Intentions to Marry, 1874

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840386, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

Page 563

District of Christchurch Quarter ending 31 March 1874 Registrar B. Parkerson

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

3114

3 January 1874

Jesse Hall
Annie Edgar

Jesse Hall
Annie Edgar
💍 1874/13885

Bachelor
Widow

Hotelkeeper
Hotelkeeper

25
33

Christchurch
Christchurch

14 years
20 years

In Riccarton Church

74/2744

31 January 1874

Rev. C. Bowen

No	3114
Date of Notice	3 January 1874
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Jesse Hall	Annie Edgar
	💍 1874/13885
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Hotelkeeper	Hotelkeeper
Age	25	33
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	14 years	20 years
Marriage Place	In Riccarton Church
Folio	74/2744
Consent
Date of Certificate	31 January 1874
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Bowen

3115

31 January 1874

John Wesley Smith
Mary Ann Beaumonte

John Wesley Smith
Mary Ann Beaumont
💍 1874/6817

Bachelor
Spinster

Publican

25
21

Christchurch
Christchurch

5 years
12 months

n St Lukes Church, Christchurch

74/315

31 January 1874

Rev. E.A. Lingard

No	3115
Date of Notice	31 January 1874
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Wesley Smith	Mary Ann Beaumonte
BDM Match (97%)	John Wesley Smith	Mary Ann Beaumont
	💍 1874/6817
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Publican
Age	25	21
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	5 years	12 months
Marriage Place	n St Lukes Church, Christchurch
Folio	74/315
Consent
Date of Certificate	31 January 1874
Officiating Minister	Rev. E.A. Lingard

3116

2 February 1874

William Gable
Emma Greenhead

William Gable
Emma Greenhead
💍 1874/6823

Bachelor
Spinster

Baker
Servant

21
20

Christchurch
Christchurch

3 months
3 months

In St Lukes Church, Christchurch

74/317

17 February 1874

Rev. E.A. Lingard

No	3116
Date of Notice	2 February 1874
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Gable	Emma Greenhead
	💍 1874/6823
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Baker	Servant
Age	21	20
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	3 months	3 months
Marriage Place	In St Lukes Church, Christchurch
Folio	74/317
Consent
Date of Certificate	17 February 1874
Officiating Minister	Rev. E.A. Lingard

3117

2 February 1874

Gibbon Carew Fitzgibbon
Elizabeth Dixon

Gibbon Carew Fitzgibbon
Elizabeth Dixon
💍 1874/13231

Bachelor

Civil Engineer

27
26

Christchurch
Christchurch

2 months
2 months

In St Johns Church, Christchurch

74/2517

17 February 1874

Rev. H.C.M Watson

No	3117
Date of Notice	2 February 1874
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Gibbon Carew Fitzgibbon	Elizabeth Dixon
	💍 1874/13231
Condition	Bachelor
Profession	Civil Engineer
Age	27	26
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	2 months	2 months
Marriage Place	In St Johns Church, Christchurch
Folio	74/2517
Consent
Date of Certificate	17 February 1874
Officiating Minister	Rev. H.C.M Watson

3118

2 February 1874

James Brightmore
Miranda Janes

James Brightmore
Miranda Janes
💍 1874/6889

Bachelor
Widow

Brickmason
Housekeeper

29
28

Christchurch
Christchurch

14 years
9 years

In St Michael's Church, Christchurch

74/340

2 February 1874

Rev. H. J. Edwards

No	3118
Date of Notice	2 February 1874
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Brightmore	Miranda Janes
	💍 1874/6889
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Brickmason	Housekeeper
Age	29	28
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	14 years	9 years
Marriage Place	In St Michael's Church, Christchurch
Folio	74/340
Consent
Date of Certificate	2 February 1874
Officiating Minister	Rev. H. J. Edwards

3119

2 February 1874

Richard Grose
Mary Louisa Collins

Richard Grose
Mary Louisa Collins
💍 1874/6949

Bachelor
Spinster

Carpenter
Laundress

21
17

Waltham
Waltham

10 months
10 months

In the Opawa Church

74/360

William Collins, his x mark, father

17 February 1874

Rev. G. J. Cholmondeley

No	3119
Date of Notice	2 February 1874
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Richard Grose	Mary Louisa Collins
	💍 1874/6949
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carpenter	Laundress
Age	21	17
Dwelling Place	Waltham	Waltham
Length of Residence	10 months	10 months
Marriage Place	In the Opawa Church
Folio	74/360
Consent	William Collins, his x mark, father
Date of Certificate	17 February 1874
Officiating Minister	Rev. G. J. Cholmondeley

