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 559

District of Nelson Quarter ending 30 September 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
38	4 July 1881	Thomas Cummins Dove Agnes Mary Beardis		Bachelor Spinster	Butcher Domestic Servant	28 25	Bridge Street Nelson Trafalgar Street Nelson	28 years 25 years	St Peters Church Waimea	81/1910		July 4	James Leighton Church of England
39	16 July 1881	Charles Hodgson Jessey Whitwell	Charles Hodgson Jessey Whitwell 💍 1881/1763	Bachelor Spinster	Bank Clerk Nil	21 22	Wellington Cambria Street Nelson	1 year 22 years	The Registrars Office Wellington	81/1488		July 16	Registrar of Marriages Wellington
40	19 July 1881	George Hooper Ann Wynn Hadfield	George Hooper Ann Wyan Hadfield 💍 1881/1869	Widower Widow	Brewer Nil	75 45	Hardy Street Nelson Waimea Road Nelson	9 years 24 years	Residence of Henry Jackson Waimea	81/1906		July 19	Revd Williams Lee Wesleyan Church
41	21 July 1881	Charles Yates Fell Edith Emily Atkinson		Widower Spinster	Barrister at Law Nil	36 22	St Johns Nelson Fairfield Nelson	1 year 12 years	Church of Holy Evangelists Bishopsdale			July 21	Revd Charles Oliver Mules Church of England
42	22 July 1881	Samuel Leach Annie Maria Bright	Samuel Leach Annie Maria Bright 💍 1881/1876	Bachelor Spinster	Cabinet Maker Dressmaker	28 23	Collingwood Street Nelson Waimea Road Nelson	6 years 16 years	Office of Registrar of Marriages Nelson	81/1912		July 22	Robert Kinton Registrar
43	25 July 1881	James Hart Catherine Houston Thomson	James Hart Catherine Houston Thompson 💍 1881/1870	Bachelor Spinster	Draper Nil	24 23	Wellington Street Nelson Waimea Road Nelson	18 months 23 years	Wesleyan Church Nelson	81/1907		July 25	Revd William Lee Wesleyan Church
44	29 July 1881	Archibald Alexander Aydon Mary Jane Woodward	Archibald Alexander Aydon May Jane Woodward 💍 1881/1868	Bachelor Spinster	Shoemaker Nil	23 21	Smith Street Nelson Harley Street Nelson	12 years 14 years	St Marys Catholic Church Nelson	81/1905		July 29	Revd William Mahoney Roman Catholic Church
45	1 August 1881	David McLachlan Mary Gaudell	David McLachlan Margaret Gandell 💍 1881/1880	Bachelor Spinster	Farmer Nil	31 21	Richmond Waimea Haven Road Nelson	1 year 6 months	Residence of John McLachlan, Labourer, Haven Road Nelson	81/[illegible]			Certificate not granted
46	1 August 1881	David McLachlan Margaret Gaudell	David McLachlan Margaret Gandell 💍 1881/1880	Bachelor Spinster	Mariner Nil	21 19	Haven Road Nelson Haven Road Nelson	21 years 6 months	Residence of John McLachlan, Labourer, Haven Road Nelson	81/1893	No person having authority	Aug 15	Revd Patrick Calder Presbyterian Church
47	2 August 1881	Albert Edward Bagnall Emma Brent	Albert Edward Bagnall Emma Brent 💍 1881/1872	Bachelor Spinster	Miller Nil	34 25	Collingwood St Nelson Collingwood St Nelson	3 days 25 years	Residence of Wm Brent, Collingwood St Nelson	81/1908		Aug 2	Revd William Lee Wesleyan Minister
48	4 August 1881	Henry Jordan Lucy Gilbert	Henry Jordan Lucy Gilbert 💍 1881/1884	Bachelor Spinster	Asylum Attendant Asylum Attendant	27 22	The Asylum Nelson The Asylum Nelson	6 months 6 months	Residence of John Beukeubans Waimea Road Nelson	81/1897		Aug 6	Revd John Beckenham Congregational Independent Church
49	6 August 1881	Robert Wilson Christina Jacobsen	Robert Wilson Christina Jacobsen 💍 1881/1866	Bachelor Spinster	Engine Driver Servant	45 25	Collingwood Street Nelson Nelson	18 months 25 years	St Marys Roman Catholic Church Nelson	81/1903		Aug 6	Revd William Mahoney Roman Catholic Church
50	13 August 1881	Henry Samuel Harris Amelia Jane Wilson	Henry Samuel Harris Amelia Jane Wilson 💍 1881/1879	Widower Widow	Engineer Nil	23 22	Port Suburban South Port Suburban South	14 days 22 years	Presbyterian Church Nelson	81/1892		Aug 13	Revd Patrick Calder Presbyterian Minister
51	19 August 1881	William Trincey Emma Whiting	William Tinney Emma Whiting 💍 1881/1863	Bachelor Spinster	Mariner Nil	25 22	School of Music Port Nelson Bridge Street Nelson	22 years 5 days	Congregational Church Nelson	81/1900		Aug 19	Revd John Beckenham Congregational Independent Church
52	20 August 1881	James Jones Gardner Elizabeth Gabhin	James Jones Gardner Elizabeth Giblin 💍 1881/1861	Widower Widow	Butcher Nil	26 24	Bridge Street Nelson Waimea Road Nelson	25 years 24 years	Residence of Richard Flowers, Waimea Road Nelson	81/1898		Aug 20	Revd John Beckenham Congregational Independent Church
53	22 August 1881	Edward Hooker Isabella Gilbertson	Edward Hooker Isabella Gilbertson 💍 1881/1881	Bachelor Spinster	Stonemason Nil	24 28	Haven Road Nelson Haven Road Nelson	4 days 20 years	Presbyterian Church Nelson	81/1894		Aug 22	Revd Patrick Calder Presbyterian Church
54	22 August 1881	William Mercer Clara Catherine Jenner	William Mercer Clara Catherine Jennens 💍 1881/1877	Bachelor Spinster	Cabinet Maker Servant	23 24	Grove Street Nelson The Port Nelson	20 years 7 years	Office of Registrar of Marriages Nelson	81/1913		Aug 22	Robert Kinton Registrar
55	22 August 1881	John Mercer Ann Allison Walker	John Mercer Ann Allinson Walker 💍 1881/1885	Bachelor Spinster	Labourer Servant	21 24	Grove Street Nelson Grove Street Nelson	5 months 6 years	Office of Registrar of Marriages Nelson	81/1914		Aug 22	Robert Kinton Registrar
56	23 August 1881	John Heyhoe Jane Robertson	John Heyhoe Jane Robertson 💍 1881/1873	Bachelor Spinster	Draper Milliner	26 22	Halifax Street Nelson Manuka Street Nelson	4 days 22 years	Residence of James Robertson, Manuka Street Nelson	81/1909		Aug 23	Revd William Lee Wesleyan Church

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).