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 551

District of Nelson Quarter ending 31 December 1883 Registrar Robert Niston

No	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
47	1 October 1883	Peter Jamieson Margaret Sinclair	Peter Jamieson Margaret Sinclair 💍 1883/2830	Bachelor Spinster	Labourer Servant	29 24	Waimea Road Nelson Brougham Street Nelson	5 weeks 9 years	Residence of John Sinclair Waimea Road Nelson	83/2949		1 October 1883	Revd John Beckenham Congregational Church
48	1 October 1883	George Sigley Mary Ann Vant	George Sigley Mary Anne Vant 💍 1883/3381	Bachelor Spinster	Blacksmith Dressmaker	24 24	Hardy Street Nelson Brook Street Nelson	4 days 6 weeks	Chapel of Holy Evangelists Bishopdale	83/3616		1 October 1883	Revd Charles William Jennings, Church of England
49	8 October 1883	Walter William Walin Ann Inglis Fyfe	Walter William Watson Ann Inglis Fyfe 💍 1883/2817	Bachelor Spinster	Carpenter Nil	52 54	Collingwood Street Nelson Collingwood Street Nelson	3 days 3 days	Office of Registrar of Marriages Nelson	83/2988		8 October 1883	Mr Kiston Registrar
50	11 October 1883	James Pearse Julia Sharp	James Pearse Julia Sharp 💍 1883/2831	Bachelor Spinster	Fireman Servant	27 20	Haven Road Nelson Waimea Road Nelson	19 months 5 years	Residence of James Pearse Haven Road Nelson	83/2980	George Sharp, father	11 October 1883	Revd John Beckenham Congregational Church
51	11 October 1883	Joseph Stephen Newport Sarah Linck	Joseph Stephen Newport Sarah Livick 💍 1883/2936	Bachelor Spinster	Farmer Nil	23 23	Maitai Valley Nelson Millin Street Nelson	23 years 23 years	Presbyterian Church Nelson	83/2963		11 October 1883	Revd Patrick Calder Presbyterian Church
52	12 October 1883	George Holdaway Alice Dale	George Holdaway Alice Dale 💍 1883/3619	Bachelor Spinster	Labourer Nil	22 26	Richmond Waimen Richmond Waimen	22 years 20 years	Residence of George Holdaway Richmond	83/2974	From parents having authority	27 October 1883	Revd William Kirk Wesleyan Church
53	17 October 1883	George Cumming Margaret Clifford	George Cummings Margaret Clifford 💍 1883/2941	Bachelor Spinster	Farmer Servant	22 26	Wakapuaka Nelson Manuka Road Nelson	22 years 13 years	St Peters by the Strand Wakapuaka	83/2968	No person having authority	17 October 1883	Revd Walter Herbert Kay Church of England
54	25 October 1883	George Raikes Carlotta Dewson	George Raikes Carlotta Dewson 💍 1883/2944	Bachelor Spinster	Clerk Nil	21 18	Nile Street Nelson Trafalgar Street Nelson	5 years 3 years	Residence of Charles Cullen Trafalgar Street Nelson	83/2971	No person having authority	1 November 1883	Revd James Leighton Church of England
55	1 November 1883	John Willis Winter Annie Gorvill	John Willis Winter Annie Corkill 💍 1883/2832	Bachelor Spinster	Labourer Nil	30 18	Washington Valley Nelson Washington Valley Nelson	1 year 2 months	Residence of John Willis Washington Valley Nelson	83/2981	William Gorvill father	1 November 1883	Revd John Beckenham Congregational Church
56	5 November 1883	Alexander McGee Emily Amelia O'Beirne	Alexander McGee Emily Amelia OBeirne 💍 1883/2947	Bachelor Spinster	Barman Milliner	31 23	Bridge Street Nelson Bridge Street Nelson	31 years 1 month	St Mary's Catholic Church Nelson	83/2944		5 November 1883	Revd William Mahomey Roman Catholic Church
57	6 November 1883	George William Lock Francena Maria Krahagen	George William Lock Francena Maria Krahagen 💍 1883/2834	Widower Spinster	Iron Moulder Servant	40 26	Gloucester Street Nelson Wellington Street Nelson	18 months 20 years	Residence of Walter Krahagen Wellington Street Nelson	83/2983	Walter Krahagen father	6 November 1883	Revd John Beckenham Congregational Church
58	8 November 1883	Henry Pope Caroline Cotton	Henry Pope Caroline Cotton 💍 1883/2833	Bachelor Spinster	Labourer Nil	21 19	Collingwood Street Nelson Grove Street Nelson	3 days 19 years	Residence of James Henry Cotton Grove Street Nelson	83/2982	James Henry Cotton father	8 November 1883	Revd John Beckenham Congregational Church
59	10 November 1883	Henry Windleburn Dorothy Mary Siggletion		Bachelor Spinster	Farmer Nil	28 21	Hope Waimen East Hope Waimen East	3 1/2 years 21 years	Residence of Christian Siggletion Hope	83/2978		10 November 1883	Revd Herman Wilhelm Kowert Lutheran Church
60	30 November 1883	William Craven Mirfin Sara Walker	William Craven Mirfin Sara Walker 💍 1883/2938	Bachelor Spinster	Farmer Nil	29 29	Trafalgar Street Nelson Cambria Street Nelson	3 days 29 years	Residence of Capt I. Walker Cambria Street Nelson	83/2965		30 November 1883	Revd Francis Isaac Jones Church of England

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 1899. 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).