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 341

District of Wanganui Quarter ending 30 September 1883 Registrar Garland Wm Woon

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

20 July 1883

George Randal
Jane Goodwin Day

George Randall
Jane Goodwin Day
💍 1883/1806

Bachelor
Spinster

Clerk

28
19

Wanganui
Wanganui

3 years
19 years

In the residence of Rev. W. J. Williams, Wicksteed St, Wanganui

83/1927

20 July 1883

Rev. W. J. Williams, Wesleyan

No	32
Date of Notice	20 July 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Randal	Jane Goodwin Day
BDM Match (96%)	George Randall	Jane Goodwin Day
	💍 1883/1806
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Clerk
Age	28	19
Dwelling Place	Wanganui	Wanganui
Length of Residence	3 years	19 years
Marriage Place	In the residence of Rev. W. J. Williams, Wicksteed St, Wanganui
Folio	83/1927
Consent
Date of Certificate	20 July 1883
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. J. Williams, Wesleyan

6 August 1883

James Mansfield Beechey
Elizabeth Harriett Harbidge

James Mansfield Beechey
Elizabeth Harbidge
💍 1883/1813

Bachelor
Spinster

Schoolmaster
Schoolmistress

22
28

Wanganui
Wanganui

3 months
3 months

In the Office of the Registrar of Marriages, Wanganui

83/1931

6 August 1883

F. H. Woon, Registrar

No	33
Date of Notice	6 August 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Mansfield Beechey	Elizabeth Harriett Harbidge
BDM Match (83%)	James Mansfield Beechey	Elizabeth Harbidge
	💍 1883/1813
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Schoolmaster	Schoolmistress
Age	22	28
Dwelling Place	Wanganui	Wanganui
Length of Residence	3 months	3 months
Marriage Place	In the Office of the Registrar of Marriages, Wanganui
Folio	83/1931
Consent
Date of Certificate	6 August 1883
Officiating Minister	F. H. Woon, Registrar

20 August 1883

Louis Sievers
Ruth Scott

Louis Sievers
Ruth Maria Elizabeth Scott
💍 1883/1810

Bachelor
Widow

Labourer

32
24

Wanganui
Wanganui

10 months
4 years

In the Roman Catholic Church, Wanganui

83/1932

20 August 1883

Rev. C. H. Kirk, Roman Catholic

No	34
Date of Notice	20 August 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Louis Sievers	Ruth Scott
BDM Match (69%)	Louis Sievers	Ruth Maria Elizabeth Scott
	💍 1883/1810
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Labourer
Age	32	24
Dwelling Place	Wanganui	Wanganui
Length of Residence	10 months	4 years
Marriage Place	In the Roman Catholic Church, Wanganui
Folio	83/1932
Consent
Date of Certificate	20 August 1883
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. H. Kirk, Roman Catholic

22 August 1883

John Clifton Rowland
Agnes Flora Wann

John Clifton Rowland Clark
Agnes Flora Wann
💍 1883/1824

Bachelor
Spinster

Artist

23
22

Wanganui
Wanganui

18 months
2 years

In the Church of England, Wanganui

83/1924

22 August 1883

Rev. T. L. Tudor, Church of England

No	35
Date of Notice	22 August 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Clifton Rowland	Agnes Flora Wann
BDM Match (88%)	John Clifton Rowland Clark	Agnes Flora Wann
	💍 1883/1824
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Artist
Age	23	22
Dwelling Place	Wanganui	Wanganui
Length of Residence	18 months	2 years
Marriage Place	In the Church of England, Wanganui
Folio	83/1924
Consent
Date of Certificate	22 August 1883
Officiating Minister	Rev. T. L. Tudor, Church of England

4 September 1883

John Forbes
Isabella Calman

John Forbes
Isabella Calman
💍 1883/3589

Bachelor
Spinster

Watchmaker

26
25

Wanganui
Wanganui

3 years
25 years

In the Presbyterian Manse, Wanganui

83/1930

4 September 1883

Rev. Jas. Treadwell, Presbyterian

No	36
Date of Notice	4 September 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Forbes	Isabella Calman
	💍 1883/3589
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Watchmaker
Age	26	25
Dwelling Place	Wanganui	Wanganui
Length of Residence	3 years	25 years
Marriage Place	In the Presbyterian Manse, Wanganui
Folio	83/1930
Consent
Date of Certificate	4 September 1883
Officiating Minister	Rev. Jas. Treadwell, Presbyterian

5 September 1883

Thomas Ward
Marianne Edith Sibrow

Thomas Ward
Marianne Edith Gibson
💍 1883/1825

Bachelor
Spinster

Telegraphist

27
19

Wanganui
Wanganui

3 years
19 years

In the Church of England, Wanganui

83/1929

Margaret Dawson, mother

5 September 1883

Rev. T. L. Tudor, Church of England

No	37
Date of Notice	5 September 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Ward	Marianne Edith Sibrow
BDM Match (93%)	Thomas Ward	Marianne Edith Gibson
	💍 1883/1825
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Telegraphist
Age	27	19
Dwelling Place	Wanganui	Wanganui
Length of Residence	3 years	19 years
Marriage Place	In the Church of England, Wanganui
Folio	83/1929
Consent	Margaret Dawson, mother
Date of Certificate	5 September 1883
Officiating Minister	Rev. T. L. Tudor, Church of England

7 September 1883

Edgar Hall Carew
Amy Broad

Edgar Hall Carew
Amy Broad
💍 1883/1807

Widower
Spinster

Resident
Magistrate

46
18

Wanganui
Wanganui

3 days
3 years

In the Wesleyan Church, Wanganui

83/1928

Corona Easly Broad, mother

7 September 1883

Rev. W. J. Williams, Wesleyan

No	38
Date of Notice	7 September 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edgar Hall Carew	Amy Broad
	💍 1883/1807
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Resident	Magistrate
Age	46	18
Dwelling Place	Wanganui	Wanganui
Length of Residence	3 days	3 years
Marriage Place	In the Wesleyan Church, Wanganui
Folio	83/1928
Consent	Corona Easly Broad, mother
Date of Certificate	7 September 1883
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. J. Williams, Wesleyan

10 September 1883

James Joseph Boyle
Joanna Dempsey

James Joseph Boyle
Johanna Mary Dempsey
💍 1883/1811

Bachelor
Spinster

Compositor

24
24

Wanganui
Wanganui

17 years
9 years

In the Roman Catholic Church, Wanganui

83/1933

10 September 1883

Rev. C. H. Kirk, Roman Catholic

No	39
Date of Notice	10 September 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Joseph Boyle	Joanna Dempsey
BDM Match (85%)	James Joseph Boyle	Johanna Mary Dempsey
	💍 1883/1811
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Compositor
Age	24	24
Dwelling Place	Wanganui	Wanganui
Length of Residence	17 years	9 years
Marriage Place	In the Roman Catholic Church, Wanganui
Folio	83/1933
Consent
Date of Certificate	10 September 1883
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. H. Kirk, Roman Catholic

These records have been automatically transcribed and must be verified using the page image (below)

100% Contrast

100% Brightness

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).