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 353

District of Napier Quarter ending 31 March 1875 Registrar J M Youliane

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

571

20 February 1875

Carl Baker Samuel Smithing
Florence Julia Sigvaldson

Bachelor
Spinster

Sailor
Domestic

22
24

Napier
Napier

3 days
2 years

Residence of Mr Sigvaldson Napier

75/688

20 February 1875

Rev. J S Smalley

No	571
Date of Notice	20 February 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Carl Baker Samuel Smithing	Florence Julia Sigvaldson
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Sailor	Domestic
Age	22	24
Dwelling Place	Napier	Napier
Length of Residence	3 days	2 years
Marriage Place	Residence of Mr Sigvaldson Napier
Folio	75/688
Consent
Date of Certificate	20 February 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev. J S Smalley

572

24 February 1875

Thomas Redding
Charlotte Meare

Thomas Ridding
Charlotte Mears
💍 1875/347

Bachelor
Spinster

Bricklayer
Domestic

22
21

Napier
Napier

4 Months
1 Week

Residence of Mr Redding Napier

75/386

24 February 1875

Rev. J S Redstone

No	572
Date of Notice	24 February 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Redding	Charlotte Meare
BDM Match (93%)	Thomas Ridding	Charlotte Mears
	💍 1875/347
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Bricklayer	Domestic
Age	22	21
Dwelling Place	Napier	Napier
Length of Residence	4 Months	1 Week
Marriage Place	Residence of Mr Redding Napier
Folio	75/386
Consent
Date of Certificate	24 February 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev. J S Redstone

573

24 February 1875

Thomas Willis
Catherine Lavolor

Thomas Willis
Catherine Lawlor
💍 1875/346

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic

26
26

Napier
Napier

15 years
8 Months

Residence of Mrs Rubiruna Napier

75/365

24 February 1875

Written

No	573
Date of Notice	24 February 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Willis	Catherine Lavolor
BDM Match (94%)	Thomas Willis	Catherine Lawlor
	💍 1875/346
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic
Age	26	26
Dwelling Place	Napier	Napier
Length of Residence	15 years	8 Months
Marriage Place	Residence of Mrs Rubiruna Napier
Folio	75/365
Consent
Date of Certificate	24 February 1875
Officiating Minister	Written

574

2 March 1875

Edward Moore
Emma Bayly Newman

Edward Moore
Emma Bayly Newman
💍 1875/296

Bachelor
Spinster

Bank Manager

31
19

Napier
Napier

18 Months
1 year

English Church Havelock

75/304

Edward Moore, Father

2 March 1875

Rev. Wm Marshall

No	574
Date of Notice	2 March 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edward Moore	Emma Bayly Newman
	💍 1875/296
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Bank Manager
Age	31	19
Dwelling Place	Napier	Napier
Length of Residence	18 Months	1 year
Marriage Place	English Church Havelock
Folio	75/304
Consent	Edward Moore, Father
Date of Certificate	2 March 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev. Wm Marshall

575

3 March 1875

George Withistone
Caroline Hansen

George Wiltshire
Caroline Hansen
💍 1876/3194

Bachelor
Spinster

Surveyor
Domestic

30
22

Napier
Napier

4 years
2 1/2 years

Residence of Mr Withistone Napier

75/145

3 March 1875

Rev. D Sidey

No	575
Date of Notice	3 March 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Withistone	Caroline Hansen
BDM Match (82%)	George Wiltshire	Caroline Hansen
	💍 1876/3194
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Surveyor	Domestic
Age	30	22
Dwelling Place	Napier	Napier
Length of Residence	4 years	2 1/2 years
Marriage Place	Residence of Mr Withistone Napier
Folio	75/145
Consent
Date of Certificate	3 March 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev. D Sidey

576

4 March 1875

Robert Thompson
Mathew Down

Robert Thompson
Martha Downs
💍 1875/348

Bachelor
Spinster

Seaman
Domestic

22
22

Napier
Napier

2 years
2 1/2 years

Residence of Mr Down Napier

75/384

4 March 1875

Rev. J S Redstone

No	576
Date of Notice	4 March 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Robert Thompson	Mathew Down
BDM Match (83%)	Robert Thompson	Martha Downs
	💍 1875/348
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Seaman	Domestic
Age	22	22
Dwelling Place	Napier	Napier
Length of Residence	2 years	2 1/2 years
Marriage Place	Residence of Mr Down Napier
Folio	75/384
Consent
Date of Certificate	4 March 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev. J S Redstone

577

10 March 1875

John Cullum Reynolds
Sarah Adeline Collins

John Cullen Reynolds
Sarah Adelia Collins
💍 1875/349

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic

27
21

Napier
Napier

2 years
14 years

Residence of Mr Loop Napier

75/388

10 March 1875

Rev. J S Redstone

No	577
Date of Notice	10 March 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Cullum Reynolds	Sarah Adeline Collins
BDM Match (90%)	John Cullen Reynolds	Sarah Adelia Collins
	💍 1875/349
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic
Age	27	21
Dwelling Place	Napier	Napier
Length of Residence	2 years	14 years
Marriage Place	Residence of Mr Loop Napier
Folio	75/388
Consent
Date of Certificate	10 March 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev. J S Redstone

578

10 March 1875

William Ebbutt
Mary Curry

William Ebbett
Mary Curry
💍 1875/353

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic

24
20

Hastings
Napier

6 years
5 years

Residence of Mr Sidey Napier

75/393

Mr Cormick, Guardian

10 March 1875

Rev. D Sidey

No	578
Date of Notice	10 March 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Ebbutt	Mary Curry
BDM Match (96%)	William Ebbett	Mary Curry
	💍 1875/353
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic
Age	24	20
Dwelling Place	Hastings	Napier
Length of Residence	6 years	5 years
Marriage Place	Residence of Mr Sidey Napier
Folio	75/393
Consent	Mr Cormick, Guardian
Date of Certificate	10 March 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev. D Sidey

579

11 March 1875

Arthur Palmi
Bessie Dunn

Arthur Palmer
Befsie Dunn
💍 1875/351

Bachelor
Spinster

Carter
Domestic

33
30

Napier
Napier

16 years
8 years

Residence of Mr Hutcheson Napier

75/394

11 March 1875

Rev. D Sidey

No	579
Date of Notice	11 March 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Arthur Palmi	Bessie Dunn
BDM Match (88%)	Arthur Palmer	Befsie Dunn
	💍 1875/351
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carter	Domestic
Age	33	30
Dwelling Place	Napier	Napier
Length of Residence	16 years	8 years
Marriage Place	Residence of Mr Hutcheson Napier
Folio	75/394
Consent
Date of Certificate	11 March 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev. D Sidey

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).