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 599

District of Christchurch Quarter ending 30 September 1873

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

2961

1 July 1873

John Franklin McMullen
Cecilia Margaret Rose Younis

John Franklin McMullen
Cecilia Margaret Rose
💍 1873/10909

Bachelor
Spinster

Banker
Servant

23
29

Christchurch
Do

2 years
Do

St Luke's Church

73/2053

1 July 1873

Rev E A Lingard

No	2961
Date of Notice	1 July 1873
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Franklin McMullen	Cecilia Margaret Rose Younis
BDM Match (88%)	John Franklin McMullen	Cecilia Margaret Rose
	💍 1873/10909
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Banker	Servant
Age	23	29
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Do
Length of Residence	2 years	Do
Marriage Place	St Luke's Church
Folio	73/2053
Consent
Date of Certificate	1 July 1873
Officiating Minister	Rev E A Lingard

2962

2 July 1873

John Frude
Caroline Petersen

John Frude
Caroline Petersen
💍 1873/11134

Bachelor
Spinster

Shepherd
Servant

28
21

Prebbleton
Do

8 weeks
Do

In the house of Rev C Fraer

73/2163

2 July 1873

Rev C Fraer

No	2962
Date of Notice	2 July 1873
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Frude	Caroline Petersen
	💍 1873/11134
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Shepherd	Servant
Age	28	21
Dwelling Place	Prebbleton	Do
Length of Residence	8 weeks	Do
Marriage Place	In the house of Rev C Fraer
Folio	73/2163
Consent
Date of Certificate	2 July 1873
Officiating Minister	Rev C Fraer

2963

3 July 1873

William Henry Parker
Miriam Nickery

William Henry Parker
Marion Vickery
💍 1873/11140

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Servant

30
21

Riccarton
Do

8 years
21 years

In the house of Rev C Fraer

73/2165

3 July 1873

Rev C Fraer

No	2963
Date of Notice	3 July 1873
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Henry Parker	Miriam Nickery
BDM Match (86%)	William Henry Parker	Marion Vickery
	💍 1873/11140
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Servant
Age	30	21
Dwelling Place	Riccarton	Do
Length of Residence	8 years	21 years
Marriage Place	In the house of Rev C Fraer
Folio	73/2165
Consent
Date of Certificate	3 July 1873
Officiating Minister	Rev C Fraer

2964

9 July 1873

Charles Edward Fooke
Elizabeth Hannah Scoth

Charles Edward Fowke
Elizabeth Hannah Scott
💍 1873/11137

Bachelor
Spinster

Engine Keeper
Servant

24
18

Christchurch
Christchurch

5 months
1 week

In the house of Rev C Fraer

73/2164

Scoth, father

9 July 1873

Rev C Fraer

No	2964
Date of Notice	9 July 1873
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Edward Fooke	Elizabeth Hannah Scoth
BDM Match (95%)	Charles Edward Fowke	Elizabeth Hannah Scott
	💍 1873/11137
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Engine Keeper	Servant
Age	24	18
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	5 months	1 week
Marriage Place	In the house of Rev C Fraer
Folio	73/2164
Consent	Scoth, father
Date of Certificate	9 July 1873
Officiating Minister	Rev C Fraer

2965

4 July 1873

Lucien Brocherie
Mary Catherine Fellon

Lucin Brocherie
Mary Catherine Fallon
💍 1873/4664

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Servant

28
26

Christchurch
Do

3 days
3 days

In the Roman Catholic Church

73/148

4 July 1873

Rev I M Ecuyer

No	2965
Date of Notice	4 July 1873
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Lucien Brocherie	Mary Catherine Fellon
BDM Match (95%)	Lucin Brocherie	Mary Catherine Fallon
	💍 1873/4664
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Servant
Age	28	26
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Do
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	In the Roman Catholic Church
Folio	73/148
Consent
Date of Certificate	4 July 1873
Officiating Minister	Rev I M Ecuyer

