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 695

District of Christchurch Quarter ending Oct - Dec

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

385

19 October 1880

Frank Stavers Whithair
Kate Jackson

Frank Steven William
Kate Jackson
💍 1880/686

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer

20
21

Riccarton
Kingsland

4 years
9 months

In the Parsonage Grounds

80/739

Margaret Elizabeth Whithair, mother

19 October 1880

Rev. W. A. Pascoe

No	385
Date of Notice	19 October 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Frank Stavers Whithair	Kate Jackson
BDM Match (80%)	Frank Steven William	Kate Jackson
	💍 1880/686
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	20	21
Dwelling Place	Riccarton	Kingsland
Length of Residence	4 years	9 months
Marriage Place	In the Parsonage Grounds
Folio	80/739
Consent	Margaret Elizabeth Whithair, mother
Date of Certificate	19 October 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. A. Pascoe

386

23 October 1880

William Treglown
Elizabeth Walls

William Treglown Thomas
Elizabeth Walls
💍 1880/721

Bachelor
Spinster

Contractor
Servant

23
23

Sydenham
Sydenham

2 years
5 years

In the House of Rev. C. Fraser

80/3128

23 October 1880

Rev. C. Fraser

No	386
Date of Notice	23 October 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Treglown	Elizabeth Walls
BDM Match (85%)	William Treglown Thomas	Elizabeth Walls
	💍 1880/721
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Contractor	Servant
Age	23	23
Dwelling Place	Sydenham	Sydenham
Length of Residence	2 years	5 years
Marriage Place	In the House of Rev. C. Fraser
Folio	80/3128
Consent
Date of Certificate	23 October 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Fraser

387

23 October 1880

Henry Cotterill
Nancy Gilchrist Stokes

Henry Cotterill
Nancy Elizabeth Stokes
💍 1880/119

Bachelor
Spinster

Barrister

25
26

Christchurch
Christchurch

25 years
3 years

In U. Rules Church

80/124/144

23 October 1880

Rev. E. A. Lingard

No	387
Date of Notice	23 October 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Henry Cotterill	Nancy Gilchrist Stokes
BDM Match (82%)	Henry Cotterill	Nancy Elizabeth Stokes
	💍 1880/119
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Barrister
Age	25	26
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	25 years	3 years
Marriage Place	In U. Rules Church
Folio	80/124/144
Consent
Date of Certificate	23 October 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev. E. A. Lingard

388

25 October 1880

James Stewart
Annie Milner

James Smart
Annie Milner
💍 1880/513

Widower
Spinster

Potter
Housekeeper

34
29

Sydenham
Christchurch

6 months
5 years

In the House of Mr. Lloyd

80/13066

25 October 1880

Rev. T. R. Carrier

No	388
Date of Notice	25 October 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Stewart	Annie Milner
BDM Match (88%)	James Smart	Annie Milner
	💍 1880/513
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Potter	Housekeeper
Age	34	29
Dwelling Place	Sydenham	Christchurch
Length of Residence	6 months	5 years
Marriage Place	In the House of Mr. Lloyd
Folio	80/13066
Consent
Date of Certificate	25 October 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev. T. R. Carrier

389

27 October 1880

Henry Augustus Bamfied
Susannah Dairs

Bachelor
Spinster

Barrister

36
37

Dunedin
Dunedin

16 years

In St. Marks Green Island

Dunedin 12497

27 October 1880

Rev. J. L. Stanley

No	389
Date of Notice	27 October 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Henry Augustus Bamfied	Susannah Dairs
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Barrister
Age	36	37
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	16 years
Marriage Place	In St. Marks Green Island
Folio	Dunedin 12497
Consent
Date of Certificate	27 October 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. L. Stanley

390

28 October 1880

Samuel Noonan
Maria Hewens

Samuel Vogan
Maria Stephens
💍 1880/723

Samuel Hocking
Maria Thomas
💍 1880/1444

Bachelor
Widow

Labourer

29
31

Sydenham
Sydenham

8 months
5 years

In the House of Rev. C. Fraser

80/3129

28 October 1880

Rev. C. Fraser

No	390
Date of Notice	28 October 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Samuel Noonan	Maria Hewens
BDM Match (74%)	Samuel Vogan	Maria Stephens
	💍 1880/723
BDM Match (61%)	Samuel Hocking	Maria Thomas
	💍 1880/1444
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Labourer
Age	29	31
Dwelling Place	Sydenham	Sydenham
Length of Residence	8 months	5 years
Marriage Place	In the House of Rev. C. Fraser
Folio	80/3129
Consent
Date of Certificate	28 October 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Fraser

391

29 October 1880

Archibald McGregor
Elizabeth Dow

Archibald McGregor
Elizabeth Dow
💍 1880/616

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Servant

30
24

Burnham
Burnham

18 years
3 days

In the House of Archibald McGregor

80/3183

29 October 1880

Rev. J. W. Cree

No	391
Date of Notice	29 October 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Archibald McGregor	Elizabeth Dow
	💍 1880/616
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Servant
Age	30	24
Dwelling Place	Burnham	Burnham
Length of Residence	18 years	3 days
Marriage Place	In the House of Archibald McGregor
Folio	80/3183
Consent
Date of Certificate	29 October 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. W. Cree

392

29 October 1880

Walter John
Agnes James

Walter John Hoddinott
Agnes James
💍 1880/692

Bachelor
Spinster

Railway Servant

23
17

Sydenham
Sydenham

5 years
17 years

In the Wesleyan Church Colombo Road

80/266/392

William James, father

29 October 1880

Rev. J. S. Hishworth

No	392
Date of Notice	29 October 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Walter John	Agnes James
BDM Match (76%)	Walter John Hoddinott	Agnes James
	💍 1880/692
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Railway Servant
Age	23	17
Dwelling Place	Sydenham	Sydenham
Length of Residence	5 years	17 years
Marriage Place	In the Wesleyan Church Colombo Road
Folio	80/266/392
Consent	William James, father
Date of Certificate	29 October 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. S. Hishworth

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).