Intentions to Marry, 1876

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840388, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

Imaged by Alexandra at Archives NZ Wellington, January 31 2025

A few of the pages are missing.

Page 477

District of Nelson Quarter ending 31 March 1876

No	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
1	3 January 1876	Thomas George Simmons Charlotte Ann Elizabeth Clarke	Thomas George Simmonds Charlotte Ann Elizabeth Clarke 💍 1876/3076	Bachelor Spinster	Mariner Domestic Servant	31 18	Beachville Nelson Beachville Nelson	8 months 11 months	At the residence of Downes Silkington, Haven road Nelson	76/116	Declaration no person in N.I. having authority	3 January 1876	Rev. Decimus Dolamore
2	8 January 1876	Frederick Warden de Berri Berry Mary Ann Buttler	Frederick Warden de Berri Berry Mary Ann Butler 💍 1876/363	Bachelor Spinster	Carpenter Dressmaker	24 21	Washington Valley Nelson Washington Valley Nelson	3 months 1 month	At All Saints Church Nelson	76/389		8 January 1876	Rev. Archdeacon Thorpe
3	18 January 1876	John Edward Westrup Jane Fellowes	John Edward Westrup Jane Pellows 💍 1876/758	Bachelor Spinster	Mariner Domestic Servant	25 20	Haven Road Nelson Selwyn Place Nelson	25 years 3 years	Presbyterian Church Nelson	76/694	Fellowes Robert Ross, Father	18 January 1876	Rev. Patrick Calder
4	26 January 1876	Edward Alfred Kemp Louisa Harriett Cox	Edward Alfred Kemp Louisa Harriet Cox 💍 1876/359	Bachelor Widow	Hop raiser Dressmaker	26 32	Grove Street Nelson Hardy Street Nelson	11 months 3 months	At the residence of Harry Louis Moffatt, Nelson	76/389		26 January 1876	Rev. Thomas Buddle
5	29 January 1876	Edwin Patrick Armstrong Catherine Somers	Edwin Patrick Armstrong Catherine Somers 💍 1876/365	Bachelor Spinster	Carter Domestic Servant	23 23	Bridge Street Nelson Trafalgar Street Nelson	23 years 1 year	St Marys	76/393		29 January 1876	Rev. Antoine Marie Garin
6	2 February 1876	Thomas Hall Cecilia Simpson	Thomas Hall Cecilia Simpson 💍 1876/681	Bachelor Spinster	Gentleman	36 27	Hardy Street Nelson Hardy Street Nelson	3 days 3 days	Christ Church Nelson	76/418		2 February 1876	The Rt. Rev. The Bp. of Nelson
7	3 February 1876	Thomas Tunnicliff Janet Gray	Thomas Tunnicliff Janet Gray 💍 1876/759	Widower Widow	Timber merchant Dressmaker	60 50	Bridge Street Nelson Bridge Street Nelson	3 days 4 years	At the residence of George Clements, New Street Nelson	76/695		3 February 1876	Rev. Patrick Calder
8	7 February 1876	Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Kramer Dorothea Louise Henriette Wendelborn	Johann Heinrith Wilhelm Kramer Dorothea Louise Henriethe Wendelborn 💍 1876/372	Widower Spinster	Farmer Domestic Servant	36 18	Waimea West Waimea West	15 years 18 years	At the Lutheran Church, Ranzau, Waimea East	76/399	Wilhelm Friederich Carl Ludwig Wendelborn, Father	7 February 1876	Rev. Christian Frederick Meyer
9	10 February 1876	Johann Friederich Wilhelm Hinrichs Caroline Wilhelmine Schacht	Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Hinrichs Caroline Wilhelmine Schacht 💍 1876/529	Bachelor Spinster	Labourer	35 23	Upper Moutere Upper Moutere	12 years 1 week	At the Lutheran Church, Upper Moutere	76/405		10 February 1876	Rev. John Willm. Christn. Heine
10	21 February 1876	Thomas Phillip Howard Alice Eyles	Thomas Philip Howard Alice Eyles 💍 1876/360	Bachelor Spinster	Miner	28 19	Waimea East Waimea East	2 months 19 years	At the residence of Catherine Amelia Eyles (widow), Richmond	76/388	Catherine Amelia Eyles, Mother	21 February 1876	Rev. William Reall
11	22 February 1876	John Thorn Annie Roy Barnes	John Thorn Annie Roy Barnes 💍 1876/367	Bachelor Spinster	Farmer	24 23	Collingwood Street Nelson Hardy Street Nelson	4 days 10 years	At the residence of Robert Barnes, Storekeeper, Hardy Street Nelson	76/395		22 February 1876	Rev. Thomas Buddle
12	8 March 1876	John Kelly Emily Faulkner	John Kelly Emily Faulkner 💍 1876/366	Bachelor Spinster	Bootmaker General Servant	30 19	Collingwood Street Nelson Collingwood Street Nelson	6 years 1 year	Catholic Station Nelson			8 March 1876	Rev. Antoine Marie Garin
13	9 March 1876	James Davis Lillias Coults	James Davis Lillias Coutts 💍 1876/368 James Davis Elizabeth Caroline Watts 💍 1877/611	Bachelor Spinster	Tinsmith Domestic Servant	36 28	Waimea Street Nelson Waimea Street Nelson	5 weeks 15 months	At the residence of Thomas Jamieson, mariner, near Bridge Street Nelson	76/396	Declaration no person in N.I. having authority	9 March 1876	Rev. Decimus Dolamore
14	17 March 1876	Henry Frederick Ernest Siggelkow Anna Sophia Mary Fanselow	Henry Fredrick Ernst Siggelkow Anna Maria Mary Fanselow 💍 1876/874	Bachelor Spinster	Farmer	21 19	Ranzau, Waimea East Ranzau, Waimea East	21 years 19 years	At the Lutheran Church, Ranzau	76/888	Fanselow Hans Henry, Father	17 March 1876	Rev. Christian Frederick Meyer
15	22 March 1876	James Pawson Rosa Beecham	James Pawson Rosa Beecham 💍 1876/760	Bachelor Spinster	Mariner Domestic Servant	36 21	Nelson City Nelson City	12 years 3 months	At the Scotch Church Nelson	76/696		22 March 1876	Rev. Patrick Calder
16	23 March 1876	Charles Teece Ann Foreman Stringer	Charles Teece Ann Foreman Stringer 💍 1876/364	Bachelor Spinster	Labourer	24 19	Waimea West Waimea Road Nelson	3 years 1 year	At All Saints Church Nelson	76/392	Stringer Thomas Hoyle, Father	23 March 1876	Rev. Archdeacon Thorpe
17	28 March 1876	Alfred Marshall Eliza May	Alfred Marshall Elisa May 💍 1876/370	Bachelor Spinster	Labourer Domestic Servant	30 21	Alma Street Nelson Bridge Street Nelson	1 year 2 years	At the residence of John Mc. Cleary, Alma Street Nelson	76/394		28 March 1876	Rev. Thomas Buddle
18	31 March 1876	Charles MacLean Sarah Taylor Stock	Charles McLean Sarah Taylor Stock 💍 1876/1822	Widower Widow	Master Mariner Hotel Keeper	45 43	Collingwood Street Nelson Haven Road Nelson	25 years 30 years	At the residence of William Taylor, Washington Road Nelson	76/499		31 March 1876	Rev. Patrick Calder

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 1898. More registers will be added when the Archives NZ Wellington reading room re-opens in September 2025.

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).