Intentions to Marry, 1882

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840394, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

Imaged by Carole at Archives NZ Wellington, April 16 2025

Page 701

District of Christchurch Quarter ending 31 March 1882 Registrar J M 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

13 January 1882

Horatio Cooper Ross
Mary Margaret Baxter

Horatio Cooper Ross
Mary Margaret Baxter
💍 1882/716

Bachelor
Spinster

Laborer
Servant

25
25

Christchurch
Christchurch

3 years
6 years

In the Roman Catholic Church, Christchurch

82/1555

11 January 1882

Rev. L. Ginaty, Roman Catholic

No	13
Date of Notice	13 January 1882
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Horatio Cooper Ross	Mary Margaret Baxter
	💍 1882/716
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Laborer	Servant
Age	25	25
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	3 years	6 years
Marriage Place	In the Roman Catholic Church, Christchurch
Folio	82/1555
Consent
Date of Certificate	11 January 1882
Officiating Minister	Rev. L. Ginaty, Roman Catholic

14 January 1882

William Henry Clemow
Elizabeth Starkey

William Henry Clemon
Elizabeth Starkey
💍 1882/652

Bachelor
Spinster

Carrier
Dressmaker

27
24

Sydenham
Sydenham

2 years
14 days

St. Michael's Church, Christchurch

82/1532

11 January 1882

Rev. W. Harper, Church of England

No	14
Date of Notice	14 January 1882
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Henry Clemow	Elizabeth Starkey
BDM Match (98%)	William Henry Clemon	Elizabeth Starkey
	💍 1882/652
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carrier	Dressmaker
Age	27	24
Dwelling Place	Sydenham	Sydenham
Length of Residence	2 years	14 days
Marriage Place	St. Michael's Church, Christchurch
Folio	82/1532
Consent
Date of Certificate	11 January 1882
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. Harper, Church of England

15 January 1882

Hugh Hocking Raddon
Elizabeth Ann Jackson

Hugh Hocking Raddon
Elizabeth Ann Jackson
💍 1882/599

Bachelor
Spinster

Master Mariner

28
21

Papanui
Papanui

4 days
21 years

Papanui Church

82/1527

13 January 1882

Rev. F. G. Brittan

No	15
Date of Notice	15 January 1882
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Hugh Hocking Raddon	Elizabeth Ann Jackson
	💍 1882/599
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Master Mariner
Age	28	21
Dwelling Place	Papanui	Papanui
Length of Residence	4 days	21 years
Marriage Place	Papanui Church
Folio	82/1527
Consent
Date of Certificate	13 January 1882
Officiating Minister	Rev. F. G. Brittan

16 January 1882

Charles Frederick Tracy Willis
Lilian Annie Pairtt

Charles Frederick Tracey Willis
Lilian Annie Pavitt
💍 1882/897

Bachelor
Spinster

Station Holder

27
22

Christchurch
Christchurch

27 years
21 years

In the Avonside Church

82/1481

16 January 1882

Rev. W. A. Pascoe, Church of England

No	16
Date of Notice	16 January 1882
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Frederick Tracy Willis	Lilian Annie Pairtt
BDM Match (93%)	Charles Frederick Tracey Willis	Lilian Annie Pavitt
	💍 1882/897
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Station Holder
Age	27	22
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	27 years	21 years
Marriage Place	In the Avonside Church
Folio	82/1481
Consent
Date of Certificate	16 January 1882
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. A. Pascoe, Church of England

17 January 1882

Harry Charles Pearce
Matilda Chillingworth

Harry Charles Pearce
Matilda Chillingworth
💍 1882/882

Bachelor
Spinster

Carpenter
Dressmaker

20
19

Christchurch
Christchurch

20 years
14 years

St. Luke's Church, Christchurch

82/1490

Percival Pearce Father; No person having authority

1 February 1882

Rev. E. A. Lingard, Church of England

No	17
Date of Notice	17 January 1882
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Harry Charles Pearce	Matilda Chillingworth
	💍 1882/882
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carpenter	Dressmaker
Age	20	19
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	20 years	14 years
Marriage Place	St. Luke's Church, Christchurch
Folio	82/1490
Consent	Percival Pearce Father; No person having authority
Date of Certificate	1 February 1882
Officiating Minister	Rev. E. A. Lingard, Church of England

17 January 1882

John Martin
Mary Quaid

John Martin
Mary Quaid
💍 1882/723

Bachelor
Spinster

Dairyman
servant

33
1925

St. Albans
Christchurch

3 years
4 years

Roman Catholic Church, Christchurch

82/1530

17 January 1882

Rev. L. Ginaty

No	18
Date of Notice	17 January 1882
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Martin	Mary Quaid
	💍 1882/723
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Dairyman	servant
Age	33	1925
Dwelling Place	St. Albans	Christchurch
Length of Residence	3 years	4 years
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Church, Christchurch
Folio	82/1530
Consent
Date of Certificate	17 January 1882
Officiating Minister	Rev. L. Ginaty

18 January 1882

Dierich Meierhoff
Maria Schroder

Diedrich Meierhoff
Maria Anna Schroeder
💍 1882/873

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Servant

27
21

Tai Tapu
Tai Tapu

4 years
6 years

In the House of Mr. Schroder, Tai Tapu

82/1582

18 January 1882

Rev. P. Jacobsen. Lutheran

No	19
Date of Notice	18 January 1882
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Dierich Meierhoff	Maria Schroder
BDM Match (82%)	Diedrich Meierhoff	Maria Anna Schroeder
	💍 1882/873
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Servant
Age	27	21
Dwelling Place	Tai Tapu	Tai Tapu
Length of Residence	4 years	6 years
Marriage Place	In the House of Mr. Schroder, Tai Tapu
Folio	82/1582
Consent
Date of Certificate	18 January 1882
Officiating Minister	Rev. P. Jacobsen. Lutheran

18 January 1882

Daniel O'Brien
Florence Porter

Daniel O'Brien
Florence Porter
💍 1882/606

Bachelor
Spinster

Trainer

35
20

Riccarton
Christchurch

14 years
3 days

In the Registry Office, Christchurch

Ashburton, 82/1571

Alfred Porter, Father

18 January 1882

Registrar of Marriages, J M Parkerson

No	20
Date of Notice	18 January 1882
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Daniel O'Brien	Florence Porter
	💍 1882/606
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Trainer
Age	35	20
Dwelling Place	Riccarton	Christchurch
Length of Residence	14 years	3 days
Marriage Place	In the Registry Office, Christchurch
Folio	Ashburton, 82/1571
Consent	Alfred Porter, Father
Date of Certificate	18 January 1882
Officiating Minister	Registrar of Marriages, J M Parkerson

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 1908. 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).