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 746

District of Christchurch Quarter ending 31 December 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

442

22 November 1883

Albert Harry Gooding Cooper
May Ann Burns

Albert Henry Gooding Cooper
Margaret Burns
💍 1883/2958

Bachelor
Spinster

Coachbuilder
Dressmaker

27
26

Linwood
Christchurch

2 years
4 years

Wesleyan Church

83/3061

22 November 1883

Rev. R. Best

No	442
Date of Notice	22 November 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Albert Harry Gooding Cooper	May Ann Burns
BDM Match (75%)	Albert Henry Gooding Cooper	Margaret Burns
	💍 1883/2958
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Coachbuilder	Dressmaker
Age	27	26
Dwelling Place	Linwood	Christchurch
Length of Residence	2 years	4 years
Marriage Place	Wesleyan Church
Folio	83/3061
Consent
Date of Certificate	22 November 1883
Officiating Minister	Rev. R. Best

443

24 November 1883

William Edward Leopold
Sarah Coulter

Bachelor
Spinster

Locomotive Fireman

21
21

Sydenham
Sydenham

3 years
3 years

St. Saviours Church

83/3633

24 November 1883

Rev. H. V. Cocks

No	443
Date of Notice	24 November 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Edward Leopold	Sarah Coulter
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Locomotive Fireman
Age	21	21
Dwelling Place	Sydenham	Sydenham
Length of Residence	3 years	3 years
Marriage Place	St. Saviours Church
Folio	83/3633
Consent
Date of Certificate	24 November 1883
Officiating Minister	Rev. H. V. Cocks

444

26 November 1883

Albert Everett
Ada Gordon

Albert Everett
Ada Gordon
💍 1883/3239

Bachelor
Spinster

Draper

26
20

Christchurch
Christchurch

3 days
3 days

St. John's Church

83/3139

26 November 1883

Rev. H. M. Watson

No	444
Date of Notice	26 November 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Albert Everett	Ada Gordon
	💍 1883/3239
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Draper
Age	26	20
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	St. John's Church
Folio	83/3139
Consent
Date of Certificate	26 November 1883
Officiating Minister	Rev. H. M. Watson

445

27 November 1883

Edward John Knowlesley
Annie Lynch

Edward John Knowsley
Mary Ann Lynch
💍 1883/3243

Bachelor
Spinster

Barman
Waitress

25
21

Christchurch
Christchurch

7 months
1 year

In the House of Mr. Howes

83/3125

27 November 1883

Rev. C. Dallaston

No	445
Date of Notice	27 November 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edward John Knowlesley	Annie Lynch
BDM Match (70%)	Edward John Knowsley	Mary Ann Lynch
	💍 1883/3243
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Barman	Waitress
Age	25	21
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	7 months	1 year
Marriage Place	In the House of Mr. Howes
Folio	83/3125
Consent
Date of Certificate	27 November 1883
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Dallaston

446

27 November 1883

John L'Estrange Carroll
Jane Wilkins

John L Estrange Carroll
Jane Firkins
💍 1883/325

Bachelor
Spinster

Clerk

23
22

Christchurch
Christchurch

3 days
3 days

In the Registrars Office

83/3091

27 November 1883

M. Parkerson

No	446
Date of Notice	27 November 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John L'Estrange Carroll	Jane Wilkins
BDM Match (90%)	John L Estrange Carroll	Jane Firkins
	💍 1883/325
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Clerk
Age	23	22
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	In the Registrars Office
Folio	83/3091
Consent
Date of Certificate	27 November 1883
Officiating Minister	M. Parkerson

447

28 November 1883

John Inglis Wright
Rankeilor Kilgour Stewart

John Inglis Wright
Rankeilor Kilgour Stewart
💍 1883/3107

Bachelor
Spinster

Stationer
Teacher

22
24

Christchurch
Christchurch

10 months
6 days

St. Pauls Church

83/3111

28 November 1883

Rev. I. Plushie

No	447
Date of Notice	28 November 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Inglis Wright	Rankeilor Kilgour Stewart
	💍 1883/3107
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Stationer	Teacher
Age	22	24
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	10 months	6 days
Marriage Place	St. Pauls Church
Folio	83/3111
Consent
Date of Certificate	28 November 1883
Officiating Minister	Rev. I. Plushie

448

28 November 1883

Arthur Morton
Sarah Balfour Clarke

Arthur Morton
Sarah Balfour Clarke
💍 1883/3305

Bachelor
Spinster

Railway Porter
Servant

27
27

Christchurch
Christchurch

2 years
3 years

St. Johns Church

83/3539

28 November 1883

Rev. C. Merton

No	448
Date of Notice	28 November 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Arthur Morton	Sarah Balfour Clarke
	💍 1883/3305
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Railway Porter	Servant
Age	27	27
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	2 years	3 years
Marriage Place	St. Johns Church
Folio	83/3539
Consent
Date of Certificate	28 November 1883
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Merton

449

28 November 1883

James Pyecroft
Mary Ann Cox

James Pycroft
Mary Ann Cox
💍 1883/3251

Bachelor
Spinster

Bricklayer

21
21

Christchurch
Christchurch

5 years
9 years

In the Baptist Church

83/3124

28 November 1883

Rev. C. Dallaston

No	449
Date of Notice	28 November 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Pyecroft	Mary Ann Cox
BDM Match (96%)	James Pycroft	Mary Ann Cox
	💍 1883/3251
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Bricklayer
Age	21	21
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	5 years	9 years
Marriage Place	In the Baptist Church
Folio	83/3124
Consent
Date of Certificate	28 November 1883
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Dallaston

450

28 November 1883

Frank Malbon
Ellesion Margaret Parkinson

Frank Malbon Allison
Margaret Parkinson
💍 1883/3075

Bachelor
Spinster

Accountant

31
24

Christchurch
Christchurch

20 years
10 years

In the House

83/3182

28 November 1883

Rev. W. Dinwiddie

No	450
Date of Notice	28 November 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Frank Malbon	Ellesion Margaret Parkinson
BDM Match (63%)	Frank Malbon Allison	Margaret Parkinson
	💍 1883/3075
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Accountant
Age	31	24
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	20 years	10 years
Marriage Place	In the House
Folio	83/3182
Consent
Date of Certificate	28 November 1883
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. Dinwiddie

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).