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 645

District of Christchurch Quarter ending 31 March 1880 Registrar J W Parkerson

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

27 January 1880

Martin Mehrtens
Lena Manke

Martin Mehrtens
Lena Mahake
💍 1880/992

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Servant

30
17

Christchurch
Addington

14 days
4 years

In the house of Rev. C. Fraser, Tuam Street

80/380

No person having authority

27 January 1880

Rev C. Fraser

No	25
Date of Notice	27 January 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Martin Mehrtens	Lena Manke
BDM Match (91%)	Martin Mehrtens	Lena Mahake
	💍 1880/992
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Servant
Age	30	17
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Addington
Length of Residence	14 days	4 years
Marriage Place	In the house of Rev. C. Fraser, Tuam Street
Folio	80/380
Consent	No person having authority
Date of Certificate	27 January 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev C. Fraser

27 January 1880

Joseph Carnahan
Margaret Isabella McIlwaine

Joseph Jocelyn Mellville Carnahan
Margaret Isabella McIlwaine
💍 1880/993

Bachelor
Spinster

Compositor

23
22

Christchurch
Christchurch

1 year
10 days

In the Scotch Church, Tuam Street

80/381

27 January 1880

Rev C. Fraser

No	26
Date of Notice	27 January 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Joseph Carnahan	Margaret Isabella McIlwaine
BDM Match (73%)	Joseph Jocelyn Mellville Carnahan	Margaret Isabella McIlwaine
	💍 1880/993
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Compositor
Age	23	22
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	1 year	10 days
Marriage Place	In the Scotch Church, Tuam Street
Folio	80/381
Consent
Date of Certificate	27 January 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev C. Fraser

28 January 1880

William Hindes
Fanny Mowrilyan

William Hindes
Fanny Mowrilyan
💍 1880/1203

Bachelor
Widow

Miner
Dressmaker

46
43

Christchurch
Christchurch

3 days
6 months

In the Registrars office, Christchurch

80/670

28 January 1880

J W Parkerson, Registrar Marriages

No	27
Date of Notice	28 January 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Hindes	Fanny Mowrilyan
	💍 1880/1203
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Miner	Dressmaker
Age	46	43
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	3 days	6 months
Marriage Place	In the Registrars office, Christchurch
Folio	80/670
Consent
Date of Certificate	28 January 1880
Officiating Minister	J W Parkerson, Registrar Marriages

28 January 1880

Edward Sherbrooke Lowe Hanson
Annie Brooker

Edward Sherbrooke Low Hanson
Annie Brooker
💍 1880/685

Bachelor
Spinster

Clerk

29
22

Christchurch
Christchurch

1 year
1 year

In the Church of St. John, Christchurch

80/2705

28 January 1880

Rev H. C. M. Watson

No	28
Date of Notice	28 January 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edward Sherbrooke Lowe Hanson	Annie Brooker
BDM Match (98%)	Edward Sherbrooke Low Hanson	Annie Brooker
	💍 1880/685
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Clerk
Age	29	22
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	1 year	1 year
Marriage Place	In the Church of St. John, Christchurch
Folio	80/2705
Consent
Date of Certificate	28 January 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev H. C. M. Watson

31 January 1880

William Robert Brice
Elizabeth Withers

William Robert Brice
Elizabeth Withers
💍 1880/939

Bachelor
Spinster

Butcher
Servant

23
22

Rakaia
Christchurch

6 weeks
7 years

In the Church of St. Luke Christchurch

80/300

31 January 1880

Rev E. A. Lingard

No	29
Date of Notice	31 January 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Robert Brice	Elizabeth Withers
	💍 1880/939
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Butcher	Servant
Age	23	22
Dwelling Place	Rakaia	Christchurch
Length of Residence	6 weeks	7 years
Marriage Place	In the Church of St. Luke Christchurch
Folio	80/300
Consent
Date of Certificate	31 January 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev E. A. Lingard

31 January 1880

John Slattery
Dora Redmond

John Slattery
Dora Redmond
💍 1880/1662

Bachelor
Spinster

Carpenter
Servant

26
21

Christchurch
Halswell

2 years
4 years

In the Roman Catholic Church Christchurch

80/718

31 January 1880

Rev L. Ginaty

No	30
Date of Notice	31 January 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Slattery	Dora Redmond
	💍 1880/1662
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carpenter	Servant
Age	26	21
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Halswell
Length of Residence	2 years	4 years
Marriage Place	In the Roman Catholic Church Christchurch
Folio	80/718
Consent
Date of Certificate	31 January 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev L. Ginaty

2 February 1880

Thomas Colman
Jane Hazlett

Thomas Alexander Holman
Jane Hazlett
💍 1880/963

Bachelor
Spinster

Coachman
Servant

29
24

Christchurch
Christchurch

4 days
4 days

In the house of Rev C. Fraser, Tuam Street

80/383

2 February 1880

Rev. C. Fraser

No	31
Date of Notice	2 February 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Colman	Jane Hazlett
BDM Match (76%)	Thomas Alexander Holman	Jane Hazlett
	💍 1880/963
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Coachman	Servant
Age	29	24
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	4 days	4 days
Marriage Place	In the house of Rev C. Fraser, Tuam Street
Folio	80/383
Consent
Date of Certificate	2 February 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Fraser

2 February 1880

Joseph Frederick Stratz
Annie O'Donoghue

Joseph Frederick Stratz
Annie O'Donoghue
💍 1880/1663

Bachelor
Spinster

Watchmaker

29
19

Christchurch
Christchurch

3 years
2 years

In the Roman Catholic Church Christchurch

80/719

no person having authority

2 February 1880

Rev L. Ginaty

No	32
Date of Notice	2 February 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Joseph Frederick Stratz	Annie O'Donoghue
	💍 1880/1663
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Watchmaker
Age	29	19
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	3 years	2 years
Marriage Place	In the Roman Catholic Church Christchurch
Folio	80/719
Consent	no person having authority
Date of Certificate	2 February 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev L. Ginaty

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).

Primary digitisation of registers between 1855 and 1925 is now complete. Our digitisation volunteers are now working on verifying the currently digitised pages against printed district/page indexes, to identify pages which may have been missed or out of focus. These pages can be re-imaged as required.

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.

How can I help?

You can sign up to correct errors in the transcribed records and match ITMs with registered marriages.

You can also support this project by ☕ Buying us a coffee 🌳

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).