Intentions to Marry, 1875

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840387, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

Imaged by Luke at Archives NZ Wellington, May 16 2025.

This register is quite fragile and some of the pages are damaged or even missing.

Page 558

District of Christchurch Quarter ending 31 March 1875 Registrar J. Parkinson

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

3590

10 March 1875

George Edward Lauhan
Eveline Margaret Shine

George Edward Larkam
Eveline Margaret Thine
💍 1875/600

Bachelor
Spinster

Clerk

26
22

Christchurch
do

2 years
15 months Durham Street

Wesleyan Church

75/1238

10 March 1875

Rev. I. Buller

No	3590
Date of Notice	10 March 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Edward Lauhan	Eveline Margaret Shine
BDM Match (90%)	George Edward Larkam	Eveline Margaret Thine
	💍 1875/600
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Clerk
Age	26	22
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	do
Length of Residence	2 years	15 months Durham Street
Marriage Place	Wesleyan Church
Folio	75/1238
Consent
Date of Certificate	10 March 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev. I. Buller

3591

11 March 1875

Robert Tilkester
Mary Kilchen

Robert Webster
Mary Kitchen
💍 1875/731

Bachelor
Spinster

Blacksmith
Servant

26
22

Christchurch
do

3 years in the house of R. & F. Fouglas
6 months

75/618

11 March 1875

Rev. R. F. Fouglas

No	3591
Date of Notice	11 March 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Robert Tilkester	Mary Kilchen
BDM Match (80%)	Robert Webster	Mary Kitchen
	💍 1875/731
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Blacksmith	Servant
Age	26	22
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	do
Length of Residence	3 years in the house of R. & F. Fouglas	6 months
Marriage Place	do
Folio	75/618
Consent
Date of Certificate	11 March 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev. R. F. Fouglas

3592

15 March 1875

Frederick William Sandford
Maria Masterman Clarke

Frederick William Sandford
Maria Masterton Clarke
💍 1875/493

Bachelor
Spinster

Carpenter
Servant

22
22

do
Opawa

15 months Christchurch
12 months do

Avonside Church

75/513

15 March 1875

Rev. S. T. Glasson

No	3592
Date of Notice	15 March 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Frederick William Sandford	Maria Masterman Clarke
BDM Match (95%)	Frederick William Sandford	Maria Masterton Clarke
	💍 1875/493
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carpenter	Servant
Age	22	22
Dwelling Place	do	Opawa
Length of Residence	15 months Christchurch	12 months do
Marriage Place	Avonside Church
Folio	75/513
Consent
Date of Certificate	15 March 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev. S. T. Glasson

3593

15 March 1875

Thomas Hallis
Elizabeth Anna Lilley

Thomas Wallis
Elizabeth Anna Lilly
💍 1875/603

Thomas Hilditch
Elizabeth Hurley
💍 1875/2761

Thomas Jones
Elizabeth Halliday
💍 1875/176

Thomas Hughes
Elizabeth Quinn
💍 1875/2827

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer

34
19

Courtenay
do

10 years do
12 years Christchurch

St. Lukes Church

75/724

Joseph Mark Lilley, Father

15 March 1875

Rev. R. H. Gould

No	3593
Date of Notice	15 March 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Hallis	Elizabeth Anna Lilley
BDM Match (94%)	Thomas Wallis	Elizabeth Anna Lilly
	💍 1875/603
BDM Match (64%)	Thomas Hilditch	Elizabeth Hurley
	💍 1875/2761
BDM Match (62%)	Thomas Jones	Elizabeth Halliday
	💍 1875/176
BDM Match (61%)	Thomas Hughes	Elizabeth Quinn
	💍 1875/2827
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	34	19
Dwelling Place	Courtenay	do
Length of Residence	10 years do	12 years Christchurch
Marriage Place	St. Lukes Church
Folio	75/724
Consent	Joseph Mark Lilley, Father
Date of Certificate	15 March 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev. R. H. Gould

3594

15 March 1875

Harrington
Jane Millar

Robert Harrington
Jane Miller
💍 1875/3160

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Cook

36
27

Christchurch
do

1 month in the house of W. Allison
8 months Durham Street

75/619

15 March 1875

Rev. R. F. Fouglas

No	3594
Date of Notice	15 March 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Harrington	Jane Millar
BDM Match (75%)	Robert Harrington	Jane Miller
	💍 1875/3160
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Cook
Age	36	27
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	do
Length of Residence	1 month in the house of W. Allison	8 months Durham Street
Marriage Place	do
Folio	75/619
Consent
Date of Certificate	15 March 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev. R. F. Fouglas

