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 720

District of Christchurch Quarter ending 30 June 1883 Registrar M. Parkerson

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

247

23 June 1883

James Leighton
Eliza Loukin

James Knighton
Eliza Tonkin
💍 1883/1200

Bachelor
Spinster

Stoker

29
30

Christchurch
Christchurch

9 years
4 years

In the Registrar's Office

83/1305

23 June 1883

M. Parkerson

No	247
Date of Notice	23 June 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Leighton	Eliza Loukin
BDM Match (85%)	James Knighton	Eliza Tonkin
	💍 1883/1200
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Stoker
Age	29	30
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	9 years	4 years
Marriage Place	In the Registrar's Office
Folio	83/1305
Consent
Date of Certificate	23 June 1883
Officiating Minister	M. Parkerson

248

23 June 1883

Henry Simpson
Sarah Elizabeth New

Henry Simpson
Sarah Elizabeth New
💍 1883/1185

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Servant

25
16

Christchurch
Christchurch

3 weeks
1 week

In the Opawa Church

83/1317

Elizabeth New, Mother

23 June 1883

Rev. J. G. Cholmondeley, Church of England

No	248
Date of Notice	23 June 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Henry Simpson	Sarah Elizabeth New
	💍 1883/1185
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Servant
Age	25	16
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	3 weeks	1 week
Marriage Place	In the Opawa Church
Folio	83/1317
Consent	Elizabeth New, Mother
Date of Certificate	23 June 1883
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. G. Cholmondeley, Church of England

249

25 June 1883

John C. Carroll
Norah Mary Dowd

John O'Carroll
Norah Mary Dowd
💍 1883/3147

Bachelor
Spinster

Storekeeper
Servant

30
23

Christchurch
Christchurch

3 days
4 years

In the Roman Catholic Church, Waikari

83/1352

25 June 1883

Rev. J. Guiarty, Roman Catholic

No	249
Date of Notice	25 June 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John C. Carroll	Norah Mary Dowd
BDM Match (90%)	John O'Carroll	Norah Mary Dowd
	💍 1883/3147
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Storekeeper	Servant
Age	30	23
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	3 days	4 years
Marriage Place	In the Roman Catholic Church, Waikari
Folio	83/1352
Consent
Date of Certificate	25 June 1883
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Guiarty, Roman Catholic

250

25 June 1883

Noah Miles Philpott
Jane Hill

Noah Miles Philpott
Jane Hill
💍 1883/2169

Bachelor
Spinster

Carpenter

30
27

St. Albans
St. Albans

30 years
27 years

In the House of Mrs. Hill

83/2256

25 June 1883

Rev. J. Aldred, Wesleyan

No	250
Date of Notice	25 June 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Noah Miles Philpott	Jane Hill
	💍 1883/2169
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carpenter
Age	30	27
Dwelling Place	St. Albans	St. Albans
Length of Residence	30 years	27 years
Marriage Place	In the House of Mrs. Hill
Folio	83/2256
Consent
Date of Certificate	25 June 1883
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Aldred, Wesleyan

251

25 June 1883

John William Bates
Ann Rossiter

John William Bates
Mary Ann Rossiter
💍 1883/1182

Bachelor
Spinster

Glass Merchant

23
27

Christchurch
Christchurch

3 years
10 years

In the House of John Wm. Bates, Gloucester Street

83/1314

25 June 1883

Rev. W. Tisley, Wesleyan

No	251
Date of Notice	25 June 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John William Bates	Ann Rossiter
BDM Match (85%)	John William Bates	Mary Ann Rossiter
	💍 1883/1182
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Glass Merchant
Age	23	27
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	3 years	10 years
Marriage Place	In the House of John Wm. Bates, Gloucester Street
Folio	83/1314
Consent
Date of Certificate	25 June 1883
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. Tisley, Wesleyan

252

26 June 1883

Frederick Francis Foster
Elizabeth Lawrence

Frederic Francis Foster
Anne Elizabeth Lawrence
💍 1883/1503

Bachelor
Spinster

Engineer

29
25

Christchurch
Christchurch

2 years
20 years

In St. Saviour's Church

83/1365

26 June 1883

Rev. H. S. Cocks, Church of England

No	252
Date of Notice	26 June 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Frederick Francis Foster	Elizabeth Lawrence
BDM Match (87%)	Frederic Francis Foster	Anne Elizabeth Lawrence
	💍 1883/1503
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Engineer
Age	29	25
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	2 years	20 years
Marriage Place	In St. Saviour's Church
Folio	83/1365
Consent
Date of Certificate	26 June 1883
Officiating Minister	Rev. H. S. Cocks, Church of England

253

26 June 1883

Charles Curtis
Jessie Langford

Charles Curtis
Jessie Langford
💍 1883/2074

Bachelor
Spinster

Storeman
Dressmaker

26
26

Christchurch
Christchurch

5 years
15 years

In the Sydenham Church

83/2191

26 June 1883

Rev. J. Flavell, Church of England

No	253
Date of Notice	26 June 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Curtis	Jessie Langford
	💍 1883/2074
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Storeman	Dressmaker
Age	26	26
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	5 years	15 years
Marriage Place	In the Sydenham Church
Folio	83/2191
Consent
Date of Certificate	26 June 1883
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Flavell, Church of England

254

27 June 1883

Henry Stedman
Mary Cense

Henry Stedman
Mary Ann Mapplebeck
💍 1883/1162

Bachelor
Spinster

Warder

33
28

Christchurch
Christchurch

22 years
3 years

In the Opawa Church

83/1318

27 June 1883

Rev. G. Cholmondeley, Church of England

No	254
Date of Notice	27 June 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Henry Stedman	Mary Cense
BDM Match (68%)	Henry Stedman	Mary Ann Mapplebeck
	💍 1883/1162
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Warder
Age	33	28
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	22 years	3 years
Marriage Place	In the Opawa Church
Folio	83/1318
Consent
Date of Certificate	27 June 1883
Officiating Minister	Rev. G. Cholmondeley, Church of England

255

28 June 1883

John Mien
Catherine Thornton

John Miln
Catherine Thornton
💍 1883/2115

Widower
Spinster

Farmer

55
24

Spreydon
Spreydon

30 years
7 years

In the House of Mr. Thornton

83/2232

28 June 1883

Rev. J. Christie, Presbyterian

No	255
Date of Notice	28 June 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Mien	Catherine Thornton
BDM Match (94%)	John Miln	Catherine Thornton
	💍 1883/2115
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	55	24
Dwelling Place	Spreydon	Spreydon
Length of Residence	30 years	7 years
Marriage Place	In the House of Mr. Thornton
Folio	83/2232
Consent
Date of Certificate	28 June 1883
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Christie, Presbyterian

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).