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 569

District of Christchurch Quarter ending 30 June 1875 Registrar J. W. 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

3707

4 June 1875

Edward Plant
Martha Geddis

Edward Plank
Martha Geddis
💍 1875/1062

Bachelor
Spinster

Gardener
Cook

28
26

Papanui Road
Avonside

11 months
9 months

In the house

75/1105

4 June 1875

Rev. I. Berry

No	3707
Date of Notice	4 June 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edward Plant	Martha Geddis
BDM Match (96%)	Edward Plank	Martha Geddis
	💍 1875/1062
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Gardener	Cook
Age	28	26
Dwelling Place	Papanui Road	Avonside
Length of Residence	11 months	9 months
Marriage Place	In the house
Folio	75/1105
Consent
Date of Certificate	4 June 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev. I. Berry

3708

4 June 1875

Samuel Moncrief
Fanny Stokes

Samuel Moncrief
Fanny Stokes
💍 1875/1160

Widower
Spinster

Gardener
Cook

34
24

Christchurch
Do

10 years
18 months

In the Wesleyan Church

75/1009

4 June 1875

C. Fraser, pro Rev. I. Buller

No	3708
Date of Notice	4 June 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Samuel Moncrief	Fanny Stokes
	💍 1875/1160
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Gardener	Cook
Age	34	24
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Do
Length of Residence	10 years	18 months
Marriage Place	In the Wesleyan Church
Folio	75/1009
Consent
Date of Certificate	4 June 1875
Officiating Minister	C. Fraser, pro Rev. I. Buller

3709

5 June 1875

Alexander Watson Smith
Alice Ann Smitheram

Alexander Watson Smith
Alice Ann Smitheram
💍 1875/1271

Bachelor
Spinster

Engineer
Servant

27
23

Christchurch
Do

9 days
10 days

In the house of Rev. C. Fraser

75/1417

5 June 1875

Rev. C. Fraser

No	3709
Date of Notice	5 June 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Alexander Watson Smith	Alice Ann Smitheram
	💍 1875/1271
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Engineer	Servant
Age	27	23
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Do
Length of Residence	9 days	10 days
Marriage Place	In the house of Rev. C. Fraser
Folio	75/1417
Consent
Date of Certificate	5 June 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Fraser

3710

7 June 1875

William Charlestroyen
Isabella Thompson

William Churles Morgan
Isobella Thompson
💍 1875/1272

Bachelor
Spinster

Publican

23
21

Christchurch
Do

13 years
5 years

In the house of Rev. C. Fraser

75/1418

7 June 1875

Rev. C. Fraser

No	3710
Date of Notice	7 June 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Charlestroyen	Isabella Thompson
BDM Match (83%)	William Churles Morgan	Isobella Thompson
	💍 1875/1272
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Publican
Age	23	21
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Do
Length of Residence	13 years	5 years
Marriage Place	In the house of Rev. C. Fraser
Folio	75/1418
Consent
Date of Certificate	7 June 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Fraser

3711

8 June 1875

Thomas Mayetts
Sarah Ann Carter

Thomas Margetts
Sarah Ann Carter
💍 1875/1274

Bachelor
Spinster

Carpenter
Servant

25
18

Christchurch
Do

18 months
6 years

In the house of Rev. C. Fraser

75/1420

Francis Carter, Father

8 June 1875

Rev. C. Fraser

No	3711
Date of Notice	8 June 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Mayetts	Sarah Ann Carter
BDM Match (93%)	Thomas Margetts	Sarah Ann Carter
	💍 1875/1274
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carpenter	Servant
Age	25	18
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Do
Length of Residence	18 months	6 years
Marriage Place	In the house of Rev. C. Fraser
Folio	75/1420
Consent	Francis Carter, Father
Date of Certificate	8 June 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Fraser

