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 361

District of Napier Quarter ending 30 September 1875 Registrar J M Tabuteau

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

635

27 August 1875

Pieder Jacobsen
Metta Kjerstine Laurensen

Peder Jacobsen
Mette Kjerstine Laurensen
💍 1875/2201

Widower
Spinster

Bricklayer
Domestic

42
36

Napier
Napier

4 days
4 days

Residence of Mr. Smalley, Napier

75/1974

27 August 1875

Rev. J S Smalley

No	635
Date of Notice	27 August 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Pieder Jacobsen	Metta Kjerstine Laurensen
BDM Match (95%)	Peder Jacobsen	Mette Kjerstine Laurensen
	💍 1875/2201
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Bricklayer	Domestic
Age	42	36
Dwelling Place	Napier	Napier
Length of Residence	4 days	4 days
Marriage Place	Residence of Mr. Smalley, Napier
Folio	75/1974
Consent
Date of Certificate	27 August 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev. J S Smalley

636

27 August 1875

Johann Alfred Ericksen
Metta Christina Alkersen

Johan Alfred Ericksen
Mette Kjerstine Holgorsen
💍 1875/2180

Bachelor
Widow

Labourer
Domestic

38
40

Napier
Napier

4 days
4 days

Residence of Mr. Smalley, Napier

75/1976

27 August 1875

Rev. J S Smalley

No	636
Date of Notice	27 August 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Johann Alfred Ericksen	Metta Christina Alkersen
BDM Match (78%)	Johan Alfred Ericksen	Mette Kjerstine Holgorsen
	💍 1875/2180
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Labourer	Domestic
Age	38	40
Dwelling Place	Napier	Napier
Length of Residence	4 days	4 days
Marriage Place	Residence of Mr. Smalley, Napier
Folio	75/1976
Consent
Date of Certificate	27 August 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev. J S Smalley

637

27 August 1875

Klummen Horlom Pedersen
Oline Andirse Olesen

Klemmen Hordom Pedersen
Olive Andersine Olsen
💍 1875/2202

Bachelor
Spinster

Shoemaker
Dressmaker

27
19

Napier
Napier

4 days
4 days

Residence of Mr. Smalley, Napier

75/1975

No parents or guardian in the Colony.

27 August 1875

Rev. J S Smalley

No	637
Date of Notice	27 August 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Klummen Horlom Pedersen	Oline Andirse Olesen
BDM Match (84%)	Klemmen Hordom Pedersen	Olive Andersine Olsen
	💍 1875/2202
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Shoemaker	Dressmaker
Age	27	19
Dwelling Place	Napier	Napier
Length of Residence	4 days	4 days
Marriage Place	Residence of Mr. Smalley, Napier
Folio	75/1975
Consent	No parents or guardian in the Colony.
Date of Certificate	27 August 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev. J S Smalley

638

2 September 1875

Robert Francis Huban Streatic
Elizabeth Price

Robert Francis Hubern Streater
Elizabeth Price
💍 1875/1596

Bachelor
Widow

Carter
Nil

29
24

Napier
Napier

16 months
14 months

English Church, Napier

75/1722

2 September 1875

Rev. J Townsend

No	638
Date of Notice	2 September 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Robert Francis Huban Streatic	Elizabeth Price
BDM Match (93%)	Robert Francis Hubern Streater	Elizabeth Price
	💍 1875/1596
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Carter	Nil
Age	29	24
Dwelling Place	Napier	Napier
Length of Residence	16 months	14 months
Marriage Place	English Church, Napier
Folio	75/1722
Consent
Date of Certificate	2 September 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev. J Townsend

