Intentions to Marry, 1883

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840395, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

Imaged by Luke at Archives NZ Wellington, May 16 2025.

Page 113

District of Auckland Quarter ending 30 June 1883 Registrar John Owen Lord

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

126

2 April 1883

William Biset
Sophia Hart

William Bisset
Jessie Sophia Hart
💍 1883/735

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic Duties

40
32

Whangarei
Streets and Auckland

10 years
1 year

Office of Regr. of Marriages Auckland

83/825

2 April 1883

Regr. of Marriages Auckland

No	126
Date of Notice	2 April 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Biset	Sophia Hart
BDM Match (77%)	William Bisset	Jessie Sophia Hart
	💍 1883/735
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic Duties
Age	40	32
Dwelling Place	Whangarei	Streets and Auckland
Length of Residence	10 years	1 year
Marriage Place	Office of Regr. of Marriages Auckland
Folio	83/825
Consent
Date of Certificate	2 April 1883
Officiating Minister	Regr. of Marriages Auckland

127

2 April 1883

Arthur Hyffin Heyland
Elizabeth Mary Furness

Arthur Kyffin Heyland
Elizabeth Mary Farmer
💍 1883/987

Bachelor
Widow

Settler

41
40

Waiheke
Timber Pap

9 years
30 years

St Sepulchres Church

83/913

2 April 1883

Rev. B. J. Dudley Church of England

No	127
Date of Notice	2 April 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Arthur Hyffin Heyland	Elizabeth Mary Furness
BDM Match (89%)	Arthur Kyffin Heyland	Elizabeth Mary Farmer
	💍 1883/987
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Settler
Age	41	40
Dwelling Place	Waiheke	Timber Pap
Length of Residence	9 years	30 years
Marriage Place	St Sepulchres Church
Folio	83/913
Consent
Date of Certificate	2 April 1883
Officiating Minister	Rev. B. J. Dudley Church of England

128

3 April 1883

George McGrory
Maria Backhurst

George McQuay
Maria Backhurst
💍 1883/734

Widower
Widow

Farmer
Domestic Duties

47
42

Onehunga
Onehunga

19 years
10 years

Office of the Regr. of Mrges Auckland

83/824

3 April 1883

J. Owen Lord Dep. Regr.

No	128
Date of Notice	3 April 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George McGrory	Maria Backhurst
BDM Match (86%)	George McQuay	Maria Backhurst
	💍 1883/734
Condition	Widower	Widow
Profession	Farmer	Domestic Duties
Age	47	42
Dwelling Place	Onehunga	Onehunga
Length of Residence	19 years	10 years
Marriage Place	Office of the Regr. of Mrges Auckland
Folio	83/824
Consent
Date of Certificate	3 April 1883
Officiating Minister	J. Owen Lord Dep. Regr.

129

3 April 1883

Hugh Wallace
Margaret Bruce

Hugh Wallace
Margaret Bruce
💍 1883/814

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic Duties

35
26

Wairangi
Wairangi

3 years
17 years

St James Church Wellington St

83/818

3 April 1883

Rev. R. F. Macnicol Presbyterian

No	129
Date of Notice	3 April 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Hugh Wallace	Margaret Bruce
	💍 1883/814
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic Duties
Age	35	26
Dwelling Place	Wairangi	Wairangi
Length of Residence	3 years	17 years
Marriage Place	St James Church Wellington St
Folio	83/818
Consent
Date of Certificate	3 April 1883
Officiating Minister	Rev. R. F. Macnicol Presbyterian

130

4 April 1883

Patrick McGrory
Elizabeth Holt

Patrick McCrory
Elizabeth Holt
💍 1883/725

Bachelor
Spinster

Labour
Servant

27
20

Otahuhu
Panmure

18 years
26 years

Roman Catholic Church

83/805

4 April 1883

Rev. P. Riordan Roman Catholic

No	130
Date of Notice	4 April 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Patrick McGrory	Elizabeth Holt
BDM Match (97%)	Patrick McCrory	Elizabeth Holt
	💍 1883/725
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labour	Servant
Age	27	20
Dwelling Place	Otahuhu	Panmure
Length of Residence	18 years	26 years
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Church
Folio	83/805
Consent
Date of Certificate	4 April 1883
Officiating Minister	Rev. P. Riordan Roman Catholic

131

4 April 1883

Julius Peterson
Mary Wilson

Julius Petersen
Mary Wilson
💍 1883/737

Bachelor
Widow

Sailor
Domestic Duties

23
25

Auckland
Auckland

18 months
18 months

Office of the Regr. of Mrges Auckland

83/826

4 April 1883

J. Owen Lord Dep. Regr.

No	131
Date of Notice	4 April 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Julius Peterson	Mary Wilson
BDM Match (97%)	Julius Petersen	Mary Wilson
	💍 1883/737
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Sailor	Domestic Duties
Age	23	25
Dwelling Place	Auckland	Auckland
Length of Residence	18 months	18 months
Marriage Place	Office of the Regr. of Mrges Auckland
Folio	83/826
Consent
Date of Certificate	4 April 1883
Officiating Minister	J. Owen Lord Dep. Regr.

132

4 April 1883

Alfred Jerred Hitchcock
Minnie Eliza Hooper

Alfred Jerred Hitchcock
Minnie Eliza Hooper
💍 1883/1036

Bachelor
Spinster

Clerk in Holy orders

26
19

St Kofens Auckland
Auckland

4 months
19 years

St Matthews Church Hobson Street

83/934

John Hooper, father

4 April 1883

Rev. Wm Tebbs M.A. Church of England

No	132
Date of Notice	4 April 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Alfred Jerred Hitchcock	Minnie Eliza Hooper
	💍 1883/1036
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Clerk in Holy orders
Age	26	19
Dwelling Place	St Kofens Auckland	Auckland
Length of Residence	4 months	19 years
Marriage Place	St Matthews Church Hobson Street
Folio	83/934
Consent	John Hooper, father
Date of Certificate	4 April 1883
Officiating Minister	Rev. Wm Tebbs M.A. Church of England

133

5 April 1883

John Martin
Mary Brady

John Martin
Mary Brady
💍 1883/738

Bachelor
Spinster

Painter

23
22

Auckland
Auckland

23 years
22 years

Office of the Regr. of Marriages Auckland

83/827

5 April 1883

J. Owen Lord Dep. Regr.

No	133
Date of Notice	5 April 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Martin	Mary Brady
	💍 1883/738
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Painter
Age	23	22
Dwelling Place	Auckland	Auckland
Length of Residence	23 years	22 years
Marriage Place	Office of the Regr. of Marriages Auckland
Folio	83/827
Consent
Date of Certificate	5 April 1883
Officiating Minister	J. Owen Lord Dep. Regr.

134

7 April 1883

Alfred Francis Gardner
Mary Dora Worms

Alfred Frank Gardner
Mary Dora Worms
💍 1883/804

Bachelor
Spinster

Storeman
Tailoress

43
20

Ponsonby
Ponsonby

2 years
20 years

St Benedicts Church Newton

83/809

7 April 1883

Very Rev. J. P. O'Downey Roman Catholic

No	134
Date of Notice	7 April 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Alfred Francis Gardner	Mary Dora Worms
BDM Match (93%)	Alfred Frank Gardner	Mary Dora Worms
	💍 1883/804
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Storeman	Tailoress
Age	43	20
Dwelling Place	Ponsonby	Ponsonby
Length of Residence	2 years	20 years
Marriage Place	St Benedicts Church Newton
Folio	83/809
Consent
Date of Certificate	7 April 1883
Officiating Minister	Very Rev. J. P. O'Downey Roman Catholic

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).