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 554

District of Christchurch Quarter ending 31 March 1875 Registrar W. Parker

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

3546

8 February 1875

William Boyce Buller
Catherine Mills

William Boyce Buller
Catherine Mills
💍 1875/1299

Bachelor
Spinster

Accountant

27
22

Christchurch
Christchurch

5 days
5 years

In the house of Mr. Mills, Timaru

75/1340

8 February 1875

Rev. I. Buller

No	3546
Date of Notice	8 February 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Boyce Buller	Catherine Mills
	💍 1875/1299
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Accountant
Age	27	22
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	5 days	5 years
Marriage Place	In the house of Mr. Mills, Timaru
Folio	75/1340
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 February 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev. I. Buller

3547

9 February 1875

John Furham
Selina Say

John Durham
Selina Day
💍 1875/1300

Bachelor
Widow

Labourer

38
38

Ferry Road
Ferry Road

5 years
3 years

In the house of Rev. C. Fraser

75/1341

9 February 1875

Rev. C. Fraser

No	3547
Date of Notice	9 February 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Furham	Selina Say
BDM Match (90%)	John Durham	Selina Day
	💍 1875/1300
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Labourer
Age	38	38
Dwelling Place	Ferry Road	Ferry Road
Length of Residence	5 years	3 years
Marriage Place	In the house of Rev. C. Fraser
Folio	75/1341
Consent
Date of Certificate	9 February 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Fraser

3548

9 February 1875

Eli Paul Mitchell
Harriet Thorsman

Eli Pain Mitchell
Harriet Horsman
💍 1875/1298

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer

36
27

Christchurch
Christchurch

2 weeks
9 months

In the house of Rev. C. Fraser, Timaru

75/1339

9 February 1875

Rev. C. Fraser

No	3548
Date of Notice	9 February 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Eli Paul Mitchell	Harriet Thorsman
BDM Match (88%)	Eli Pain Mitchell	Harriet Horsman
	💍 1875/1298
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	36	27
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	2 weeks	9 months
Marriage Place	In the house of Rev. C. Fraser, Timaru
Folio	75/1339
Consent
Date of Certificate	9 February 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Fraser

3549

9 February 1875

Henry Woodham
Margaret Mary More Regard

Henry Woodham
Margaret Mary Moore Ryan
💍 1875/134

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Servant

24
22

Christchurch
Christchurch

12 years
6 years

In the house of Mr. Bell, St. Asaph Street

75/1139

9 February 1875

Rev. G. Bond

No	3549
Date of Notice	9 February 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Henry Woodham	Margaret Mary More Regard
BDM Match (90%)	Henry Woodham	Margaret Mary Moore Ryan
	💍 1875/134
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Servant
Age	24	22
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	12 years	6 years
Marriage Place	In the house of Mr. Bell, St. Asaph Street
Folio	75/1139
Consent
Date of Certificate	9 February 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev. G. Bond

3550

9 February 1875

Henry Horsman
Margaret Fawcett

Henry Norman
Margaret Fawcett
💍 1875/213

Bachelor
Spinster

Waiter
Servant

24
25

Christchurch
Waltham

4 years
7 years

St. Luke's Church, Christchurch

75/1224

9 February 1875

Rev. E. A. Lingard

No	3550
Date of Notice	9 February 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Henry Horsman	Margaret Fawcett
BDM Match (92%)	Henry Norman	Margaret Fawcett
	💍 1875/213
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Waiter	Servant
Age	24	25
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Waltham
Length of Residence	4 years	7 years
Marriage Place	St. Luke's Church, Christchurch
Folio	75/1224
Consent
Date of Certificate	9 February 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev. E. A. Lingard

3551

10 February 1875

George Lancaster
Eurydice Eden

George Lancaster
Eurydice Eden
💍 1875/204

Widower
Spinster

Ballastman
Servant

31
21

Christchurch
Christchurch

5 years
18 months

In the Church of St. Michael, Christchurch

75/1233

10 February 1875

Rev. H. J. Edwards

No	3551
Date of Notice	10 February 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Lancaster	Eurydice Eden
	💍 1875/204
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Ballastman	Servant
Age	31	21
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	5 years	18 months
Marriage Place	In the Church of St. Michael, Christchurch
Folio	75/1233
Consent
Date of Certificate	10 February 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev. H. J. Edwards

