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 646

District of Christchurch 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

4 February 1880

Richard Hawker
Elizabeth Mann

Richard Hawkings
Cordelia Elizabeth Mann
💍 1880/940

Bachelor
Spinster

Clerk

25
22

Knights Town
Christchurch

2 Months
22 years

In St. Lukes Church

80/301

2 February 1880

Rev. S.A. Burgess

No	33
Date of Notice	4 February 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Richard Hawker	Elizabeth Mann
BDM Match (68%)	Richard Hawkings	Cordelia Elizabeth Mann
	💍 1880/940
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Clerk
Age	25	22
Dwelling Place	Knights Town	Christchurch
Length of Residence	2 Months	22 years
Marriage Place	In St. Lukes Church
Folio	80/301
Consent
Date of Certificate	2 February 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev. S.A. Burgess

4 February 1880

George Bensley
Elizabeth Long

George Bensley
Elizabeth Long
💍 1880/1009

Charles Bowden
Elizabeth Long
💍 1880/842

Bachelor
Spinster

Carpenter
Servant

32
23

Sydenham
Christchurch

5 years
3 years

In the House of Rev. C. Dallaston

80/323

2 February 1880

Rev. C. Dallaston

No	34
Date of Notice	4 February 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Bensley	Elizabeth Long
	💍 1880/1009
BDM Match (64%)	Charles Bowden	Elizabeth Long
	💍 1880/842
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carpenter	Servant
Age	32	23
Dwelling Place	Sydenham	Christchurch
Length of Residence	5 years	3 years
Marriage Place	In the House of Rev. C. Dallaston
Folio	80/323
Consent
Date of Certificate	2 February 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Dallaston

4 February 1880

Benjamin Froggetts
'Froggatt' pencilled above
Annie Parnell

Benjamin Foggatt
Annie Parnell
💍 1880/1004

Bachelor
Spinster

Engineer
Servant

21
21

Christchurch
Christchurch

7 years
1 year

In the house of Mr. Froggetta

80/317

3 February 1880

Rev. C. Peters

No	35
Date of Notice	4 February 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Benjamin Froggetts 'Froggatt' pencilled above	Annie Parnell
BDM Match (92%)	Benjamin Foggatt	Annie Parnell
	💍 1880/1004
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Engineer	Servant
Age	21	21
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	7 years	1 year
Marriage Place	In the house of Mr. Froggetta
Folio	80/317
Consent
Date of Certificate	3 February 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Peters

4 February 1880

James Chamin
Ada Pickard

James Chammen
Ada Pickard
💍 1880/1204

Bachelor
Spinster

Storeman
Servant

35
28

Sydenham
Sydenham

8 years
1 Month

In the Registrars office Christchurch

80/451/6/1

4 February 1880

Malleson Registrar Marriages

No	36
Date of Notice	4 February 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Chamin	Ada Pickard
BDM Match (92%)	James Chammen	Ada Pickard
	💍 1880/1204
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Storeman	Servant
Age	35	28
Dwelling Place	Sydenham	Sydenham
Length of Residence	8 years	1 Month
Marriage Place	In the Registrars office Christchurch
Folio	80/451/6/1
Consent
Date of Certificate	4 February 1880
Officiating Minister	Malleson Registrar Marriages

4 February 1880

Edward Bransfield
Georgina Gordon

Edward Emil Dransfield
Georgina Elizabeth Gordon
💍 1880/970

Bachelor
Spinster

Commercial Traveller

31
25

Christchurch
Christchurch

10 Months
8 years

In the house of Rev. C. Fraser

80/384

4 February 1880

Rev. C. Fraser

No	37
Date of Notice	4 February 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edward Bransfield	Georgina Gordon
BDM Match (66%)	Edward Emil Dransfield	Georgina Elizabeth Gordon
	💍 1880/970
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Commercial Traveller
Age	31	25
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	10 Months	8 years
Marriage Place	In the house of Rev. C. Fraser
Folio	80/384
Consent
Date of Certificate	4 February 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Fraser

4 February 1880

William Frederick Hubbard
Mary Wilson

William Frederick Hubbard
Mary Logan Wilson
💍 1880/971

Widower
Spinster

Civil Engineer

33
30

Christchurch
Christchurch

4 years
3 years

In the house of Rev. C. Fraser

80/385

5 February 1880

Rev. C. Fraser

No	38
Date of Notice	4 February 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Frederick Hubbard	Mary Wilson
BDM Match (82%)	William Frederick Hubbard	Mary Logan Wilson
	💍 1880/971
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Civil Engineer
Age	33	30
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	4 years	3 years
Marriage Place	In the house of Rev. C. Fraser
Folio	80/385
Consent
Date of Certificate	5 February 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Fraser

4 February 1880

William Payton
Annie Walsh

William Payton
Annie Welsh
💍 1880/1011

Bachelor
Spinster

Groom
Servant

29
18

Christchurch
Christchurch

1 week
1 week

In the Roman Catholic Church

80/394

5 February 1880

Rev. J.C. Chervier

No	39
Date of Notice	4 February 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Payton	Annie Walsh
BDM Match (95%)	William Payton	Annie Welsh
	💍 1880/1011
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Groom	Servant
Age	29	18
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	1 week	1 week
Marriage Place	In the Roman Catholic Church
Folio	80/394
Consent
Date of Certificate	5 February 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev. J.C. Chervier

4 February 1880

Henry John Lake
Louisa Botte

Henry John Lake
Louisa Bolte
💍 1880/974

Bachelor
Spinster

Plumber
Servant

25
23

Christchurch
Christchurch

6 years
1 year

In the house of Mr. H.J. Lake

80/338

6 February 1880

Rev. C. Fraser

No	40
Date of Notice	4 February 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Henry John Lake	Louisa Botte
BDM Match (96%)	Henry John Lake	Louisa Bolte
	💍 1880/974
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Plumber	Servant
Age	25	23
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	6 years	1 year
Marriage Place	In the house of Mr. H.J. Lake
Folio	80/338
Consent
Date of Certificate	6 February 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Fraser

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).