61%)	William Jannaway	Eliza Jemima Lee
	💍 1872/9389
Condition	Widower	Widow
Profession	Coachman	Servant
Age	38	35
Dwelling Place	[UNCLEAR]	Christchurch
Length of Residence	2 months	2 months
Marriage Place	In the Church of St. John
Folio	72/1626
Consent
Date of Certificate	29 January 1872
Officiating Minister	Rev. G. Bailey

2608

31 January 1872

Andus Raines
Flora Alice Sillersly

Bachelor
Spinster

Fruiterer
Dressmaker

22
18

Christchurch
Do

1 week
1 week

In the House of

72/1612

There is no person having authority to give Consent

31 January 1872

Rev. C. Fraser

No	2608
Date of Notice	31 January 1872
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Andus Raines	Flora Alice Sillersly
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Fruiterer	Dressmaker
Age	22	18
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Do
Length of Residence	1 week	1 week
Marriage Place	In the House of
Folio	72/1612
Consent	There is no person having authority to give Consent
Date of Certificate	31 January 1872
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Fraser

2609

31 January 1872

John McBeath
Mary Horvele

John McBeath
Mary Horrell
💍 1872/6296

Bachelor
Spinster

Cattle Dealer
Servant

35
25

Christchurch
Do

17 years
10 years

In the Scotch Church

72/1562

31 January 1872

F. A. Longlas

No	2609
Date of Notice	31 January 1872
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John McBeath	Mary Horvele
BDM Match (92%)	John McBeath	Mary Horrell
	💍 1872/6296
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Cattle Dealer	Servant
Age	35	25
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Do
Length of Residence	17 years	10 years
Marriage Place	In the Scotch Church
Folio	72/1562
Consent
Date of Certificate	31 January 1872
Officiating Minister	F. A. Longlas

2610

31 January 1872

Thomas Bates
Sophia Murison

Thomas Bates
Sophia Murison
💍 1872/4836

Bachelor
Spinster

Chainmaker

28
20

Christchurch
Do

8 years
3 years

In the Church of St. John

There is no person having authority to give consent

31 January 1872

Rev. G. Bailey

No	2610
Date of Notice	31 January 1872
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Bates	Sophia Murison
	💍 1872/4836
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Chainmaker
Age	28	20
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Do
Length of Residence	8 years	3 years
Marriage Place	In the Church of St. John
Folio
Consent	There is no person having authority to give consent
Date of Certificate	31 January 1872
Officiating Minister	Rev. G. Bailey

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).