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 647

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

7 February 1880

Walter Warren
Caroline Amelia Perham

Walter Warren
Caroline Amelia Perham
💍 1880/972

Bachelor
Spinster

Actor

29
16

Christchurch
Christchurch

1 Month
4 years

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

80/386

Giles Perham, Father

7 February 1880

Rev. C. Fraser

No	41
Date of Notice	7 February 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Walter Warren	Caroline Amelia Perham
	💍 1880/972
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Actor
Age	29	16
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	1 Month	4 years
Marriage Place	In the house of Rev. C. Fraser, Tuam Street
Folio	80/386
Consent	Giles Perham, Father
Date of Certificate	7 February 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Fraser

7 February 1880

William Duncan
Charlotte Hother

William Duncan
Charlotte Hother
💍 1880/973

Bachelor
Spinster

Trainer
Servant

25
25

Christchurch
Christchurch

4 days
2 years

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

80/387

7 February 1880

Rev. C. Fraser

No	42
Date of Notice	7 February 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Duncan	Charlotte Hother
	💍 1880/973
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Trainer	Servant
Age	25	25
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	4 days	2 years
Marriage Place	In the house of Rev. C. Fraser, Tuam Street
Folio	80/387
Consent
Date of Certificate	7 February 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Fraser

7 February 1880

Henry Alfred Owen
Mary Smith

Henry Alfred Owen
Mary Smith
💍 1880/1010

Bachelor
Spinster

Gardener
Servant

22
24

Papanui
Papanui

2 years
1 year

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

80/323

7 February 1880

Rev. C. Fraser

No	43
Date of Notice	7 February 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Henry Alfred Owen	Mary Smith
	💍 1880/1010
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Gardener	Servant
Age	22	24
Dwelling Place	Papanui	Papanui
Length of Residence	2 years	1 year
Marriage Place	In the house of Rev. C. Fraser, Tuam Street
Folio	80/323
Consent
Date of Certificate	7 February 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Fraser

9 February 1880

Francis Boeland
Annie White

Francis Boland
Anne White
💍 1880/1664

Widower
Spinster

Labourer
Servant

27
22

Christchurch
Christchurch

2 months
2 months

In the Roman Catholic Church Christchurch

80/720

9 February 1880

Rev. L. Ginaty

No	44
Date of Notice	9 February 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Francis Boeland	Annie White
BDM Match (92%)	Francis Boland	Anne White
	💍 1880/1664
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Servant
Age	27	22
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	2 months	2 months
Marriage Place	In the Roman Catholic Church Christchurch
Folio	80/720
Consent
Date of Certificate	9 February 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev. L. Ginaty

9 February 1880

Adolphus Frederick John Bennetts
KateElizabeth McKale

Adolphus Frederick John Bennett
Kate Elizabeth McKail
💍 1880/975

Bachelor
Spinster

Cattle Dealer
Sealer

22
21

Christchurch
Christchurch

20 years
5 years

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

80/389

9 February 1880

Rev. C. Fraser

No	45
Date of Notice	9 February 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Adolphus Frederick John Bennetts	KateElizabeth McKale
BDM Match (91%)	Adolphus Frederick John Bennett	Kate Elizabeth McKail
	💍 1880/975
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Cattle Dealer	Sealer
Age	22	21
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	20 years	5 years
Marriage Place	In the house of Rev. C. Fraser, Tuam Street
Folio	80/389
Consent
Date of Certificate	9 February 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Fraser

11 February 1880

Alexander Koesters
Minna Wucherpfenney

Alexander Koesters
Minna Wucherpfenning
💍 1880/1017

Bachelor
Spinster

Baker
Servant

31
24

Christchurch
Christchurch

6 weeks
2 years

In the German Church, Christchurch

80/329

11 February 1880

Rev. P. G Jacobsen

No	46
Date of Notice	11 February 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Alexander Koesters	Minna Wucherpfenney
BDM Match (93%)	Alexander Koesters	Minna Wucherpfenning
	💍 1880/1017
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Baker	Servant
Age	31	24
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	6 weeks	2 years
Marriage Place	In the German Church, Christchurch
Folio	80/329
Consent
Date of Certificate	11 February 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev. P. G Jacobsen

12 February 1880

Lewis Smth
Eliza Digby

Lewis Smith
Eliza Digby
💍 1880/732

Bachelor
Spinster

Cabman
Servant

23
21

Christchurch
Sydenham

22 years
9 months

St. Saviours Church Sydenham

80/3116

12 February 1880

Rev. H. B. Cocks

No	47
Date of Notice	12 February 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Lewis Smth	Eliza Digby
BDM Match (95%)	Lewis Smith	Eliza Digby
	💍 1880/732
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Cabman	Servant
Age	23	21
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Sydenham
Length of Residence	22 years	9 months
Marriage Place	St. Saviours Church Sydenham
Folio	80/3116
Consent
Date of Certificate	12 February 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev. H. B. Cocks

12 February 1880

James Freeman
Elena Stupple

James Freeman
Eliza Stupple
💍 1880/1205

Bachelor
Spinster

Bootmaker
Machinist

35
19

Christchurch
Christchurch

4 years
19 years

In the Registrars office Christchurch

80/672

Martha Withers, Mother

12 February 1880

J W Parkerson, Registrar Marriages

No	48
Date of Notice	12 February 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Freeman	Elena Stupple
BDM Match (92%)	James Freeman	Eliza Stupple
	💍 1880/1205
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Bootmaker	Machinist
Age	35	19
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	4 years	19 years
Marriage Place	In the Registrars office Christchurch
Folio	80/672
Consent	Martha Withers, Mother
Date of Certificate	12 February 1880
Officiating Minister	J W Parkerson, Registrar Marriages

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).