3552

12 February 1875

Peter Brown
Jane Hutchison

Peter Brown
Jane Hutchison
💍 1875/1302

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Servant

28
22

Christchurch
Christchurch

7 days
2 weeks

In the house of Mr. Lyttelton, Lincoln Street

75/1343

12 February 1875

Rev. C. Fraser

No	3552
Date of Notice	12 February 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Peter Brown	Jane Hutchison
	💍 1875/1302
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Servant
Age	28	22
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	7 days	2 weeks
Marriage Place	In the house of Mr. Lyttelton, Lincoln Street
Folio	75/1343
Consent
Date of Certificate	12 February 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Fraser

3553

13 February 1875

Richard Perkins
Elizabeth Steadfast Isle

Richard Perkins
Elizabeth Steadfast Iles
💍 1875/220

Bachelor
Spinster

Soda water Manufacturer
Milliner

21
23

Christchurch
Christchurch

13 years
23 years

St. Luke's Church

75/1224

27 February 1875

Rev. E. A. Lingard

No	3553
Date of Notice	13 February 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Richard Perkins	Elizabeth Steadfast Isle
BDM Match (96%)	Richard Perkins	Elizabeth Steadfast Iles
	💍 1875/220
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Soda water Manufacturer	Milliner
Age	21	23
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	13 years	23 years
Marriage Place	St. Luke's Church
Folio	75/1224
Consent
Date of Certificate	27 February 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev. E. A. Lingard

3554

15 February 1875

John Scott
Margaret Kenney

John Scott Tulloch
Margaret Kenny
💍 1875/729

John Moore
Margaret Kennelly
💍 1876/506

John Stewart
Margaret Rennie
💍 1875/2093

John McRae
Margaret McKenzie
💍 1875/2005

John Healy
Margaret Kelly
💍 1875/554

Bachelor
Spinster

Carpenter
Teacher

30
26

Christchurch
Christchurch

15 months
3 years

In the house of Rev. A. T. Douglas

75/1616

8 March 1875

Rev. A. T. Douglas

No	3554
Date of Notice	15 February 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Scott	Margaret Kenney
BDM Match (74%)	John Scott Tulloch	Margaret Kenny
	💍 1875/729
BDM Match (74%)	John Moore	Margaret Kennelly
	💍 1876/506
BDM Match (69%)	John Stewart	Margaret Rennie
	💍 1875/2093
BDM Match (65%)	John McRae	Margaret McKenzie
	💍 1875/2005
BDM Match (65%)	John Healy	Margaret Kelly
	💍 1875/554
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carpenter	Teacher
Age	30	26
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	15 months	3 years
Marriage Place	In the house of Rev. A. T. Douglas
Folio	75/1616
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 March 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. T. Douglas

3555

15 February 1875

John Nelson
Malla Anderson

John Nelson
Malla Anderson
💍 1875/1170

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Servant

28
20

Christchurch
Christchurch

7 years
3 years

In the Church of St. John

75/1093

There is a person having authority to consent

15 March 1875

Rev. H. C. M. Watson

No	3555
Date of Notice	15 February 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Nelson	Malla Anderson
	💍 1875/1170
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Servant
Age	28	20
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	7 years	3 years
Marriage Place	In the Church of St. John
Folio	75/1093
Consent	There is a person having authority to consent
Date of Certificate	15 March 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev. H. C. M. Watson

3556

17 February 1875

George Baltry
Ellen Crocker Causby

George Daltry
Ellen Croker Lawrey
💍 1875/598

Bachelor
Spinster

Dairyman

22
21

Christchurch
Christchurch

8 years
2 years

In the Wesleyan Church

75/123

8 March 1875

Rev. I. Buller

No	3556
Date of Notice	17 February 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Baltry	Ellen Crocker Causby
BDM Match (84%)	George Daltry	Ellen Croker Lawrey
	💍 1875/598
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Dairyman
Age	22	21
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	8 years	2 years
Marriage Place	In the Wesleyan Church
Folio	75/123
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 March 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev. I. Buller

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).