3712

8 June 1875

John Campbell
Jane Murdoch

John Campbell
Jane Murdock
💍 1875/1276

John Campbell
Jane Gurner
💍 1875/294

John Campbell
Jessie Falconer
💍 1876/1137

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Servant

30
30

Templeton
Do

20 months
10 months

In the house of Rev. C. Fraser

75/1422

8 June 1875

Rev. C. Fraser

No	3712
Date of Notice	8 June 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Campbell	Jane Murdoch
BDM Match (96%)	John Campbell	Jane Murdock
	💍 1875/1276
BDM Match (79%)	John Campbell	Jane Gurner
	💍 1875/294
BDM Match (63%)	John Campbell	Jessie Falconer
	💍 1876/1137
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Servant
Age	30	30
Dwelling Place	Templeton	Do
Length of Residence	20 months	10 months
Marriage Place	In the house of Rev. C. Fraser
Folio	75/1422
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 June 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Fraser

3713

9 June 1875

Thomas Barron
Emily Withinghaus

Thomas Barron
Emily Nottingham
💍 1875/1279

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer

28
25

Do
Christchurch

1 year
11 months

In the house of Rev. C. Fraser

75/1425

9 June 1875

Rev. C. Fraser

No	3713
Date of Notice	9 June 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Barron	Emily Withinghaus
BDM Match (85%)	Thomas Barron	Emily Nottingham
	💍 1875/1279
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer
Age	28	25
Dwelling Place	Do	Christchurch
Length of Residence	1 year	11 months
Marriage Place	In the house of Rev. C. Fraser
Folio	75/1425
Consent
Date of Certificate	9 June 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Fraser

3714

9 June 1875

Mark Brew
Jessie Moody

Mark Brem
Jessie Mudie
💍 1875/1273

Bachelor
Widow

Farmer
Servant

45
32

Christchurch
Little River

3 days
9 months

In the house Barry's Bay

75/1419

9 June 1875

Rev. C. Fraser

No	3714
Date of Notice	9 June 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Mark Brew	Jessie Moody
BDM Match (78%)	Mark Brem	Jessie Mudie
	💍 1875/1273
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Farmer	Servant
Age	45	32
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Little River
Length of Residence	3 days	9 months
Marriage Place	In the house Barry's Bay
Folio	75/1419
Consent
Date of Certificate	9 June 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Fraser

3715

9 June 1875

James Harbehush
Sarah Lewis

James Haglehurst
Sarah Linies
💍 1875/1275

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Servant

22
22

Christchurch
Do

2 years
2 years

In the house of Rev. C. Fraser

75/1421

9 June 1875

Rev. C. Fraser

No	3715
Date of Notice	9 June 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Harbehush	Sarah Lewis
BDM Match (75%)	James Haglehurst	Sarah Linies
	💍 1875/1275
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Servant
Age	22	22
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Do
Length of Residence	2 years	2 years
Marriage Place	In the house of Rev. C. Fraser
Folio	75/1421
Consent
Date of Certificate	9 June 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Fraser

3716

11 June 1875

John Burnell Morris
Ann Cronin

John Burnett Morris
Ann Cronin
💍 1875/959

Bachelor
Spinster

Dealer

32
21

Christchurch
Do

2 years
11 years

In the Roman Catholic Church

75/1001

11 June 1875

Rev. H. Belliard

No	3716
Date of Notice	11 June 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Burnell Morris	Ann Cronin
BDM Match (95%)	John Burnett Morris	Ann Cronin
	💍 1875/959
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Dealer
Age	32	21
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Do
Length of Residence	2 years	11 years
Marriage Place	In the Roman Catholic Church
Folio	75/1001
Consent
Date of Certificate	11 June 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev. H. Belliard

3717

11 June 1875

William Carr
Margaret Ann Ross

William Carr
Margaret Lyon Ross
💍 1875/1285

Bachelor
Spinster

Seaman
Machinist

23
21

Christchurch
Do

1 year
15 months

In the house of Rev. C. Fraser

75/1430

11 June 1875

Rev. C. Fraser

No	3717
Date of Notice	11 June 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Carr	Margaret Ann Ross
BDM Match (92%)	William Carr	Margaret Lyon Ross
	💍 1875/1285
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Seaman	Machinist
Age	23	21
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Do
Length of Residence	1 year	15 months
Marriage Place	In the house of Rev. C. Fraser
Folio	75/1430
Consent
Date of Certificate	11 June 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Fraser

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).