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 671

District of Christchurch Quarter ending 30 June 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

228

8 June 1880

James Cummins
Jane Quinn

James Cummins
Eliza Jane Quinn
💍 1880/1695

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer

25
16

Shirley
Shirley

5 years
11 years

In the Roman Catholic Church Christchurch

80/1178

John Quinn, Father

8 June 1880

Rev. L. Ginaty, Roman Catholic

No	228
Date of Notice	8 June 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Cummins	Jane Quinn
BDM Match (81%)	James Cummins	Eliza Jane Quinn
	💍 1880/1695
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer
Age	25	16
Dwelling Place	Shirley	Shirley
Length of Residence	5 years	11 years
Marriage Place	In the Roman Catholic Church Christchurch
Folio	80/1178
Consent	John Quinn, Father
Date of Certificate	8 June 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev. L. Ginaty, Roman Catholic

229

8 June 1880

Edward Harris
Margaret Ellen Thompson

Edward Harris
Margaret Ellen Thompson
💍 1880/1445

Bachelor
Spinster

Bootmaker

27
20

Christchurch
Christchurch

4 months
17 Years

In the house of Rev J Clover, Manchester Street

80/1076

Thomas Thompson, Father

8 June 1880

Rev. J. Clover, Primitive Methodist

No	229
Date of Notice	8 June 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edward Harris	Margaret Ellen Thompson
	💍 1880/1445
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Bootmaker
Age	27	20
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	4 months	17 Years
Marriage Place	In the house of Rev J Clover, Manchester Street
Folio	80/1076
Consent	Thomas Thompson, Father
Date of Certificate	8 June 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Clover, Primitive Methodist

230

8 June 1880

William McDougall
Susan Gibb

William McDougall
Susan Gibb
💍 1880/511

Bachelor
Spinster

Storeman
Servant

40
27

Christchurch
Sydenham

7 Years
2 Years

In the house of Mrs Allison, Selwyn Street Sydenham

80/3064

8 June 1880

Rev. T. R. Cairns, Presbyterian Church of NZ

No	230
Date of Notice	8 June 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William McDougall	Susan Gibb
	💍 1880/511
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Storeman	Servant
Age	40	27
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Sydenham
Length of Residence	7 Years	2 Years
Marriage Place	In the house of Mrs Allison, Selwyn Street Sydenham
Folio	80/3064
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 June 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev. T. R. Cairns, Presbyterian Church of NZ

231

9 June 1880

Richard John Sharpe
Matilda Varcoe

Richard John Sharpe
Matilda Varcoe
💍 1880/1450

Bachelor
Spinster

Clerk

21
21

Christchurch
Christchurch

19 Years
18 years

In the Avonside Church

80/1081

9 June 1880

Rev. W. A. Pascoe Church of England

No	231
Date of Notice	9 June 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Richard John Sharpe	Matilda Varcoe
	💍 1880/1450
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Clerk
Age	21	21
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	19 Years	18 years
Marriage Place	In the Avonside Church
Folio	80/1081
Consent
Date of Certificate	9 June 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. A. Pascoe Church of England

232

10 June 1880

Samuel Laurence Dennis
Ada Skilton

Samuel Lawrence Dennis
Ada Skelton
💍 1880/1439

Bachelor
Spinster

Saddler
Servant

19
21

Christchurch
Christchurch

16 Years
21 Years

In the house of Mr. Dennis, Kilmore Street

80/1094

Samuel Dennis, Father

10 June 1880

Rev. A. Reid, Wesleyan

No	232
Date of Notice	10 June 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Samuel Laurence Dennis	Ada Skilton
BDM Match (93%)	Samuel Lawrence Dennis	Ada Skelton
	💍 1880/1439
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Saddler	Servant
Age	19	21
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	16 Years	21 Years
Marriage Place	In the house of Mr. Dennis, Kilmore Street
Folio	80/1094
Consent	Samuel Dennis, Father
Date of Certificate	10 June 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. Reid, Wesleyan

233

11 June 1880

Charles Behnke
Mary Wilkinson

Carl Heinrich Behnke
Mary Wilkinson
💍 1880/707

Widower
Spinster

Labourer
Dressmaker

30
35

Papanui
Christchurch

6 Years
6 months

In the German Church, Christchurch

80/1073

11 June 1880

Rev. J. Jacobsen Lutheran

No	233
Date of Notice	11 June 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Behnke	Mary Wilkinson
BDM Match (78%)	Carl Heinrich Behnke	Mary Wilkinson
	💍 1880/707
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Dressmaker
Age	30	35
Dwelling Place	Papanui	Christchurch
Length of Residence	6 Years	6 months
Marriage Place	In the German Church, Christchurch
Folio	80/1073
Consent
Date of Certificate	11 June 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Jacobsen Lutheran

234

11 June 1880

John Haldon Nelson
Mary Jane Netherton

John Haldon Nelson
Mary Jane Netherton
💍 1880/1617

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer

22
22

Templeton
West Melton

16 Years
13 Years

In St Andrews Church, Christchurch

80/1153

11 June 1880

Rev. C. Fraser Presbyterian Church of NZ

No	234
Date of Notice	11 June 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Haldon Nelson	Mary Jane Netherton
	💍 1880/1617
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	22	22
Dwelling Place	Templeton	West Melton
Length of Residence	16 Years	13 Years
Marriage Place	In St Andrews Church, Christchurch
Folio	80/1153
Consent
Date of Certificate	11 June 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Fraser Presbyterian Church of NZ

235

12 June 1880

William Gray
Eliza Brookes

William Gray
Eliza Brookes
💍 1880/1460

Bachelor
Spinster

Compositor
Dressmaker

36
31

Christchurch
Christchurch

10 Years
2 Years

In the house of Miss Eliza Brookes, Kilmore Street

80/1068

12 June 1880

Rev. C. Dallaston, Baptist

No	235
Date of Notice	12 June 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Gray	Eliza Brookes
	💍 1880/1460
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Compositor	Dressmaker
Age	36	31
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	10 Years	2 Years
Marriage Place	In the house of Miss Eliza Brookes, Kilmore Street
Folio	80/1068
Consent
Date of Certificate	12 June 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Dallaston, Baptist

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).