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 728

District of Christchurch Quarter ending 30 June 1882 Registrar M Markusson

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

[illegible]

17 June 1882

Annlin Alice Palmer
[illegible]

Spinster
[illegible]

[illegible]
[illegible]

23
[illegible]

Christchurch
[illegible]

15 years
[illegible]

Christchurch Church of England

[illegible]

No	[illegible]
Date of Notice	17 June 1882
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Annlin Alice Palmer	[illegible]
Condition	Spinster	[illegible]
Profession	[illegible]	[illegible]
Age	23	[illegible]
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	[illegible]
Length of Residence	15 years	[illegible]
Marriage Place	Christchurch Church of England
Folio
Consent
Date of Certificate	[illegible]
Officiating Minister	[illegible]

218

12 June 1882

Henry George Ba[illegible]
Baunton & Alice

Bachelor
[illegible]

Groom
[illegible]

25
[illegible]

Lepawa
[illegible]

4 years
[illegible]

In St. Andrews Church

82/1443

12 June 1882

Rev. C. Fraser

No	218
Date of Notice	12 June 1882
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Henry George Ba[illegible]	Baunton & Alice
Condition	Bachelor	[illegible]
Profession	Groom	[illegible]
Age	25	[illegible]
Dwelling Place	Lepawa	[illegible]
Length of Residence	4 years	[illegible]
Marriage Place	In St. Andrews Church
Folio	82/1443
Consent
Date of Certificate	12 June 1882
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Fraser

219

13 June 1882

Heinrich Richard Schmidt
Maria Small

Bachelor
Spinster

Draughtsman
Servant

24
25

Christchurch
Lepawa

1 year
3 years

In St. Pauls Church

82/1316

13 June 1882

Rev. I. Unslie

No	219
Date of Notice	13 June 1882
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Heinrich Richard Schmidt	Maria Small
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Draughtsman	Servant
Age	24	25
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Lepawa
Length of Residence	1 year	3 years
Marriage Place	In St. Pauls Church
Folio	82/1316
Consent
Date of Certificate	13 June 1882
Officiating Minister	Rev. I. Unslie

220

13 June 1882

Hedwig Schmidt
Mary Merson

Spinster
Spinster

[illegible]
Servant

[illegible]
23

Christchurch
Christchurch

3 days
23 years

Cashel Street In the Church of St. Luke

82/1191

13 June 1882

Rev. R. A. Lingard

No	220
Date of Notice	13 June 1882
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Hedwig Schmidt	Mary Merson
Condition	Spinster	Spinster
Profession	[illegible]	Servant
Age	[illegible]	23
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	3 days	23 years
Marriage Place	Cashel Street In the Church of St. Luke
Folio	82/1191
Consent
Date of Certificate	13 June 1882
Officiating Minister	Rev. R. A. Lingard

221

14 June 1882

George Fearn
John Low

Widower
Bachelor

Master Station
Wheelwright

43
25

Blenheim
Christchurch

3 years
4 days

Christchurch, Blenheim In St. Andrews, Southbridge Church

82/1444

14 June 1882

Rev. C. Fraser

No	221
Date of Notice	14 June 1882
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Fearn	John Low
Condition	Widower	Bachelor
Profession	Master Station	Wheelwright
Age	43	25
Dwelling Place	Blenheim	Christchurch
Length of Residence	3 years	4 days
Marriage Place	Christchurch, Blenheim In St. Andrews, Southbridge Church
Folio	82/1444
Consent
Date of Certificate	14 June 1882
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Fraser

222

14 June 1882

William Hay
Mary Jane Piercy

William Hay
Caroline McClelland
💍 1882/1246

Widower
Spinster

Farmer
Dressmaker

43
22

Rolleston
Christchurch

17 years
17 years

Yuan Health In the Methodist Church

82/1411

14 June 1882

Rev. R. Taylor

No	222
Date of Notice	14 June 1882
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Hay	Mary Jane Piercy
BDM Match (63%)	William Hay	Caroline McClelland
	💍 1882/1246
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Dressmaker
Age	43	22
Dwelling Place	Rolleston	Christchurch
Length of Residence	17 years	17 years
Marriage Place	Yuan Health In the Methodist Church
Folio	82/1411
Consent
Date of Certificate	14 June 1882
Officiating Minister	Rev. R. Taylor

223

15 June 1882

Caroline McClelland
Isabella Esther Macdonald

Spinster
Spinster

Draper
[illegible]

33
17

Christchurch
Christchurch

3 years
8 years

Addington In the House

82/1345

John Macdonald

15 June 1882

Rev. I. Restinworth

No	223
Date of Notice	15 June 1882
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Caroline McClelland	Isabella Esther Macdonald
Condition	Spinster	Spinster
Profession	Draper	[illegible]
Age	33	17
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	3 years	8 years
Marriage Place	Addington In the House
Folio	82/1345
Consent	John Macdonald
Date of Certificate	15 June 1882
Officiating Minister	Rev. I. Restinworth

224

15 June 1882

Frederick William James
Thomas Hunter

Bachelor
Bachelor

Coachsmith
Labourer

22
26

Christchurch
Christchurch

17 years
6 years

Sydenham In the Rykton Office

82/1465

15 June 1882

Registrar Fleminger

No	224
Date of Notice	15 June 1882
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Frederick William James	Thomas Hunter
Condition	Bachelor	Bachelor
Profession	Coachsmith	Labourer
Age	22	26
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	17 years	6 years
Marriage Place	Sydenham In the Rykton Office
Folio	82/1465
Consent
Date of Certificate	15 June 1882
Officiating Minister	Registrar Fleminger

225

15 June 1882

Edward Ademar Cogant
Ellen Jay Russell

Bachelor
Spinster

Sailor
Servant

26
20

Heathcote
Christchurch

2 years
20 years

Christchurch In St. Johns Church

82/13632

15 June 1882

Rev. C. I. Munton

No	225
Date of Notice	15 June 1882
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edward Ademar Cogant	Ellen Jay Russell
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Sailor	Servant
Age	26	20
Dwelling Place	Heathcote	Christchurch
Length of Residence	2 years	20 years
Marriage Place	Christchurch In St. Johns Church
Folio	82/13632
Consent
Date of Certificate	15 June 1882
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. I. Munton

226

17 June 1882

George Henry Wright
Caroline Groombridge

Bachelor
Spinster

Clerk
[illegible]

29
25

Christchurch
Heathcote

3 years
20 years

Woolston In the Avonside Church of England

82/1357

17 June 1882

Rev. W. A. Pascoe

No	226
Date of Notice	17 June 1882
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Henry Wright	Caroline Groombridge
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Clerk	[illegible]
Age	29	25
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Heathcote
Length of Residence	3 years	20 years
Marriage Place	Woolston In the Avonside Church of England
Folio	82/1357
Consent
Date of Certificate	17 June 1882
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. A. Pascoe

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 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).