Intentions to Marry, 1873

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840385, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

Imaged by Luke Howison at Archives NZ Wellington, December 4 2024

Page 413

District of Nelson Quarter ending 31 December 1873

No	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
52	4 October 1873	William Turner Maria Anne White	William Turner Maria Ann White 💍 1873/10621	Bachelor Spinster	Miner	34 28	City of Nelson Suburban South	3 days 5 months	All Saints Church, Nelson	73/1978		4 October 1873	Rev. Richard Joshua Thorpe
53	14 October 1873	Robert Barlett Martha Ellen Prestidge	Robert Bartlett Martha Ellen Priestidge 💍 1873/9046	Bachelor Spinster	Sawmiller	27 21	City of Nelson Appleby	4 days 4 years	Union Chapel, Hardy Street, Nelson	73/1439		14 October 1873	Rev. Edward Thomas
54	14 October 1873	William Frederick Dame Susan King	William Frederick Dane Susan King 💍 1873/9019	Bachelor Spinster	Contractor	27 26	City of Nelson City of Nelson	3 days 20 years	Residence of Mrs Elizabeth Poynter, Joitoi Street, Nelson	73/1430		14 October 1873	Rev. Decimus Dolamore
55	27 October 1873	William Webley Emma Usher	William Webley Emma Usher 💍 1873/8992	Widower Spinster	Cloth manufacturer	27 23	City of Nelson City of Nelson	16 years 13 years	Residence of Thomas Burman, Trafalgar Street, Nelson	73/1421		27 October 1873	Rev. Thomas Buddle
56	31 October 1873	George Hodgson Julia Deborah Berry	George Hodgson Julia Deborst Berry 💍 1873/9628	Widower Spinster	Clerk Gov office	27 19	City of Nelson City of Nelson	27 years 19 years	Christchurch, Nelson	73/1638	Jane Berry, Mother	31 October 1873	Rev. Geo: Henry Johnstone
57	3 November 1873	Francis Primmer Rebecca Saywell	Francis Primmer Rebecca Saywell 💍 1873/8995	Bachelor Spinster	Farmer	26 21	Waimea East Waimea East	25 years 18 years	Wesleyan Church, Nelson	73/1422		3 November 1873	Rev. Thomas Buddle
58	13 November 1873	Stephen Smith Seacerna Fawcet	Stephen Smith Seacvina Fawcet 💍 1873/9028	Bachelor Spinster	Farmer	21 21	City of Nelson City of Nelson	3 days 3 days	Office of the Registrar of marriages, Nelson	73/1433		13 November 1873	The Registrar of marriages Nelson
61	27 November 1873	William Henry Glover Sarah Ann Westrup	William Henry Glover Sarah Ann Westrup 💍 1873/9007	Bachelor Spinster	Master mariner	32 19	City of Nelson City of Nelson	7 years 19 years	Residence of John Westrup, Haven road, Nelson	73/1426	John Westrup	27 November 1873	Rev. Patrick Calder
62	2 December 1873	John McCoig Henrietta McCulloch	John McCoig Henrietta McCulloch 💍 1873/9001	Bachelor Widow	Gardener Corn merchant	33 32	City of Nelson City of Nelson	19 months 8 years	Residence of William Haddow, Washington road, Nelson	73/1424		2 December 1873	Rev. Patrick Calder
63	8 December 1873	Edwin Tomlin Catherine Stewart	Edwin Tomlin Catherine Stewart 💍 1873/9004	Bachelor Spinster	Steward	26 26	City of Nelson City of Nelson	5 years 9 years	Presbyterian Church, Nelson	73/1425	S.S. Murray	8 December 1873	Rev. Patrick Calder
65	16 December 1873	Albert Davis Jones Agnes Bell Calder	Albert Davis Jones Agnes Bell Calder 💍 1873/9010	Bachelor Spinster	Carrier	30 24	City of Nelson City of Nelson	12 years 20 years	Residence of Ann Wigan Calder, Haven Road, Nelson	73/1427		16 December 1873	Rev. Patrick Calder
66	22 December 1873	Joseph Mollamo Mary Ann Rowley	Joseph Mollame Mary Ann Rowley 💍 1873/9013	Bachelor Spinster	Fisherman Labourer	32 22	City of Nelson City of Nelson	8 years 8 years	Residence of William Reid, Haven road, Nelson	73/1428		22 December 1873	Rev. Richard Joshua Thorpe
67	23 December 1873	Hugh Hannan Elizabeth Ann Fawcet	Hugh Hannan Elizabeth Ann Fawcet 💍 1873/9031	Bachelor Spinster	Miner	32 23	City of Nelson City of Nelson	1 week 1 week	Office of the Registrar of marriages, Nelson	73/1434		23 December 1873	The Registrar of marriages Nelson
68	23 December 1873	William Cooksey Matilda Nobbs	William Cooksey Matilda Nobbs 💍 1874/6571	Bachelor Spinster	Carrier	39 37	Nelson City Nelson City	7 years 7 years	Residence of William Cooksey, Harley Street, Nelson	74/232		23 December 1873	Rev. Patrick Calder
69	23 December 1873	Thomas Robert Murphy Mary Lewis	Thomas Robert Murphy Mary Lewis 💍 1873/8998	Bachelor Spinster	Mariner	22 18	City of Nelson City of Nelson	3 years 3 years	Residence of Henry White, Waimea Street, Nelson	73/1423		27 December 1873	Rev. Thomas Buddle
70	27 December 1873	James Blanche Mary Clifford	James Blanche Mary Clifford 💍 1874/6568	Bachelor Spinster	Labourer	50 37	City of Nelson City of Nelson	10 years 11 years	Residence of John Buchinies, Waimea Street, Nelson	74/231		27 December 1873	Rev. Patrick Calder

These records have been automatically transcribed and must be verified using the page image (below)

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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 1894. More registers will be added as the project continues.

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).