3595

15 March 1875

Walker Heasell
Johanna Fossitt

Walker Hessell
Johanna Dossett
💍 1875/1338

Bachelor
Spinster

Butcher

23
21

Christchurch
do

3 days in the house of R. C. Fraser
3 days Leam Street

75/1358

15 March 1875

Rev. C. Fraser

No	3595
Date of Notice	15 March 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Walker Heasell	Johanna Fossitt
BDM Match (90%)	Walker Hessell	Johanna Dossett
	💍 1875/1338
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Butcher
Age	23	21
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	do
Length of Residence	3 days in the house of R. C. Fraser	3 days Leam Street
Marriage Place	do
Folio	75/1358
Consent
Date of Certificate	15 March 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Fraser

3596

15 March 1875

Peter Craven
Mary Strinson

Peter Craven
Mary Stimson
💍 1875/1171

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Machinist

24
22

Christchurch
do

4 months do
4 months Christchurch

St. John's Church

75/1094

15 March 1875

Rev. T. L. Watson

No	3596
Date of Notice	15 March 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Peter Craven	Mary Strinson
BDM Match (92%)	Peter Craven	Mary Stimson
	💍 1875/1171
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Machinist
Age	24	22
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	do
Length of Residence	4 months do	4 months Christchurch
Marriage Place	St. John's Church
Folio	75/1094
Consent
Date of Certificate	15 March 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev. T. L. Watson

3597

16 March 1875

Francis Tracters Merour
Annie Stevens Farr

Francis McBrun Stewart
Annie Stevens Farr
💍 1875/1339

Bachelor
Spinster

Doctor of Medicine

35
23

Christchurch
do

3 days in the Scotch Milling Church
20 years Leam Street

75/1356

16 March 1875

Rev. C. Fraser

No	3597
Date of Notice	16 March 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Francis Tracters Merour	Annie Stevens Farr
BDM Match (72%)	Francis McBrun Stewart	Annie Stevens Farr
	💍 1875/1339
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Doctor of Medicine
Age	35	23
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	do
Length of Residence	3 days in the Scotch Milling Church	20 years Leam Street
Marriage Place	do
Folio	75/1356
Consent
Date of Certificate	16 March 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Fraser

3598

17 March 1875

George Arthur Smith
Mary Eliza Walker

George Arthur Smith
Mary Eliza Walker
💍 1875/524

Bachelor
Spinster

Bookkeeper

33
21

Christchurch
do

2 years in the house of Mr. Walker
17 years Windmill Road

75/645

17 March 1875

Rev. S. Macfarlane

No	3598
Date of Notice	17 March 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Arthur Smith	Mary Eliza Walker
	💍 1875/524
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Bookkeeper
Age	33	21
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	do
Length of Residence	2 years in the house of Mr. Walker	17 years Windmill Road
Marriage Place	do
Folio	75/645
Consent
Date of Certificate	17 March 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev. S. Macfarlane

3599

17 March 1875

John Jeffer Pendray
Margaret Baxter

John Jeffree Pendray
Margaret Baxter
💍 1875/525

Bachelor
Spinster

Minister

30
24

Christchurch
do

3 days in the house of Oxford
7 years Durham Street

75/649

17 March 1875

Rev. S. Macfarlane

No	3599
Date of Notice	17 March 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Jeffer Pendray	Margaret Baxter
BDM Match (95%)	John Jeffree Pendray	Margaret Baxter
	💍 1875/525
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Minister
Age	30	24
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	do
Length of Residence	3 days in the house of Oxford	7 years Durham Street
Marriage Place	do
Folio	75/649
Consent
Date of Certificate	17 March 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev. S. Macfarlane

3600

17 March 1875

Thomas Claridge
Ellen Rogers

Thomas Claridge
Ellen Rogers
💍 1875/168

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Servant

22
23

Papanui
do

15 years in the Sunwood Road
2 years Church

75/223

17 March 1875

Rev. F. L. Brittan

No	3600
Date of Notice	17 March 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Claridge	Ellen Rogers
	💍 1875/168
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Servant
Age	22	23
Dwelling Place	Papanui	do
Length of Residence	15 years in the Sunwood Road	2 years Church
Marriage Place	do
Folio	75/223
Consent
Date of Certificate	17 March 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev. F. L. Brittan

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).