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 115

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

145

11 April 1883

Thomas Hamilton
Mary Strong

Thomas Hamilton
Mary Strong
💍 1883/740

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Cook

42
23

Auckland
Auckland

5 years
4 years

Office of the Registrar of Marriages

83/829

11 April 1883

J. Owen Lord, Dep. Reg.

No	145
Date of Notice	11 April 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Hamilton	Mary Strong
	💍 1883/740
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Cook
Age	42	23
Dwelling Place	Auckland	Auckland
Length of Residence	5 years	4 years
Marriage Place	Office of the Registrar of Marriages
Folio	83/829
Consent
Date of Certificate	11 April 1883
Officiating Minister	J. Owen Lord, Dep. Reg.

146

11 April 1883

Thomas Varcoe
Elizabeth Jane Robins

Thomas Varcoe
Elizabeth Jane Robins
💍 1883/747

Thomas Scholes
Elizabeth Mary Robins
💍 1883/31

Bachelor
Spinster

Ship Carpenter
Domestic Duties

30
31

North Shore
North Shore

5 years
14 days

Dwelling house of Thos. Varcoe, North Shore

83/815

11 April 1883

Rev. G. W. J. Spence, Wesleyan

No	146
Date of Notice	11 April 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Varcoe	Elizabeth Jane Robins
	💍 1883/747
BDM Match (71%)	Thomas Scholes	Elizabeth Mary Robins
	💍 1883/31
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Ship Carpenter	Domestic Duties
Age	30	31
Dwelling Place	North Shore	North Shore
Length of Residence	5 years	14 days
Marriage Place	Dwelling house of Thos. Varcoe, North Shore
Folio	83/815
Consent
Date of Certificate	11 April 1883
Officiating Minister	Rev. G. W. J. Spence, Wesleyan

147

13 April 1883

Samuel John Smith
Mary Ann Chambers

Samuel John Smith
Mary Annie Chambers
💍 1883/730

Bachelor
Spinster

Tailor
Printeress

25
21

Ponsonby
Auckland

7 years
20 years

Methodist Church, Franklyn Road

83/820

13 April 1883

Rev. Jas. Guy, Primitive Methodist

No	147
Date of Notice	13 April 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Samuel John Smith	Mary Ann Chambers
BDM Match (95%)	Samuel John Smith	Mary Annie Chambers
	💍 1883/730
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Tailor	Printeress
Age	25	21
Dwelling Place	Ponsonby	Auckland
Length of Residence	7 years	20 years
Marriage Place	Methodist Church, Franklyn Road
Folio	83/820
Consent
Date of Certificate	13 April 1883
Officiating Minister	Rev. Jas. Guy, Primitive Methodist

148

14 April 1883

James Murdock
Ellen Kate Foley

James Murdoch
Ellen Kate Foley
💍 1883/905

Bachelor
Spinster

Engineer

37
28

Auckland
Auckland

6 weeks
3 days

St. Patrick's Cathedral, Auckland

83/900

14 April 1883

Rev. Walter Macdonald, Roman Catholic

No	148
Date of Notice	14 April 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Murdock	Ellen Kate Foley
BDM Match (96%)	James Murdoch	Ellen Kate Foley
	💍 1883/905
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Engineer
Age	37	28
Dwelling Place	Auckland	Auckland
Length of Residence	6 weeks	3 days
Marriage Place	St. Patrick's Cathedral, Auckland
Folio	83/900
Consent
Date of Certificate	14 April 1883
Officiating Minister	Rev. Walter Macdonald, Roman Catholic

149

16 April 1883

Richard Markham Bowden
Rose Ellen Lawrence

Richard Morkham Bowden
Rose Ellen Lawrence
💍 1883/773

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer

27
21

Auckland
Auckland

13 years
10 years

Office of the Registrar of Marriages

83/830

16 April 1883

J. Owen Lord, Dep. Reg.

No	149
Date of Notice	16 April 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Richard Markham Bowden	Rose Ellen Lawrence
BDM Match (98%)	Richard Morkham Bowden	Rose Ellen Lawrence
	💍 1883/773
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer
Age	27	21
Dwelling Place	Auckland	Auckland
Length of Residence	13 years	10 years
Marriage Place	Office of the Registrar of Marriages
Folio	83/830
Consent
Date of Certificate	16 April 1883
Officiating Minister	J. Owen Lord, Dep. Reg.