639

3 September 1875

Edward Pemberton
Charlotte Ellen Pilcher

Edward Pemberton
Charlotte Ellen Pilcher
💍 1875/1886

Bachelor
Spinster

Carpenter
Nil

34
20

Clive
Clive

1 month
7 years

English Church, Havelock

75/2014

George Pilcher, Father

3 September 1875

Rev. Wm. Marshall,

No	639
Date of Notice	3 September 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edward Pemberton	Charlotte Ellen Pilcher
	💍 1875/1886
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carpenter	Nil
Age	34	20
Dwelling Place	Clive	Clive
Length of Residence	1 month	7 years
Marriage Place	English Church, Havelock
Folio	75/2014
Consent	George Pilcher, Father
Date of Certificate	3 September 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev. Wm. Marshall,

640

4 September 1875

John Merritt
Eliza Fincham

John Merritt
Eliza Fincham
💍 1875/1597

Bachelor
Spinster

Seaman
Domestic

24
22

Napier
Napier

4 years
15 months

English Church, Napier

75/1723

4 September 1875

Rev. J Townsend

No	640
Date of Notice	4 September 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Merritt	Eliza Fincham
	💍 1875/1597
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Seaman	Domestic
Age	24	22
Dwelling Place	Napier	Napier
Length of Residence	4 years	15 months
Marriage Place	English Church, Napier
Folio	75/1723
Consent
Date of Certificate	4 September 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev. J Townsend

641

10 September 1875

George Foster
Annie Howell

George Foster
Annie Howell
💍 1875/1465

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Nil

28
18

Napier
Puketapu

6 years
5 years

Office of the Registrar of Marriages, Napier

75/1631

Isaac Howell, Father

10 September 1875

Registrar of Marriages

No	641
Date of Notice	10 September 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Foster	Annie Howell
	💍 1875/1465
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Nil
Age	28	18
Dwelling Place	Napier	Puketapu
Length of Residence	6 years	5 years
Marriage Place	Office of the Registrar of Marriages, Napier
Folio	75/1631
Consent	Isaac Howell, Father
Date of Certificate	10 September 1875
Officiating Minister	Registrar of Marriages

642

11 September 1875

John Hamiton
Else Neilsen

John Hamilton
Else Neilsen
💍 1875/2181

Bachelor
Widow

Labourer
Domestic

41
35

Napier
Napier

3 years
3 years

Residence of Mr. Smalley, Napier

75/1977

11 September 1875

Rev. J S Smalley

No	642
Date of Notice	11 September 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Hamiton	Else Neilsen
BDM Match (96%)	John Hamilton	Else Neilsen
	💍 1875/2181
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Labourer	Domestic
Age	41	35
Dwelling Place	Napier	Napier
Length of Residence	3 years	3 years
Marriage Place	Residence of Mr. Smalley, Napier
Folio	75/1977
Consent
Date of Certificate	11 September 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev. J S Smalley

643

15 September 1875

Thomas Williams
Mary Ann Gore

Thomas Williams
Mary Ann Gore
💍 1875/2182

Widower
Widow

Bootmaker
Boarding House Keeper

48
34

Napier
Napier

19 years
9 years

Residence of Mr. Smalley, Napier

75/1978

15 September 1875

Rev. J S Smalley

No	643
Date of Notice	15 September 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Williams	Mary Ann Gore
	💍 1875/2182
Condition	Widower	Widow
Profession	Bootmaker	Boarding House Keeper
Age	48	34
Dwelling Place	Napier	Napier
Length of Residence	19 years	9 years
Marriage Place	Residence of Mr. Smalley, Napier
Folio	75/1978
Consent
Date of Certificate	15 September 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev. J S Smalley

These records have been automatically transcribed and must be verified using the page image (below)

100% Contrast

100% Brightness

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).

Primary digitisation of registers between 1855 and 1925 is now complete. Our digitisation volunteers are now working on verifying the currently digitised pages against printed district/page indexes, to identify pages which may have been missed or out of focus. These pages can be re-imaged as required.

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.

How can I help?

You can sign up to correct errors in the transcribed records and match ITMs with registered marriages.

You can also support this project by ☕ Buying us a coffee 🌳

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).