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 732

District of Christchurch Quarter ending 30 September 1882 Registrar M. Mathesson

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

240

1 July 1882

John Muir
Ellen Taylor

John Muir
Ellen Taylor
💍 1882/2246

John Berry
Ellen Brooke Taylor
💍 1882/2630

Andrew McMillan
Ellen Taylor
💍 1882/1717

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer

23
21

Springston
Springston

8 years
15 years

In the House of Rev. C. Fraser

82/2231

1 July 1882

Rev. C. Fraser

No	240
Date of Notice	1 July 1882
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Muir	Ellen Taylor
	💍 1882/2246
BDM Match (62%)	John Berry	Ellen Brooke Taylor
	💍 1882/2630
BDM Match (60%)	Andrew McMillan	Ellen Taylor
	💍 1882/1717
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer
Age	23	21
Dwelling Place	Springston	Springston
Length of Residence	8 years	15 years
Marriage Place	In the House of Rev. C. Fraser
Folio	82/2231
Consent
Date of Certificate	1 July 1882
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Fraser

241

1 July 1882

John Robert Gibbs
Selina Annie Reid

John Robert Gills
Selina Annie Reid
💍 1882/2134

Bachelor
Spinster

Butcher

23
24

Christchurch
Christchurch

8 years
8 years

In St. Michaels Church

82/2464

1 July 1882

Rev. W. Harper

No	241
Date of Notice	1 July 1882
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Robert Gibbs	Selina Annie Reid
BDM Match (94%)	John Robert Gills	Selina Annie Reid
	💍 1882/2134
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Butcher
Age	23	24
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	8 years	8 years
Marriage Place	In St. Michaels Church
Folio	82/2464
Consent
Date of Certificate	1 July 1882
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. Harper

242

3 July 1882

Robert George Hemmingway Firth
Ronna Ann Cotton

Robert George Hemingway Firth
Rosina Ann Cotton
💍 1882/2079

Bachelor
Spinster

Carpenter

24
22

Christchurch
Christchurch

4 months
7 months

In St. Lukes Church

82/2190

3 July 1882

Rev. R. A. Lingard

No	242
Date of Notice	3 July 1882
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Robert George Hemmingway Firth	Ronna Ann Cotton
BDM Match (92%)	Robert George Hemingway Firth	Rosina Ann Cotton
	💍 1882/2079
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carpenter
Age	24	22
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	4 months	7 months
Marriage Place	In St. Lukes Church
Folio	82/2190
Consent
Date of Certificate	3 July 1882
Officiating Minister	Rev. R. A. Lingard

243

4 July 1882

Frank Mainland Foster
Elizabeth Chismall

Frank Mamland Foster
Elizabeth Chisnah
💍 1882/3571

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer

29
21

Christchurch
Christchurch

3 days
3 days

In the Riccarton Church

82/3611

4 July 1882

Rev. C. Bowen

No	243
Date of Notice	4 July 1882
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Frank Mainland Foster	Elizabeth Chismall
BDM Match (87%)	Frank Mamland Foster	Elizabeth Chisnah
	💍 1882/3571
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	29	21
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	In the Riccarton Church
Folio	82/3611
Consent
Date of Certificate	4 July 1882
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Bowen

244

4 July 1882

William Strange
Caroline Edgington

William Strange
Caroline Edgington
💍 1882/2632

Bachelor
Spinster

Plasterer
Servant

29
25

Christchurch
Christchurch

3 days
4 years

In St. Johns, Ashburton Church

82/2499

4 July 1882

Rev. H. C. M. Watson

No	244
Date of Notice	4 July 1882
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Strange	Caroline Edgington
	💍 1882/2632
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Plasterer	Servant
Age	29	25
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	3 days	4 years
Marriage Place	In St. Johns, Ashburton Church
Folio	82/2499
Consent
Date of Certificate	4 July 1882
Officiating Minister	Rev. H. C. M. Watson

245

4 July 1882

Henry Charles Joseph Bailey
Charlotte Sarah Winny

Henry Charles Joseph Bailey
Charlotte Sarah Winny
💍 1882/1961

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer

32
19

Christchurch
Christchurch

3 days
4 years

In St. Michaels, Methven, Ashburton Church

82/2265

4 July 1882

Rev. W. Harper

No	245
Date of Notice	4 July 1882
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Henry Charles Joseph Bailey	Charlotte Sarah Winny
	💍 1882/1961
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	32	19
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	3 days	4 years
Marriage Place	In St. Michaels, Methven, Ashburton Church
Folio	82/2265
Consent
Date of Certificate	4 July 1882
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. Harper

246

4 July 1882

William Wallace Searle
Jessie Thomson Borland

William Wallace Searle
Jessie Thompson Borland
💍 1882/3406

Bachelor
Spinster

Bookkeeper
Milliner

32
21

Christchurch
Burnside

8 years
13 years

In the House, Christchurch

82/3465

4 July 1882

Rev. J. Elmslie

No	246
Date of Notice	4 July 1882
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Wallace Searle	Jessie Thomson Borland
BDM Match (98%)	William Wallace Searle	Jessie Thompson Borland
	💍 1882/3406
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Bookkeeper	Milliner
Age	32	21
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Burnside
Length of Residence	8 years	13 years
Marriage Place	In the House, Christchurch
Folio	82/3465
Consent
Date of Certificate	4 July 1882
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Elmslie

247

5 July 1882

James Bennington
Elizabeth Pitt

James Bennington
Elizabeth Pitt
💍 1882/2235

Bachelor
Spinster

Bootmaker
Servant

21
24

Christchurch
Christchurch

6 weeks
5 years

In the House of Rev. Parrott

82/2221

5 July 1882

Rev. R. Taylor

No	247
Date of Notice	5 July 1882
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Bennington	Elizabeth Pitt
	💍 1882/2235
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Bootmaker	Servant
Age	21	24
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	6 weeks	5 years
Marriage Place	In the House of Rev. Parrott
Folio	82/2221
Consent
Date of Certificate	5 July 1882
Officiating Minister	Rev. R. Taylor

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).