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 669

District of Christchurch Quarter ending Apr - Jun

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

212

26 May 1880

James Walter Prebble
Christina White

James Walter Prebble
Christina White
💍 1880/1611

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Governess

22
22

Prebbleton
Prebbleton

22 years
18 months

In the house of Rev. C. Fraser

771/47

26 May 1880

Rev. C. Fraser, Presbyterian

No	212
Date of Notice	26 May 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Walter Prebble	Christina White
	💍 1880/1611
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Governess
Age	22	22
Dwelling Place	Prebbleton	Prebbleton
Length of Residence	22 years	18 months
Marriage Place	In the house of Rev. C. Fraser
Folio	771/47
Consent
Date of Certificate	26 May 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Fraser, Presbyterian

213

26 May 1880

Robert Wilson
Janet Smith

Robert Wilson
Janet Smith
💍 1880/1632

Bachelor
Spinster

Grocer
Machinist

23
21

Christchurch
Cranmer Street

7 years
5 years

In the house of Rev. C. Fraser

80/1145

26 May 1880

Rev. C. Fraser, Presbyterian

No	213
Date of Notice	26 May 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Robert Wilson	Janet Smith
	💍 1880/1632
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Grocer	Machinist
Age	23	21
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Cranmer Street
Length of Residence	7 years	5 years
Marriage Place	In the house of Rev. C. Fraser
Folio	80/1145
Consent
Date of Certificate	26 May 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Fraser, Presbyterian

214

26 May 1880

Richard Woodhouse
Sarah Ann Schmidt

Richard Monkhouse Roger Tillstone
Sarah Ann Schmidt
💍 1880/1633

Bachelor
Widow

Master Mariner

30
28

Christchurch
Christchurch Cranmer Street

6 weeks
16 years

In the house of Rev. C. Fraser

80/1146

26 May 1880

Rev. C. Fraser, Presbyterian

No	214
Date of Notice	26 May 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Richard Woodhouse	Sarah Ann Schmidt
BDM Match (71%)	Richard Monkhouse Roger Tillstone	Sarah Ann Schmidt
	💍 1880/1633
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Master Mariner
Age	30	28
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch Cranmer Street
Length of Residence	6 weeks	16 years
Marriage Place	In the house of Rev. C. Fraser
Folio	80/1146
Consent
Date of Certificate	26 May 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Fraser, Presbyterian

215

27 May 1880

Thomas Cashel
Frances Hearty

Thomas Coppins
Frances Kearney
💍 1880/1848

Thomas Dawsett
Frances Hordern
💍 1881/627

Bachelor
Spinster

Saddler

40
31

Christchurch
Christchurch

1 year
6 months

St. Paul's Cashel Street

80/1145

27 May 1880

Rev. J. Elmslie, Presbyterian

No	215
Date of Notice	27 May 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Cashel	Frances Hearty
BDM Match (69%)	Thomas Coppins	Frances Kearney
	💍 1880/1848
BDM Match (62%)	Thomas Dawsett	Frances Hordern
	💍 1881/627
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Saddler
Age	40	31
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	1 year	6 months
Marriage Place	St. Paul's Cashel Street
Folio	80/1145
Consent
Date of Certificate	27 May 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Elmslie, Presbyterian

216

28 May 1880

James Mundy
Ellen Marsden

James Mundy
Ellen Marsden
💍 1880/709

Bachelor
Spinster

Bootmaker
Servant

20
18

Christchurch
Christchurch

5 years
3 years

In the Registrars Office

80/1123

Mary Ann Wilkinson, mother of [bride?], John Marsden, father of [bride?]

28 May 1880

Registrar Marriages, J. Paul Breson

No	216
Date of Notice	28 May 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Mundy	Ellen Marsden
	💍 1880/709
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Bootmaker	Servant
Age	20	18
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	5 years	3 years
Marriage Place	In the Registrars Office
Folio	80/1123
Consent	Mary Ann Wilkinson, mother of [bride?], John Marsden, father of [bride?]
Date of Certificate	28 May 1880
Officiating Minister	Registrar Marriages, J. Paul Breson

217

28 May 1880

Frederick William Jones
Annie Rudd

Frederick William Jones
Annie Rudd
💍 1880/1832

Widower
Spinster

Labourer
Servant

44
32

Christchurch
Christchurch

13 years
4 years

In the Registrars Office

80/1122

28 May 1880

Registrar Marriages, J. Paul Breson

No	217
Date of Notice	28 May 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Frederick William Jones	Annie Rudd
	💍 1880/1832
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Servant
Age	44	32
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	13 years	4 years
Marriage Place	In the Registrars Office
Folio	80/1122
Consent
Date of Certificate	28 May 1880
Officiating Minister	Registrar Marriages, J. Paul Breson

218

29 May 1880

Gilbert Walter Coventry
Hood Clarke Milligan

Gilbert Walter Coventry
Margaret Hood Clark Milligan
💍 1880/1612

Bachelor
Spinster

Station Master

43
27

Christchurch
Christchurch

10 months
1 week

In the house of Rev. C. Fraser

80/1148

29 May 1880

Rev. C. Fraser, Presbyterian

No	218
Date of Notice	29 May 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Gilbert Walter Coventry	Hood Clarke Milligan
BDM Match (82%)	Gilbert Walter Coventry	Margaret Hood Clark Milligan
	💍 1880/1612
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Station Master
Age	43	27
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	10 months	1 week
Marriage Place	In the house of Rev. C. Fraser
Folio	80/1148
Consent
Date of Certificate	29 May 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Fraser, Presbyterian

219

29 May 1880

John Thomas Callaghan
Louisa Hornsby

John Thomas Gallagher
Emily Louisa Thompson
💍 1880/1605

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer

32
17

Prebbleton
Prebbleton

11 years
17 years

In the Prebbleton Church

80/1142

George Hornsby, father

29 May 1880

Rev. C.E. Wright, Church of England

No	219
Date of Notice	29 May 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Thomas Callaghan	Louisa Hornsby
BDM Match (64%)	John Thomas Gallagher	Emily Louisa Thompson
	💍 1880/1605
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	32	17
Dwelling Place	Prebbleton	Prebbleton
Length of Residence	11 years	17 years
Marriage Place	In the Prebbleton Church
Folio	80/1142
Consent	George Hornsby, father
Date of Certificate	29 May 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev. C.E. Wright, Church of England

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).