Intentions to Marry, 1881

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840393, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

Imaged by Luke at Archives NZ Wellington, January 31 2025

Page 557

District of Nelson Quarter ending 30 June 1881

No	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
20	5 April 1881	Jacob Moses Evelwa Levy	Jacob Moses Evelina Levy 💍 1881/1042	Widower Spinster	Merchant Nil	63 18	Bridge Street Nelson Nile Street West Nelson	9 weeks 6 years	Jewish Synagogue Nelson	81/995	Morris Levy, father	5 April 1881	Herman Van Haveren Hebrew Minister
21	29 April 1881	Isaac Hawey Margaret Malcolm	Isaac Harvey Margaret Malcolm 💍 1881/1471	Bachelor Widow	Farmer Nil	24 24	Happy Valley Waimia Wakapuaka Waimea	24 years 1 year	Residence of Isaac Harbey, Happy Valley	81/1446		29 April 1881	Revd Patrick Calder, Presbyterian Church
22	4 May 1881	Michael O'Brien Catherine O'Connor	Michael O'Brien Catherine O'Connor 💍 1881/1024 William O'Brien Mary O'Connor 💍 1881/1212	Bachelor Spinster	Police Constable Dress Maker	38 21	Haley Street Nelson Lunatic Asylum Nelson	18 Months 3 years	St Marys Catholic Church Nelson	81/983		4 May 1881	Revd William Mahoney, Roman Catholic Church
23	16 May 1881	John Hagen Mary Ann Levy	John Hagan Mary Ann Levy 💍 1881/1025	Bachelor Spinster	Farmer Dressmaker	24 17	Halifax Street Nelson Nile Street Nelson	3 days 17 years	St Marys Catholic Church Nelson	81/984	Peter Levy, father	17 May 1881	Revd William Mahoney, Roman Catholic Church
24	17 May 1881	Thomas Holdaway Mary Jane Ching	Thomas Holdaway Mary Jane Ching 💍 1881/1444	Bachelor Spinster	Farmer Nil	27 20	Richmond Waimia Motee, Waimia	27 years 20 years	Residence of Richard Ching, Home Waimia	81/1408	Richard Ching, father	17 May 1881	Revd Joseph Berry, Wesleyan Church
25	17 May 1881	James Richard Barltrop Elizabeth Grooby	James Richard Barltrop Elizabeth Grooby 💍 1881/1028	Bachelor Spinster	Clerk Domestic Servant	21 24	Nile Street East Nelson Nile Street East Nelson	21 years 8 years	At the residence of Mr Henry Barltrop, Nile Street East Nelson	81/987		17 May 1881	Revd John Beckenham, Congregational Independent Church
26	19 May 1881	Thomas Andrew Hemmingfield Jessie Black	Thomas Andrew Hemming Field Jessie Black 💍 1881/105	Bachelor Spinster	Commercial Assistant Nil	21 20	Examiner Street Nelson Collingwood Street Nelson	3 Months 20 years	Residence of Mr Robert Black, Collingwood Street Nelson	81/988	Robert Black, father	19 May 1881	Revd John Beckenham, Congregational Independent Church
27	23 May 1881	William Avery Annie Jack	William Avery Annie Jack 💍 1881/3270	Widower Spinster	Turner Nil	43 36	Collingwood Street Nelson Victoria Heights Nelson	22 years 4 years	Residence of Henry Young, Victoria Heights Nelson	81/3305		23 May 1881	Revd Alexander John Hamilton, Baptist Church
28	23 May 1881	Richard Webb Jenkins Mary Eliza Fetts	Richard Webb Jenkins Mary Eliza Gibbs 💍 1881/1029	Bachelor Spinster	Banker Nil	28 21	Stoke Nelson Nile Street East Nelson	3 days 3 years	Residence of Mr E. Fetts, Nile Street East Nelson	81/989		23 May 1881	Revd John Beckenham, Congregational Independent Church
29	27 May 1881	Thomas Edward Wootten Fanny Kerr	Thomas Edward Wootten Fanny Kerr 💍 1881/1031	Widower Widow	Carpenter Nil	36 29	Wakefield Collingwood Street Nelson	3 years 1 year	Residence of Mr Wm Kerr, Collingwood Street Nelson	81/990		27 May 1881	Revd John Beckenham, Congregational Independent Church
30	28 May 1881	Henry Charles Goochy Phoebe Hodgson	Henry Charles Godfrey Phoebe Hodgson 💍 1881/1486	Bachelor Spinster	Clerk Nil	24 19	Halifax Street Nelson Cambria Street Nelson	24 years 19 years	All Saints Church Nelson	81/1484	William Charles Hodgson, Father	28 May 1881	Revd Francis Innes Jones, Church of England
31	31 May 1881	Henry Campbell Raikes Robina Mary Bannerman	Henry Campbell Raikes Robina Mary Bannerman Lessel Bisset 💍 1881/1034	Widower Spinster	Fruit Grower Nil	56 44	Kawai Street Nelson Kawai Street Nelson	4 years 4 years	Office of the Registrar of Marriages, Nelson	81/994		31 May 1881	Robert Kirton, Registrar of Marriages
32	31 May 1881	Duncan Cameron Evelyn Barker	Duncan Cameron Evelyn Barker 💍 1881/1472	Bachelor Spinster	Saddler Nil	26 19	Wellington Church Street Nelson	26 years 12 years				31 May 1881	Revd Patrick Calder, Presbyterian Minister
33	13 June 1881	Harry Bennett Anna Maria Servis	Henry Bennett Anna Maria Jervis 💍 1881/1027	Widower Widow	Hotel Keeper Nil	44 54	Richmond, Nelson Richmond, Nelson	4 days 1 year	Church, Nelson	81/1447	Edwin Hardy Barker, father	13 June 1881	Revd William Akeny Whyte, Church of England
34	18 June 1881	John Sinclair Bessy Henry	John Sinclair Bessy Henry 💍 1881/1033	Widower Widow	Gardener Nurse	46 55	Waimia Road, Nelson Russell Street, Nelson	2 years 1 year	Residence of Mr Peter Henry, Russell Street Nelson	81/993		21 June 1881	Revd John Beckenham, Congregational Independent Church
35	18 June 1881	Thomas Woodward Mary Ann Langley Flower	Thomas Woodward Mary Ana Langley Flower 💍 1881/1032	Bachelor Spinster	Engine Driver Nil	20 20	Harley Street Nelson Waimia Road Nelson	7 years 20 years	Residence of Richard J. Flower, Waimia Road Nelson	81/992	Richard Thomas Flower, father	18 June 1881	Revd John Beckenham, Congregational Independent Church
36	20 June 1881	Arthur Wastney Frances Imma Giblin	Arthur Wastney Frances Emma Giblin 💍 1881/110	Bachelor Spinster	Farmer Nil	21 21	Wakapuana Nelson Waimea Street Nelson	21 years 21 years	Residence of William Giblin, Waimea Street Nelson	81/991		20 June 1881	Revd John Beckenham, Congregational Independent Church
37	22 June 1881	Alexander John Glasgow Elizabeth Jane Lane	Alexander John Glasgow Elizabeth Jane Lane 💍 1881/1026	Bachelor Spinster	Farmer Nil	24 25	Suburban North Nelson Suburban North Nelson	3 weeks 18 months	At Christchurch Nelson	81/985		22 June 1881	Revd James Leighton, Church of England

These records have been automatically transcribed and must be verified using the page image (below)

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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 1894. More registers will be added as the project continues.

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).