3120

3 February 1874

George Easton
Mary Corrick

George Euston
Mary Corrick
💍 1874/12628

Bachelor
Spinster

Printer
Printer

22
18

Christchurch
Christchurch

4 days
12 years

In the house of Mr Turner, Cranmer Square

74/2312

There is no person having authority to consent

3 February 1874

Rev. W. Lee

No	3120
Date of Notice	3 February 1874
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Easton	Mary Corrick
BDM Match (96%)	George Euston	Mary Corrick
	💍 1874/12628
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Printer	Printer
Age	22	18
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	4 days	12 years
Marriage Place	In the house of Mr Turner, Cranmer Square
Folio	74/2312
Consent	There is no person having authority to consent
Date of Certificate	3 February 1874
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. Lee

3121

4 February 1874

Richard Jebson
Rachel Taylor

Richard Jebson
Rachel Taylor
💍 1874/6886

Bachelor
Spinster

Miner
Servant

33
29

Malvern Hills
Lincoln Road

10 years
17 years

In St Michael's Church, Christchurch

74/339

4 February 1874

Rev. H. J. Edwards

No	3121
Date of Notice	4 February 1874
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Richard Jebson	Rachel Taylor
	💍 1874/6886
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Miner	Servant
Age	33	29
Dwelling Place	Malvern Hills	Lincoln Road
Length of Residence	10 years	17 years
Marriage Place	In St Michael's Church, Christchurch
Folio	74/339
Consent
Date of Certificate	4 February 1874
Officiating Minister	Rev. H. J. Edwards

3122

4 February 1874

John Walter Garland
Amy Minnan Gadd

John Walter Garland
Amy Minnan Gadd
💍 1874/6820

Bachelor
Spinster

Publican

25
22

Christchurch
Christchurch

5 years
2 years

In the Church of St Luke, Christchurch

74/316

4 February 1874

Rev. E.A Lingard

No	3122
Date of Notice	4 February 1874
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Walter Garland	Amy Minnan Gadd
	💍 1874/6820
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Publican
Age	25	22
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	5 years	2 years
Marriage Place	In the Church of St Luke, Christchurch
Folio	74/316
Consent
Date of Certificate	4 February 1874
Officiating Minister	Rev. E.A Lingard

3123

5 February 1874

William James Featherstone
Sarah Moore

William James Featherston
Sarah Moore
💍 1874/6931

Bachelor
Spinster

Mariner
Servant

26
25

Christchurch
Christchurch

3 days
3 days

In the house of Rev A. F. Douglas Christchurch

74/354

5 February 1874

Rev. A.F. Douglas

No	3123
Date of Notice	5 February 1874
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William James Featherstone	Sarah Moore
BDM Match (98%)	William James Featherston	Sarah Moore
	💍 1874/6931
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Mariner	Servant
Age	26	25
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	In the house of Rev A. F. Douglas Christchurch
Folio	74/354
Consent
Date of Certificate	5 February 1874
Officiating Minister	Rev. A.F. Douglas

3124

5 February 1874

William Murray Henderson
Susan McInnis

William Murray Henderson
Susan McInnes
💍 1874/7615

Bachelor
Spinster

Carpenter
Servant

28
23

Ferry Road
Opawa

4 years
1 month

In the Scotch Church, Tuam Street

74/592

5 February 1874

Rev. C. Fraser

No	3124
Date of Notice	5 February 1874
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Murray Henderson	Susan McInnis
BDM Match (96%)	William Murray Henderson	Susan McInnes
	💍 1874/7615
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carpenter	Servant
Age	28	23
Dwelling Place	Ferry Road	Opawa
Length of Residence	4 years	1 month
Marriage Place	In the Scotch Church, Tuam Street
Folio	74/592
Consent
Date of Certificate	5 February 1874
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Fraser

No
Date of Notice
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties
Condition
Profession
Age
Dwelling Place
Length of Residence
Marriage Place
Folio
Consent
Date of Certificate
Officiating Minister

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).