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 452

District of Nelson Quarter ending 31 March 1877 Registrar Robt. Pickett

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

24 February 1877

George William Jacobs
Sarah Ann Simpson

George William Jacobs
Sarah Ann Simpson
💍 1877/738

Bachelor
Widow

Painter
NIL

24
35

Collingwood Street Nelson
Collingwood Street Nelson

4 years
20 years

At the residence of Sarah Ann Simpson Collingwood Street Nelson

77/631

24 February 1877

Rev. Patrick Calder

No	19
Date of Notice	24 February 1877
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George William Jacobs	Sarah Ann Simpson
	💍 1877/738
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Painter	NIL
Age	24	35
Dwelling Place	Collingwood Street Nelson	Collingwood Street Nelson
Length of Residence	4 years	20 years
Marriage Place	At the residence of Sarah Ann Simpson Collingwood Street Nelson
Folio	77/631
Consent
Date of Certificate	24 February 1877
Officiating Minister	Rev. Patrick Calder

26 February 1877

Charles McNiven
Ann Williams

Charles McNiven
Ann Williams
💍 1877/425

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic Servant

30
32

Trafalgar Street Nelson
Bridge Street Nelson

18 months
15 months

At the residence of John Matthews Church Street Nelson

77/304

26 February 1877

Rev. John Beckenham

No	20
Date of Notice	26 February 1877
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles McNiven	Ann Williams
	💍 1877/425
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic Servant
Age	30	32
Dwelling Place	Trafalgar Street Nelson	Bridge Street Nelson
Length of Residence	18 months	15 months
Marriage Place	At the residence of John Matthews Church Street Nelson
Folio	77/304
Consent
Date of Certificate	26 February 1877
Officiating Minister	Rev. John Beckenham

1 March 1877

Howard Wilson Capper
Annie Andrews

Howard Wilson Capper
Annie Andrews
💍 1877/405

Bachelor
Spinster

Telegraphist
NIL

23
20

Cable Bay Nelson
Nile Street East Nelson

6 months
1 year

At the office of the Registrar of Marriages Nelson

77/311

Andrews John Father

1 March 1877

Registrar of Marriages Nelson (Robt. Pickett)

No	21
Date of Notice	1 March 1877
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Howard Wilson Capper	Annie Andrews
	💍 1877/405
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Telegraphist	NIL
Age	23	20
Dwelling Place	Cable Bay Nelson	Nile Street East Nelson
Length of Residence	6 months	1 year
Marriage Place	At the office of the Registrar of Marriages Nelson
Folio	77/311
Consent	Andrews John Father
Date of Certificate	1 March 1877
Officiating Minister	Registrar of Marriages Nelson (Robt. Pickett)

7 March 1877

Thomas Marshall Lowe
Jane Elizabeth Berry

Thomas Marshall Louse
Jane Elizabeth Berry
💍 1877/423

Bachelor
Widow

Gentleman
NIL

38
52

Washington Valley Nelson
Washington Valley Nelson

2 weeks
20 years

At the residence of Jane Elizabeth Berry Washington Valley Nelson

77/305

7 March 1877

Rev. Decimus Dolamore

No	22
Date of Notice	7 March 1877
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Marshall Lowe	Jane Elizabeth Berry
BDM Match (95%)	Thomas Marshall Louse	Jane Elizabeth Berry
	💍 1877/423
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Gentleman	NIL
Age	38	52
Dwelling Place	Washington Valley Nelson	Washington Valley Nelson
Length of Residence	2 weeks	20 years
Marriage Place	At the residence of Jane Elizabeth Berry Washington Valley Nelson
Folio	77/305
Consent
Date of Certificate	7 March 1877
Officiating Minister	Rev. Decimus Dolamore

16 March 1877

Alexander Lowrie
Rose Hannah Blick

Alexander Lawrie Rose Hannah Blick
Rose Hannah Blick
💍 1877/426

Bachelor
Spinster

Gasfitter
Domestic Servant

45
17

Gloucester Street Nelson
Emano Street Nelson

11 years
17 years

At the residence of Alexander Lowrie Gloucester Sheet Nelson

77/308

Blick Alfred Father

16 March 1877

Rev. John Beckenham

No	23
Date of Notice	16 March 1877
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Alexander Lowrie	Rose Hannah Blick
BDM Match (72%)	Alexander Lawrie Rose Hannah Blick	Rose Hannah Blick
	💍 1877/426
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Gasfitter	Domestic Servant
Age	45	17
Dwelling Place	Gloucester Street Nelson	Emano Street Nelson
Length of Residence	11 years	17 years
Marriage Place	At the residence of Alexander Lowrie Gloucester Sheet Nelson
Folio	77/308
Consent	Blick Alfred Father
Date of Certificate	16 March 1877
Officiating Minister	Rev. John Beckenham

19 March 1877

Charles John Schwass
Elizabeth Windelburn

Charles John Schwass
Elizabeth Sophia Henrietha Windelburn
💍 1877/1012

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
NIL

28
17

Waimea West
Waimea West

28 years
17 years

At the Lutheran Church Ranzau

77/932

Windelburn Henry Father

19 March 1877

Rev. Christian Friedrich Meyer

No	24
Date of Notice	19 March 1877
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles John Schwass	Elizabeth Windelburn
BDM Match (77%)	Charles John Schwass	Elizabeth Sophia Henrietha Windelburn
	💍 1877/1012
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	NIL
Age	28	17
Dwelling Place	Waimea West	Waimea West
Length of Residence	28 years	17 years
Marriage Place	At the Lutheran Church Ranzau
Folio	77/932
Consent	Windelburn Henry Father
Date of Certificate	19 March 1877
Officiating Minister	Rev. Christian Friedrich Meyer

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).

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).