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 487

District of Napier Quarter ending 30 September 1883

No	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
55	William Henry Lory Elizabeth Lory	William Henry Parr Elizabeth Dawson 💍 1883/376 William Henry August Elizabeth Frost 💍 1883/308 William Hyland Elizabeth Cox 💍 1884/456 William Henry King Elizabeth Prideaux 💍 1883/284 William Henry Coulteo Elizabeth Hyndman 💍 1884/493 William Henry Foden Elizabeth Amelia Jones 💍 1883/1509 William Miller Elizabeth Robb 💍 1883/518 William Strange Elizabeth Rowe 💍 1884/385 William Henry Richards Elizabeth Donaldson 💍 1883/1454 William Owen Niccolls Elizabeth Warin 💍 1884/85 William Barnett Elizabeth Irons 💍 1883/2524 William Leonard Forbes Martin Elizabeth Nolan 💍 1883/2080 William Coster Elizabeth Shaw 💍 1883/2599 William Kilmister Elizabeth Wall 💍 1883/1007	Bachelor Spinster	Labourer	21 17	Residence of Mr House Puketapu	years year	St Johns Church	83/2024	Hannibal Lyne Lory, father of minor	3 July 1883	Rev Ch Luke English Church
56	William Henry Lory Elizabeth Lory	William Henry Parr Elizabeth Dawson 💍 1883/376 William Henry August Elizabeth Frost 💍 1883/308 William Hyland Elizabeth Cox 💍 1884/456 William Henry King Elizabeth Prideaux 💍 1883/284 William Henry Coulteo Elizabeth Hyndman 💍 1884/493 William Henry Foden Elizabeth Amelia Jones 💍 1883/1509 William Miller Elizabeth Robb 💍 1883/518 William Strange Elizabeth Rowe 💍 1884/385 William Henry Richards Elizabeth Donaldson 💍 1883/1454 William Owen Niccolls Elizabeth Warin 💍 1884/85 William Barnett Elizabeth Irons 💍 1883/2524 William Leonard Forbes Martin Elizabeth Nolan 💍 1883/2080 William Coster Elizabeth Shaw 💍 1883/2599 William Kilmister Elizabeth Wall 💍 1883/1007	Bachelor Spinster	Labourer	21 17	St Johns Church Napier	month months	Registrar Office	83/2039		11 July 1883	Rev De Berdt Hovell English Church
57	William Henry Lory Elizabeth Lory	William Henry Parr Elizabeth Dawson 💍 1883/376 William Henry August Elizabeth Frost 💍 1883/308 William Hyland Elizabeth Cox 💍 1884/456 William Henry King Elizabeth Prideaux 💍 1883/284 William Henry Coulteo Elizabeth Hyndman 💍 1884/493 William Henry Foden Elizabeth Amelia Jones 💍 1883/1509 William Miller Elizabeth Robb 💍 1883/518 William Strange Elizabeth Rowe 💍 1884/385 William Henry Richards Elizabeth Donaldson 💍 1883/1454 William Owen Niccolls Elizabeth Warin 💍 1884/85 William Barnett Elizabeth Irons 💍 1883/2524 William Leonard Forbes Martin Elizabeth Nolan 💍 1883/2080 William Coster Elizabeth Shaw 💍 1883/2599 William Kilmister Elizabeth Wall 💍 1883/1007	Bachelor Spinster	Labourer	21 17	Residence of S Spence Taradale	years years	St Johns Church	83/2027		17 July 1883	Registrar Napier
58	William Henry Lory Elizabeth Lory	William Henry Parr Elizabeth Dawson 💍 1883/376 William Henry August Elizabeth Frost 💍 1883/308 William Hyland Elizabeth Cox 💍 1884/456 William Henry King Elizabeth Prideaux 💍 1883/284 William Henry Coulteo Elizabeth Hyndman 💍 1884/493 William Henry Foden Elizabeth Amelia Jones 💍 1883/1509 William Miller Elizabeth Robb 💍 1883/518 William Strange Elizabeth Rowe 💍 1884/385 William Henry Richards Elizabeth Donaldson 💍 1883/1454 William Owen Niccolls Elizabeth Warin 💍 1884/85 William Barnett Elizabeth Irons 💍 1883/2524 William Leonard Forbes Martin Elizabeth Nolan 💍 1883/2080 William Coster Elizabeth Shaw 💍 1883/2599 William Kilmister Elizabeth Wall 💍 1883/1007	Bachelor Spinster	Labourer	21 17	St Johns Church Napier	days years	Residence of S Spence	83/2029		18 July 1883	Rev D Didey Presbyterian
