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 678

District of Christchurch Quarter ending Jul - Sep

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

277

15 July 1880

Edward Ball
Florence Mary Brassington

Edward Bell
Florence Mary Brassington
💍 1880/2342

Bachelor
Spinster

Butcher

23
20

Christchurch
Christchurch

4 years
17 years

In St Michaels Church

80/1221

William Brassington, father

15 July 1880

Rev. R. Q. Penny, Church of England

No	277
Date of Notice	15 July 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edward Ball	Florence Mary Brassington
BDM Match (95%)	Edward Bell	Florence Mary Brassington
	💍 1880/2342
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Butcher
Age	23	20
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	4 years	17 years
Marriage Place	In St Michaels Church
Folio	80/1221
Consent	William Brassington, father
Date of Certificate	15 July 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev. R. Q. Penny, Church of England

278

15 July 1880

James Calder
Sarah Woodcock

James Calder
Sarah Woodcock
💍 1880/168

Bachelor
Spinster

Grocer
Servant

32
25

Sydenham
Sydenham

6 months
14 days

In St Johns Church

80/12931

15 July 1880

Rev. H. M. Watson, Church of England

No	278
Date of Notice	15 July 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Calder	Sarah Woodcock
	💍 1880/168
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Grocer	Servant
Age	32	25
Dwelling Place	Sydenham	Sydenham
Length of Residence	6 months	14 days
Marriage Place	In St Johns Church
Folio	80/12931
Consent
Date of Certificate	15 July 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev. H. M. Watson, Church of England

279

15 July 1880

Cornelius Dyer
Sarah Ann Nichols

Cornelius Dyer
Sarah Ann Nicholls
💍 1880/322

Bachelor
Spinster

Mill

21
16

Woolston
Woolston

7 years
1 year

In the House of Mr. Dyer

80/12463

John Nichols, father

15 July 1880

Rev. C. Fraser, Presbyterian

No	279
Date of Notice	15 July 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Cornelius Dyer	Sarah Ann Nichols
BDM Match (97%)	Cornelius Dyer	Sarah Ann Nicholls
	💍 1880/322
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Mill
Age	21	16
Dwelling Place	Woolston	Woolston
Length of Residence	7 years	1 year
Marriage Place	In the House of Mr. Dyer
Folio	80/12463
Consent	John Nichols, father
Date of Certificate	15 July 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Fraser, Presbyterian

280

15 July 1880

Thomas Dorn
Harriett Cayford

Thomas Dorn
Harriet Cayford
💍 1880/310

Bachelor
Spinster

Hotelkeeper

37
27

Christchurch
Christchurch

6 months
14 years

In the House of Rev. C. Fraser

80/12657

15 July 1880

Rev. C. Fraser, Presbyterian

No	280
Date of Notice	15 July 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Dorn	Harriett Cayford
BDM Match (97%)	Thomas Dorn	Harriet Cayford
	💍 1880/310
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Hotelkeeper
Age	37	27
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	6 months	14 years
Marriage Place	In the House of Rev. C. Fraser
Folio	80/12657
Consent
Date of Certificate	15 July 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Fraser, Presbyterian

281

16 July 1880

Alfred Brandt
Emma Fildwick

Alfred Brandt
Emma Feldwick
💍 1880/2350

Bachelor
Widow

Gardener

45
55

Papanui
Papanui

3 days
3 days

In the Papanui Church

80/12219

16 July 1880

Rev. H. C. Brittan, Church of England

No	281
Date of Notice	16 July 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Alfred Brandt	Emma Fildwick
BDM Match (96%)	Alfred Brandt	Emma Feldwick
	💍 1880/2350
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Gardener
Age	45	55
Dwelling Place	Papanui	Papanui
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	In the Papanui Church
Folio	80/12219
Consent
Date of Certificate	16 July 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev. H. C. Brittan, Church of England

282

16 July 1880

Albert Edward Hope
Kathleen Emma Eveline Beadshaw

Albert Edward Pepperill
Kathleen Maud Bradshaw
💍 1880/319

Bachelor
Spinster

Fireman
Servant

21
22

Christchurch
Christchurch

12 years
5 years

Church, Durham Street

80/12660

16 July 1880

Rev. C. Fraser, Presbyterian

No	282
Date of Notice	16 July 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Albert Edward Hope	Kathleen Emma Eveline Beadshaw
BDM Match (65%)	Albert Edward Pepperill	Kathleen Maud Bradshaw
	💍 1880/319
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Fireman	Servant
Age	21	22
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	12 years	5 years
Marriage Place	Church, Durham Street
Folio	80/12660
Consent
Date of Certificate	16 July 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Fraser, Presbyterian

283

16 July 1880

Albert Richard Leopold
Edith Melloway

Albert Leopold
Edith Ellen Kelloway
💍 1880/320

Bachelor
Spinster

Fitter
Servant

23
21

Sydenham
Sydenham

2 years
10 years

In the Church, Durham Street

16 July 1880

Rev. C. Fraser, Presbyterian

No	283
Date of Notice	16 July 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Albert Richard Leopold	Edith Melloway
BDM Match (64%)	Albert Leopold	Edith Ellen Kelloway
	💍 1880/320
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Fitter	Servant
Age	23	21
Dwelling Place	Sydenham	Sydenham
Length of Residence	2 years	10 years
Marriage Place	In the Church, Durham Street
Folio
Consent
Date of Certificate	16 July 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Fraser, Presbyterian

284

19 July 1880

Noah Francis Hilis
Elizabeth Cecelia Nerson

Noah Francis
Elizabeth Amelia Marion Lusina
💍 1880/191

Widower
Widow

Clerk

30
26

Christchurch
Christchurch

6 years
2 years

In the House of Rev. C. Fraser

80/12655

19 July 1880

Rev. C. Fraser, Presbyterian

No	284
Date of Notice	19 July 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Noah Francis Hilis	Elizabeth Cecelia Nerson
BDM Match (62%)	Noah Francis	Elizabeth Amelia Marion Lusina
	💍 1880/191
Condition	Widower	Widow
Profession	Clerk
Age	30	26
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	6 years	2 years
Marriage Place	In the House of Rev. C. Fraser
Folio	80/12655
Consent
Date of Certificate	19 July 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Fraser, Presbyterian

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).