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 698 A

District of Christchurch Quarter ending 31 March 1883 Registrar M. Halkerson

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

9 February 1883

John Atkinson
Louisa Theresa Catherine Hunter

John Atkinson
Louisa Theresa Catherine Hunter
💍 1883/671

Bachelor
Spinster

Painter
Milliner

21
18

Sydenham
Sydenham

7 years
8 years

In the House of Rev. T. H. Cairns

83/1426

Mary Anne Hunte, Mother

9 February 1883

Rev. T. H. Cairns, Presbyterian

No	44
Date of Notice	9 February 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Atkinson	Louisa Theresa Catherine Hunter
	💍 1883/671
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Painter	Milliner
Age	21	18
Dwelling Place	Sydenham	Sydenham
Length of Residence	7 years	8 years
Marriage Place	In the House of Rev. T. H. Cairns
Folio	83/1426
Consent	Mary Anne Hunte, Mother
Date of Certificate	9 February 1883
Officiating Minister	Rev. T. H. Cairns, Presbyterian

12 February 1883

Shrewsbury Frederic Kingford
May Williams

Shrewsbury Fredrick Kingsford
Mary Williams
💍 1883/698

Bachelor
Spinster

Carpenter

22
20

Durham Street
Christchurch

12 years
5 years

In the Wesleyan Church

83/1430

Susan Baker, Mother

12 February 1883

Rev. Z. Best, Wesleyan

No	45
Date of Notice	12 February 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Shrewsbury Frederic Kingford	May Williams
BDM Match (91%)	Shrewsbury Fredrick Kingsford	Mary Williams
	💍 1883/698
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carpenter
Age	22	20
Dwelling Place	Durham Street	Christchurch
Length of Residence	12 years	5 years
Marriage Place	In the Wesleyan Church
Folio	83/1430
Consent	Susan Baker, Mother
Date of Certificate	12 February 1883
Officiating Minister	Rev. Z. Best, Wesleyan

12 February 1883

William Oakley
Louisa Crabb

William Oakley
Louisa Crabb
💍 1883/460

Bachelor
Spinster

Painter
Servant

22
17

Christchurch
Christchurch

2 years
2 years

In the Registrars Office

83/452

Thomas Christopher Crabb Father

12 February 1883

Registrar Births & Marriages

No	46
Date of Notice	12 February 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Oakley	Louisa Crabb
	💍 1883/460
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Painter	Servant
Age	22	17
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	2 years	2 years
Marriage Place	In the Registrars Office
Folio	83/452
Consent	Thomas Christopher Crabb Father
Date of Certificate	12 February 1883
Officiating Minister	Registrar Births & Marriages

13 February 1883

Matthew Cain
Fanny Brett

Matthew Cain
Fanny Brett
💍 1883/461

Bachelor
Spinster

Mariner
Servant

28
18

Christchurch
Christchurch

14 days
14 days

In the Registrars Office

83/1453

George Brett, Father

13 February 1883

William Brett, Registrar Marriages

No	47
Date of Notice	13 February 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Matthew Cain	Fanny Brett
	💍 1883/461
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Mariner	Servant
Age	28	18
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	14 days	14 days
Marriage Place	In the Registrars Office
Folio	83/1453
Consent	George Brett, Father
Date of Certificate	13 February 1883
Officiating Minister	William Brett, Registrar Marriages

13 February 1883

George Eastwick
Annie Hopping

George Eastwick
Anne Snelling
💍 1883/3317

Widower
Widow

Dealer
Housekeeper

33
29

Woolston
Woolston

5 years
2 years

In the Woolston Church

83/1551

13 February 1883

Rev. C. I. Martin, Church of England

No	48
Date of Notice	13 February 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Eastwick	Annie Hopping
BDM Match (77%)	George Eastwick	Anne Snelling
	💍 1883/3317
Condition	Widower	Widow
Profession	Dealer	Housekeeper
Age	33	29
Dwelling Place	Woolston	Woolston
Length of Residence	5 years	2 years
Marriage Place	In the Woolston Church
Folio	83/1551
Consent
Date of Certificate	13 February 1883
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. I. Martin, Church of England

13 February 1883

Peter Wills
Mina Bulieu

Peter Wills
Eliza Dulien
💍 1883/3354

Bachelor
Spinster

Wesleyan Minister

29
22

Christchurch
Christchurch

1 week
2 years

In the House, Otago of Mr. Bulieu

83/1589

13 February 1883

Rev. J. Smalley, Wesleyan

No	49
Date of Notice	13 February 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Peter Wills	Mina Bulieu
BDM Match (79%)	Peter Wills	Eliza Dulien
	💍 1883/3354
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Wesleyan Minister
Age	29	22
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	1 week	2 years
Marriage Place	In the House, Otago of Mr. Bulieu
Folio	83/1589
Consent
Date of Certificate	13 February 1883
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Smalley, Wesleyan

13 February 1883

William Hyde
Florence Vernall

William Hyde
Margaret Florence Vomale
💍 1883/483

Bachelor
Spinster

Bootmaker

24
21

Christchurch
St. Albans

4 years
3 years

In the House of Mr. Vernall

83/1509

13 February 1883

Rev. J. Aldred, Wesleyan

No	50
Date of Notice	13 February 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Hyde	Florence Vernall
BDM Match (73%)	William Hyde	Margaret Florence Vomale
	💍 1883/483
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Bootmaker
Age	24	21
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	St. Albans
Length of Residence	4 years	3 years
Marriage Place	In the House of Mr. Vernall
Folio	83/1509
Consent
Date of Certificate	13 February 1883
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Aldred, Wesleyan

14 February 1883

John Parsons Wobarton Lees
Lucy Jane Ward

John Parsons Wobarton Lei
Lucy Jane Ward
💍 1883/932

Bachelor
Spinster

Grocer

29
19

Christchurch
Christchurch

1 year
1 year

In St. Pauls Church

83/1507

James Ward, Father

14 February 1883

Rev. J. Muskie, Presbyterian

No	51
Date of Notice	14 February 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Parsons Wobarton Lees	Lucy Jane Ward
BDM Match (96%)	John Parsons Wobarton Lei	Lucy Jane Ward
	💍 1883/932
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Grocer
Age	29	19
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	1 year	1 year
Marriage Place	In St. Pauls Church
Folio	83/1507
Consent	James Ward, Father
Date of Certificate	14 February 1883
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Muskie, Presbyterian

15 February 1883

Charles Arthur Lees
Mary Annie Mabel Thornton

Charles Arthur Lees
Mary Annie Mabel Thornton
💍 1883/701

Bachelor
Spinster

Wool-broker

26
18

Christchurch
Christchurch

1 year
4 years

In the Phillipston Church

83/1433

David Thornton, Father

15 February 1883

Rev. J. C. Gilbart, Church of England

No	52
Date of Notice	15 February 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Arthur Lees	Mary Annie Mabel Thornton
	💍 1883/701
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Wool-broker
Age	26	18
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	1 year	4 years
Marriage Place	In the Phillipston Church
Folio	83/1433
Consent	David Thornton, Father
Date of Certificate	15 February 1883
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. C. Gilbart, Church of England

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).