59	William Henry Lory Elizabeth Lory	William Henry Parr Elizabeth Dawson 💍 1883/376 William Henry August Elizabeth Frost 💍 1883/308 William Hyland Elizabeth Cox 💍 1884/456 William Henry King Elizabeth Prideaux 💍 1883/284 William Henry Coulteo Elizabeth Hyndman 💍 1884/493 William Henry Foden Elizabeth Amelia Jones 💍 1883/1509 William Miller Elizabeth Robb 💍 1883/518 William Strange Elizabeth Rowe 💍 1884/385 William Henry Richards Elizabeth Donaldson 💍 1883/1454 William Owen Niccolls Elizabeth Warin 💍 1884/85 William Barnett Elizabeth Irons 💍 1883/2524 William Leonard Forbes Martin Elizabeth Nolan 💍 1883/2080 William Coster Elizabeth Shaw 💍 1883/2599 William Kilmister Elizabeth Wall 💍 1883/1007	Bachelor Spinster	Labourer	21 17	Residence of Mr B Nicoll Papakura Papakura Auckland	year year	Residence of Mr B Nicoll Papakura	83/2040		19 July 1883	Rev De Berdt Hovell English Church
60	William Henry Lory Elizabeth Lory	William Henry Parr Elizabeth Dawson 💍 1883/376 William Henry August Elizabeth Frost 💍 1883/308 William Hyland Elizabeth Cox 💍 1884/456 William Henry King Elizabeth Prideaux 💍 1883/284 William Henry Coulteo Elizabeth Hyndman 💍 1884/493 William Henry Foden Elizabeth Amelia Jones 💍 1883/1509 William Miller Elizabeth Robb 💍 1883/518 William Strange Elizabeth Rowe 💍 1884/385 William Henry Richards Elizabeth Donaldson 💍 1883/1454 William Owen Niccolls Elizabeth Warin 💍 1884/85 William Barnett Elizabeth Irons 💍 1883/2524 William Leonard Forbes Martin Elizabeth Nolan 💍 1883/2080 William Coster Elizabeth Shaw 💍 1883/2599 William Kilmister Elizabeth Wall 💍 1883/1007	Bachelor Spinster	Labourer	21 17	Residence of Mr Anderson Moheo	year year	Residence of Mr Anderson	83/2030		25 July 1883	Rev M Norrie Presbyterian
61	William Henry Lory Elizabeth Lory	William Henry Parr Elizabeth Dawson 💍 1883/376 William Henry August Elizabeth Frost 💍 1883/308 William Hyland Elizabeth Cox 💍 1884/456 William Henry King Elizabeth Prideaux 💍 1883/284 William Henry Coulteo Elizabeth Hyndman 💍 1884/493 William Henry Foden Elizabeth Amelia Jones 💍 1883/1509 William Miller Elizabeth Robb 💍 1883/518 William Strange Elizabeth Rowe 💍 1884/385 William Henry Richards Elizabeth Donaldson 💍 1883/1454 William Owen Niccolls Elizabeth Warin 💍 1884/85 William Barnett Elizabeth Irons 💍 1883/2524 William Leonard Forbes Martin Elizabeth Nolan 💍 1883/2080 William Coster Elizabeth Shaw 💍 1883/2599 William Kilmister Elizabeth Wall 💍 1883/1007	Bachelor Spinster	Labourer	21 17	Residence of Mr Garry Napier	days years	Residence of Mr Garry	83/2037		4 August 1883	Rev H Nichol Presbyterian
62	William Henry Lory Elizabeth Lory	William Henry Parr Elizabeth Dawson 💍 1883/376 William Henry August Elizabeth Frost 💍 1883/308 William Hyland Elizabeth Cox 💍 1884/456 William Henry King Elizabeth Prideaux 💍 1883/284 William Henry Coulteo Elizabeth Hyndman 💍 1884/493 William Henry Foden Elizabeth Amelia Jones 💍 1883/1509 William Miller Elizabeth Robb 💍 1883/518 William Strange Elizabeth Rowe 💍 1884/385 William Henry Richards Elizabeth Donaldson 💍 1883/1454 William Owen Niccolls Elizabeth Warin 💍 1884/85 William Barnett Elizabeth Irons 💍 1883/2524 William Leonard Forbes Martin Elizabeth Nolan 💍 1883/2080 William Coster Elizabeth Shaw 💍 1883/2599 William Kilmister Elizabeth Wall 💍 1883/1007	Bachelor Spinster	Labourer	21 17	Residence of Mr Garry Napier	days years	Residence of Mr Garry	83/2031	John Garry father	9 August 1883	Rev J. J. Lewis Wesleyan

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 1898. More registers will be added when the Archives NZ Wellington reading room re-opens in September 2025.

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).