Intentions to Marry, 1880

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840392, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

Page 255

District of Hamilton Quarter ending Jan - Mar

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

20 January 1880

Charles Collins
Amy Wright

Charles Collins
Emma Wright
💍 1880/1185

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer

35
22

Waitoa
Waitoa

5 years
3 years

at the office of the Registrar

80/36

20 January 1880

B.C. Beale, Registrar

No	1
Date of Notice	20 January 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Collins	Amy Wright
BDM Match (86%)	Charles Collins	Emma Wright
	💍 1880/1185
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	35	22
Dwelling Place	Waitoa	Waitoa
Length of Residence	5 years	3 years
Marriage Place	at the office of the Registrar
Folio	80/36
Consent
Date of Certificate	20 January 1880
Officiating Minister	B.C. Beale, Registrar

26 January 1880

Bruno Friedrich Ruge
Elizabeth Hankins

Bruno Frederick Ruge
Elizabeth Hankins
💍 1880/669

Bachelor
Spinster

Hair Dresser

24
19

Hamilton
Hamilton

3 years
15 years

at the house of said B. Ruge

80/93

Charles Hankins, Father

26 January 1880

Revd W. Evans

No	2
Date of Notice	26 January 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Bruno Friedrich Ruge	Elizabeth Hankins
BDM Match (93%)	Bruno Frederick Ruge	Elizabeth Hankins
	💍 1880/669
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Hair Dresser
Age	24	19
Dwelling Place	Hamilton	Hamilton
Length of Residence	3 years	15 years
Marriage Place	at the house of said B. Ruge
Folio	80/93
Consent	Charles Hankins, Father
Date of Certificate	26 January 1880
Officiating Minister	Revd W. Evans

26 January 1880

Joseph Williams
Lucy Harriett Roffey

Joseph Williams
Lucy Harriett Roffey
💍 1880/1186

Bachelor
Spinster

Miner

26
21

Hamilton
Hamilton

5 years
14 years

at the office of the Registrar

80/92

26 January 1880

B.C. Beale, Registrar

No	3
Date of Notice	26 January 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Joseph Williams	Lucy Harriett Roffey
	💍 1880/1186
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Miner
Age	26	21
Dwelling Place	Hamilton	Hamilton
Length of Residence	5 years	14 years
Marriage Place	at the office of the Registrar
Folio	80/92
Consent
Date of Certificate	26 January 1880
Officiating Minister	B.C. Beale, Registrar

29 January 1880

Sydney William Buck
Grace McKenzie

Sydney William Buck
Grace McKenzie
💍 1880/1187

Bachelor
Spinster

Hotel Keeper
Domestic Servant

26
20

Hamilton
Hamilton

3 years
15 years

at the office of the Registrar

80/93

Grace McKenzie, Mother

29 January 1880

B.C. Beale, Registrar

No	4
Date of Notice	29 January 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Sydney William Buck	Grace McKenzie
	💍 1880/1187
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Hotel Keeper	Domestic Servant
Age	26	20
Dwelling Place	Hamilton	Hamilton
Length of Residence	3 years	15 years
Marriage Place	at the office of the Registrar
Folio	80/93
Consent	Grace McKenzie, Mother
Date of Certificate	29 January 1880
Officiating Minister	B.C. Beale, Registrar

31 January 1880

Abraham Hazlitt
Emily Susan Shortt

Abraham Hazlett
Emily Susanna Shortt
💍 1880/1182

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Governess

21
22

Waitetuna
Waitetuna

21 years
2 years

at the house of Wm Moon Waitetuna

80/699

31 January 1880

Revd W. Schumacher

No	5
Date of Notice	31 January 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Abraham Hazlitt	Emily Susan Shortt
BDM Match (92%)	Abraham Hazlett	Emily Susanna Shortt
	💍 1880/1182
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Governess
Age	21	22
Dwelling Place	Waitetuna	Waitetuna
Length of Residence	21 years	2 years
Marriage Place	at the house of Wm Moon Waitetuna
Folio	80/699
Consent
Date of Certificate	31 January 1880
Officiating Minister	Revd W. Schumacher

2 February 1880

Richard Bird Pringle
Louisa Ellen Stretton

Richard Bird Pringle
Louisa Eileen Stretton
💍 1880/3130

Bachelor
Spinster

Railway Station Master

40
27

Ngaruawahia
Ngaruawahia

1 month
3 days

the Episcopalian Church Ngaruawahia

80/144

February 2 1880

Revd J. Davis

No	6
Date of Notice	2 February 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Richard Bird Pringle	Louisa Ellen Stretton
BDM Match (95%)	Richard Bird Pringle	Louisa Eileen Stretton
	💍 1880/3130
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Railway Station Master
Age	40	27
Dwelling Place	Ngaruawahia	Ngaruawahia
Length of Residence	1 month	3 days
Marriage Place	the Episcopalian Church Ngaruawahia
Folio	80/144
Consent
Date of Certificate	February 2 1880
Officiating Minister	Revd J. Davis

19 February 1880

James William Graham
Laura Dawson

James William Graham
Laura Dawson
💍 1880/3128

Bachelor
Spinster

Bailiff

24
20

Hamilton
Whatawhata

6 months
10 days

at the Episcopalian Church

80/112

Arthur Dawson, Father

19 February 1880

Revd W. Calder

No	7
Date of Notice	19 February 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James William Graham	Laura Dawson
	💍 1880/3128
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Bailiff
Age	24	20
Dwelling Place	Hamilton	Whatawhata
Length of Residence	6 months	10 days
Marriage Place	at the Episcopalian Church
Folio	80/112
Consent	Arthur Dawson, Father
Date of Certificate	19 February 1880
Officiating Minister	Revd W. Calder

18 March 1880

James Goodwin
Mary Ann Gleeson

James Goodwin
Mary Ann Gleeson
💍 1880/1188

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic Servant

20
21

Ngaruawahia
Hamilton

12 days
3 months

at the office of the Registrar Hamilton

80/144

18 March 1880

B.C. Beale, Registrar

No	8
Date of Notice	18 March 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Goodwin	Mary Ann Gleeson
	💍 1880/1188
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic Servant
Age	20	21
Dwelling Place	Ngaruawahia	Hamilton
Length of Residence	12 days	3 months
Marriage Place	at the office of the Registrar Hamilton
Folio	80/144
Consent
Date of Certificate	18 March 1880
Officiating Minister	B.C. Beale, Registrar

12 January 1880

James O'Keefe
Mary Ann Lynch

James O'Keefe
Mary Ann Lynch
💍 1880/1183

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic Servant

22
19

Hamilton
Hamilton

18 1/2 months
3 days

at the office of the Registrar Hamilton

80/35

There is no person resident within the Colony having power to consent

12 January 1880

B.C. Beale, Registrar

No	98
Date of Notice	12 January 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James O'Keefe	Mary Ann Lynch
	💍 1880/1183
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic Servant
Age	22	19
Dwelling Place	Hamilton	Hamilton
Length of Residence	18 1/2 months	3 days
Marriage Place	at the office of the Registrar Hamilton
Folio	80/35
Consent	There is no person resident within the Colony having power to consent
Date of Certificate	12 January 1880
Officiating Minister	B.C. Beale, Registrar

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

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Attribution: This image was digitised by Archives NZ Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga and is republished here under CC BY. It has been cropped and rotated for convenience.

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).