2968

13 July 1873

Alexander Malcolm Brown
Miriam Blackmire

Alexander Malcolm Brown
Miriam Blackmore
💍 1873/11152

Bachelor
Spinster

Carpenter
Dressmaker

23
24

Christchurch
Do

8 weeks
3 weeks

In the house of Rev C Fraer

73/2169

13 July 1873

Rev C Fraer

No	2968
Date of Notice	13 July 1873
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Alexander Malcolm Brown	Miriam Blackmire
BDM Match (97%)	Alexander Malcolm Brown	Miriam Blackmore
	💍 1873/11152
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carpenter	Dressmaker
Age	23	24
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Do
Length of Residence	8 weeks	3 weeks
Marriage Place	In the house of Rev C Fraer
Folio	73/2169
Consent
Date of Certificate	13 July 1873
Officiating Minister	Rev C Fraer

2969

16 July 1873

George Herd
Elizabeth Anderson

George Herd
Elizabeth Anderson
💍 1873/6964

Widower
Widow

Labourer
Servant

37
40

[UNCLEAR] address
Christchurch

7 years
2 years

In the Primitive Methodist Chapel

73/324

16 July 1873

Rev R Ward

No	2969
Date of Notice	16 July 1873
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Herd	Elizabeth Anderson
	💍 1873/6964
Condition	Widower	Widow
Profession	Labourer	Servant
Age	37	40
Dwelling Place	[UNCLEAR] address	Christchurch
Length of Residence	7 years	2 years
Marriage Place	In the Primitive Methodist Chapel
Folio	73/324
Consent
Date of Certificate	16 July 1873
Officiating Minister	Rev R Ward

2970

19 July 1873

Joseph Cricks
Elizabeth Mellshimer

Joseph Cricks
Elizabeth Mellshimer
💍 1873/6823

Widower
Spinster

Gardener
Dressmaker

64
55

Christchurch
Christchurch

4 years
2 years

In the Baptist Chapel

73/084

19 July 1873

Rev R. Marten

No	2970
Date of Notice	19 July 1873
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Joseph Cricks	Elizabeth Mellshimer
	💍 1873/6823
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Gardener	Dressmaker
Age	64	55
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	4 years	2 years
Marriage Place	In the Baptist Chapel
Folio	73/084
Consent
Date of Certificate	19 July 1873
Officiating Minister	Rev R. Marten

2971

21 July 1873

Charles Samuels
Hannah Rice

Charles Samuels
Hannah Rice
💍 1873/10738

Bachelor
Spinster

Cabinet Maker
[UNCLEAR]

25
20

Christchurch
Christchurch

9 months
11 years

St Michael's Church

73/2019

Keziah Rice, mother

21 July 1873

Rev. H. J. Edwards

No	2971
Date of Notice	21 July 1873
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Samuels	Hannah Rice
	💍 1873/10738
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Cabinet Maker	[UNCLEAR]
Age	25	20
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	9 months	11 years
Marriage Place	St Michael's Church
Folio	73/2019
Consent	Keziah Rice, mother
Date of Certificate	21 July 1873
Officiating Minister	Rev. H. J. Edwards

2972

22 July 1873

Charles Patterson
Elizabeth Hawkins

Charles Patterson
Elizabeth Hawkins
💍 1873/10912

Bachelor
Spinster

Bootmaker
[UNCLEAR]

28
22

Christchurch
Do

3 days
3 days

In St Luke's Church

73/2084

22 July 1873

Rev E A Lingard

No	2972
Date of Notice	22 July 1873
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Patterson	Elizabeth Hawkins
	💍 1873/10912
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Bootmaker	[UNCLEAR]
Age	28	22
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Do
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	In St Luke's Church
Folio	73/2084
Consent
Date of Certificate	22 July 1873
Officiating Minister	Rev E A Lingard

2973

22 July 1873

Robert Thomson
Ellen Craze

Robert Thomson
Ellen Craze
💍 1873/11143

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Servant

25
25

Christchurch
Do

3 days
10 months

In the Scotch Church

73/2166

22 July 1873

Rev C Fraer

No	2973
Date of Notice	22 July 1873
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Robert Thomson	Ellen Craze
	💍 1873/11143
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Servant
Age	25	25
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Do
Length of Residence	3 days	10 months
Marriage Place	In the Scotch Church
Folio	73/2166
Consent
Date of Certificate	22 July 1873
Officiating Minister	Rev C Fraer

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 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).