Intentions to Marry, 1877

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840389, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

Imaged by Luke at Archives NZ Wellington, April 16 2025

Page 261

District of Rangitikei Quarter ending 31 March 1877 Registrar J. M. Deighton

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

168

9 January 1877

John Wood
Albain Murray

John Wood
Albine Murray
💍 1877/17

Widower
Widow

Labourer
[illegible]

34
38

Upper Rangitikei
Upper Rangitikei

2 years
4 months

The Residence of Mr. John all Beth Upper Rangitikei

77/166

9 January 1877

Rev. William Stewart Pres

No	168
Date of Notice	9 January 1877
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Wood	Albain Murray
BDM Match (92%)	John Wood	Albine Murray
	💍 1877/17
Condition	Widower	Widow
Profession	Labourer	[illegible]
Age	34	38
Dwelling Place	Upper Rangitikei	Upper Rangitikei
Length of Residence	2 years	4 months
Marriage Place	The Residence of Mr. John all Beth Upper Rangitikei
Folio	77/166
Consent
Date of Certificate	9 January 1877
Officiating Minister	Rev. William Stewart Pres

169

20 January 1877

Thomas Anslow
Mary Ann Homett

Thomas Anslow
Mary Ann Woodnutt
💍 1877/263

Bachelor
Widow

Charcoal Burner
[illegible]

56
53

Bulls
Bulls

3 years
3 years

The dwelling house of Mr. Thomas Anslow at Bulls

77/165

20 January 1877

H. Bevir Rev. Bowen Wife

No	169
Date of Notice	20 January 1877
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Anslow	Mary Ann Homett
BDM Match (85%)	Thomas Anslow	Mary Ann Woodnutt
	💍 1877/263
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Charcoal Burner	[illegible]
Age	56	53
Dwelling Place	Bulls	Bulls
Length of Residence	3 years	3 years
Marriage Place	The dwelling house of Mr. Thomas Anslow at Bulls
Folio	77/165
Consent
Date of Certificate	20 January 1877
Officiating Minister	H. Bevir Rev. Bowen Wife

170

12 February 1877

Thomas Spay
Annie Willford

Thomas Spry
Annie Mellford
💍 1877/262

Bachelor
Spinster

Blacksmith
[illegible]

21
18

Bulls
Bulls

5 years
2 years

The Residence of Mr. Charles Willford Bulls

77/164

12 February 1877

J. J. Garlick Rev. J. Symons Ins

No	170
Date of Notice	12 February 1877
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Spay	Annie Willford
BDM Match (88%)	Thomas Spry	Annie Mellford
	💍 1877/262
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Blacksmith	[illegible]
Age	21	18
Dwelling Place	Bulls	Bulls
Length of Residence	5 years	2 years
Marriage Place	The Residence of Mr. Charles Willford Bulls
Folio	77/164
Consent
Date of Certificate	12 February 1877
Officiating Minister	J. J. Garlick Rev. J. Symons Ins

171

28 February 1877

George William Cave
Ann Newman

George William Gane
Ann Newman
💍 1877/264

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
[illegible]

30
21

Rangitikei
Rangitikei

3 Days
10 years

The Church of England Marton

77/169

28 February 1877

Rev. L. L. Wood Wife

No	171
Date of Notice	28 February 1877
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George William Cave	Ann Newman
BDM Match (95%)	George William Gane	Ann Newman
	💍 1877/264
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	[illegible]
Age	30	21
Dwelling Place	Rangitikei	Rangitikei
Length of Residence	3 Days	10 years
Marriage Place	The Church of England Marton
Folio	77/169
Consent
Date of Certificate	28 February 1877
Officiating Minister	Rev. L. L. Wood Wife

172

9 March 1877

Roger Burner Fearson
Lilla Edith Simmons

Roger Barnes Fearon
Lilla Edith Simmons
💍 1877/265

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
[illegible]

25
22

Bulls
Bulls

3 Years
2 Years

St. Stephens Church Marton

77/168

9 March 1877

Rev. A. S. Slogood Wife

No	172
Date of Notice	9 March 1877
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Roger Burner Fearson	Lilla Edith Simmons
BDM Match (93%)	Roger Barnes Fearon	Lilla Edith Simmons
	💍 1877/265
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	[illegible]
Age	25	22
Dwelling Place	Bulls	Bulls
Length of Residence	3 Years	2 Years
Marriage Place	St. Stephens Church Marton
Folio	77/168
Consent
Date of Certificate	9 March 1877
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. S. Slogood Wife

173

14 March 1877

August Frederick
Agnes Osborn

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
[illegible]

24
18

Near Marton
Oroua

14 Years
5 Years

The Residence of Mr. August Osborn Frederick near Marton

77/162

William Osborn Father

14 March 1877

Rev. William Stewart Pres

No	173
Date of Notice	14 March 1877
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	August Frederick	Agnes Osborn
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	[illegible]
Age	24	18
Dwelling Place	Near Marton	Oroua
Length of Residence	14 Years	5 Years
Marriage Place	The Residence of Mr. August Osborn Frederick near Marton
Folio	77/162
Consent	William Osborn Father
Date of Certificate	14 March 1877
Officiating Minister	Rev. William Stewart Pres

174

26 March 1877

Henry Henderson
Janet Morrison

Henry Henderson
Janet Morrison
💍 1877/261

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
[illegible]

38
20

Marton
Fern Flat

20 Years
4 Years

The Residence of Mr. David Morrison Fern Flat

77/163

David Morrison Father

26 March 1877

Rev. William Stewart Pres

No	174
Date of Notice	26 March 1877
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Henry Henderson	Janet Morrison
	💍 1877/261
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	[illegible]
Age	38	20
Dwelling Place	Marton	Fern Flat
Length of Residence	20 Years	4 Years
Marriage Place	The Residence of Mr. David Morrison Fern Flat
Folio	77/163
Consent	David Morrison Father
Date of Certificate	26 March 1877
Officiating Minister	Rev. William Stewart Pres

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).