150

17 April 1883

Charles Chamberlin
Ida Talbert Williams

Charles Chamberlin
Ida Talbert Williams
💍 1883/1038

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer

29
18

Ponsonby
Auckland

29 years
18 years

St. Matthew's Church, Auckland

83/839

J. G. Williams, father

17 April 1883

Rev. Wm. Tebbs, Auckland C.E.

No	150
Date of Notice	17 April 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Chamberlin	Ida Talbert Williams
	💍 1883/1038
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	29	18
Dwelling Place	Ponsonby	Auckland
Length of Residence	29 years	18 years
Marriage Place	St. Matthew's Church, Auckland
Folio	83/839
Consent	J. G. Williams, father
Date of Certificate	17 April 1883
Officiating Minister	Rev. Wm. Tebbs, Auckland C.E.

151

17 April 1883

Thomas James Branney
Henrietta Taylor Russell

Thomas James Brassey
Henrietta Taylor Russell
💍 1883/976

Bachelor
Spinster

Insurance Manager

29
27

Napier
Remuera

7 months
25 years

St. Mark's Church, Remuera

83/926

17 April 1883

Ven. Archt. L. Pritt B.A., Church of England

No	151
Date of Notice	17 April 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas James Branney	Henrietta Taylor Russell
BDM Match (95%)	Thomas James Brassey	Henrietta Taylor Russell
	💍 1883/976
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Insurance Manager
Age	29	27
Dwelling Place	Napier	Remuera
Length of Residence	7 months	25 years
Marriage Place	St. Mark's Church, Remuera
Folio	83/926
Consent
Date of Certificate	17 April 1883
Officiating Minister	Ven. Archt. L. Pritt B.A., Church of England

152

17 April 1883

Ernest Saxwell
Mary Ann Dougherty

Ernest Saxwell
Mary Ann Dougherty
💍 1883/910

Bachelor
Spinster

Steward
Housemaid

25
18

Auckland
Auckland

6 months
18 years

St. Patrick's Church, Auckland

83/904

R. Dougherty, father

17 April 1883

Rev. Walter Macdonald, Roman Catholic

No	152
Date of Notice	17 April 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Ernest Saxwell	Mary Ann Dougherty
	💍 1883/910
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Steward	Housemaid
Age	25	18
Dwelling Place	Auckland	Auckland
Length of Residence	6 months	18 years
Marriage Place	St. Patrick's Church, Auckland
Folio	83/904
Consent	R. Dougherty, father
Date of Certificate	17 April 1883
Officiating Minister	Rev. Walter Macdonald, Roman Catholic

153

17 April 1883

George Foster Saunders
Eliza Head

George Foster Saunders
Eliza Head
💍 1883/971

Bachelor
Spinster

Cabinet Maker
Domestic Duties

27
22

Auckland
Auckland

11 years
22 years

Dwelling house of Tom Head, Grace St.

83/921

17 April 1883

Rev. Thos. Spurgeon, Baptist

No	153
Date of Notice	17 April 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Foster Saunders	Eliza Head
	💍 1883/971
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Cabinet Maker	Domestic Duties
Age	27	22
Dwelling Place	Auckland	Auckland
Length of Residence	11 years	22 years
Marriage Place	Dwelling house of Tom Head, Grace St.
Folio	83/921
Consent
Date of Certificate	17 April 1883
Officiating Minister	Rev. Thos. Spurgeon, Baptist

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).