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 649

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

18 February 1880

Thomas Walker
Jane Isabella Connick

Thomas Francis Walker
Jane Isabella McCormick
💍 1880/1201

Thomas Walker
Mary Flynn
💍 1880/260

Bachelor
Spinster

Bootmaker
Machinist

24
21

Christchurch
Christchurch

5 years
5 years

In the house of Mr. Wm. Archbold

80/1668

18 February 1880

Rev. J. H. Bates

No	57
Date of Notice	18 February 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Walker	Jane Isabella Connick
BDM Match (72%)	Thomas Francis Walker	Jane Isabella McCormick
	💍 1880/1201
BDM Match (62%)	Thomas Walker	Mary Flynn
	💍 1880/260
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Bootmaker	Machinist
Age	24	21
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	5 years	5 years
Marriage Place	In the house of Mr. Wm. Archbold
Folio	80/1668
Consent
Date of Certificate	18 February 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. H. Bates

19 February 1880

Richard Hains
Ann Williams

Richard Hainsworth
Harriet Ann Williams
💍 1880/1207

Bachelor
Spinster

Carpenter
Servant

28
17

Addington
Addington

4 years
5 years

In the Registrars Office Christchurch

80/674

19 February 1880

Registrar Marriages Malleson

No	58
Date of Notice	19 February 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Richard Hains	Ann Williams
BDM Match (66%)	Richard Hainsworth	Harriet Ann Williams
	💍 1880/1207
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carpenter	Servant
Age	28	17
Dwelling Place	Addington	Addington
Length of Residence	4 years	5 years
Marriage Place	In the Registrars Office Christchurch
Folio	80/674
Consent
Date of Certificate	19 February 1880
Officiating Minister	Registrar Marriages Malleson

19 February 1880

Philip Boyce
Fanny Morgan

Henry James Philip Boyce
Fanny Morgan
💍 1880/954

Bachelor
Spinster

Carter

23
16

Christchurch
Papanui

13 years
16 years

In the House of Rev. C. Fraser

80/1392

Elizabeth Jensen, Mother

19 February 1880

Rev. C. Fraser

No	59
Date of Notice	19 February 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Philip Boyce	Fanny Morgan
BDM Match (75%)	Henry James Philip Boyce	Fanny Morgan
	💍 1880/954
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carter
Age	23	16
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Papanui
Length of Residence	13 years	16 years
Marriage Place	In the House of Rev. C. Fraser
Folio	80/1392
Consent	Elizabeth Jensen, Mother
Date of Certificate	19 February 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Fraser

20 February 1880

Michael Joseph
Jane Fowler

Michael Joseph Daniel
Sarah Jane Fowler
💍 1880/1208

Bachelor
Spinster

Mariner
Servant

20
21

Christchurch
Christchurch

3 days
3 days

In the Registrars Office Christchurch

80/1671

Ann Tripperson, [UNCLEAR]

20 February 1880

Registrar Marriages Malleson

No	60
Date of Notice	20 February 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Michael Joseph	Jane Fowler
BDM Match (66%)	Michael Joseph Daniel	Sarah Jane Fowler
	💍 1880/1208
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Mariner	Servant
Age	20	21
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	In the Registrars Office Christchurch
Folio	80/1671
Consent	Ann Tripperson, [UNCLEAR]
Date of Certificate	20 February 1880
Officiating Minister	Registrar Marriages Malleson

21 February 1880

Henry Paton
Mary Ann Kinlay

Henry Paton
Mary McKinlay
💍 1880/1202

Bachelor
Spinster

Engineer
Servant

29
24

Christchurch
Christchurch

3 days
4 years

In the House of Rev. C. Fraser

80/669

Lawrence Gream Heel, [UNCLEAR]

21 February 1880

Rev. C. Fraser

No	61
Date of Notice	21 February 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Henry Paton	Mary Ann Kinlay
BDM Match (87%)	Henry Paton	Mary McKinlay
	💍 1880/1202
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Engineer	Servant
Age	29	24
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	3 days	4 years
Marriage Place	In the House of Rev. C. Fraser
Folio	80/669
Consent	Lawrence Gream Heel, [UNCLEAR]
Date of Certificate	21 February 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Fraser

21 February 1880

Arthur Frederick Pugh
Sarah Anne Ashton

Arthur Frederic Pugh
Sarah Anne Ashton
💍 1880/868

Bachelor
Spinster

Carpenter
Servant

25
20

Sydenham
Christchurch

18 months
4 years

In the House of Rev. J. Smalley Sydenham

80/333

Sampson Cotton, Father

21 February 1880

Rev. J. Smalley

No	62
Date of Notice	21 February 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Arthur Frederick Pugh	Sarah Anne Ashton
BDM Match (98%)	Arthur Frederic Pugh	Sarah Anne Ashton
	💍 1880/868
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carpenter	Servant
Age	25	20
Dwelling Place	Sydenham	Christchurch
Length of Residence	18 months	4 years
Marriage Place	In the House of Rev. J. Smalley Sydenham
Folio	80/333
Consent	Sampson Cotton, Father
Date of Certificate	21 February 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Smalley

23 February 1880

Henry Richards
Elizabeth Kinsman

Henry Richards
Elizabeth Kinsman
💍 1880/1014

Widower
Widow

Warder
Housekeeper

31
35

Lincoln Road
Lincoln Road

2 years
10 years

In the Addington Church

80/326

23 February 1880

Rev. H. East

No	63
Date of Notice	23 February 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Henry Richards	Elizabeth Kinsman
	💍 1880/1014
Condition	Widower	Widow
Profession	Warder	Housekeeper
Age	31	35
Dwelling Place	Lincoln Road	Lincoln Road
Length of Residence	2 years	10 years
Marriage Place	In the Addington Church
Folio	80/326
Consent
Date of Certificate	23 February 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev. H. East

23 February 1880

Gustav Adolf Lindemann
Catherine Elizabeth Gerken

Gustan Adolph Lindemann
Catharine Elizabeth Gerken
💍 1880/1018

Bachelor
Spinster

Ice maker

29
21

Christchurch
Ycri Yopu

3 years
21 years

In the German Church Montreal Street

80/330

23 February 1880

Rev. P. Jacobsen

No	64
Date of Notice	23 February 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Gustav Adolf Lindemann	Catherine Elizabeth Gerken
BDM Match (92%)	Gustan Adolph Lindemann	Catharine Elizabeth Gerken
	💍 1880/1018
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Ice maker
Age	29	21
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Ycri Yopu
Length of Residence	3 years	21 years
Marriage Place	In the German Church Montreal Street
Folio	80/330
Consent
Date of Certificate	23 February 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev. P. Jacobsen

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).