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 388

District of Wellington Quarter ending 31 March 1883 Registrar Joseph Godfrey Holdsworth

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

17 January 1883

George William Dutton
Caroline Ransome

George William Dutton
Caroline Ramsone
💍 1883/1853

Widower
Widow

Bookseller

51
34

Wellington
Wellington

years
years

Revd W. Paterson's, House Woolcombe st

83/1976

17 January 1883

Revd J. Paterson Presbyterian

No	12
Date of Notice	17 January 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George William Dutton	Caroline Ransome
BDM Match (94%)	George William Dutton	Caroline Ramsone
	💍 1883/1853
Condition	Widower	Widow
Profession	Bookseller
Age	51	34
Dwelling Place	Wellington	Wellington
Length of Residence	years	years
Marriage Place	Revd W. Paterson's, House Woolcombe st
Folio	83/1976
Consent
Date of Certificate	17 January 1883
Officiating Minister	Revd J. Paterson Presbyterian

23 January 1883

Edward Richard Ward
Eugenie Sophia Cheevannes

Edward Richard Ward
Eugenie Sophia Chevannes
💍 1883/277

Batchelor
Spinster

Draper

31
19

Wellington
Wellington

3 days
7 years

Roman Catholic Cathedral

83/245

S.G.H. Rock, William Loves

23 January 1883

Revd J. McNamara

No	13
Date of Notice	23 January 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edward Richard Ward	Eugenie Sophia Cheevannes
BDM Match (98%)	Edward Richard Ward	Eugenie Sophia Chevannes
	💍 1883/277
Condition	Batchelor	Spinster
Profession	Draper
Age	31	19
Dwelling Place	Wellington	Wellington
Length of Residence	3 days	7 years
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Cathedral
Folio	83/245
Consent	S.G.H. Rock, William Loves
Date of Certificate	23 January 1883
Officiating Minister	Revd J. McNamara

26 January 1883

Charles Beecher
Ellen Johnson

Charles Beecher
Ellen Johnson
💍 1883/1945

Batchelor
Spinster

Labourer

28
24

Wellington
do

7 years
do

House of Revd C. S. Ogg

83/1997

26 January 1883

Revd C. S. Ogg

No	14
Date of Notice	26 January 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Beecher	Ellen Johnson
	💍 1883/1945
Condition	Batchelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer
Age	28	24
Dwelling Place	Wellington	do
Length of Residence	7 years	do
Marriage Place	House of Revd C. S. Ogg
Folio	83/1997
Consent
Date of Certificate	26 January 1883
Officiating Minister	Revd C. S. Ogg

26 January 1883

James Wallace
Mary McEntee

James Wallace
Mary McEntere
💍 1883/1850

Batchelor
Spinster

Labourer

29
23

do
do

7 months
7 months

St Mary of the Angels

83/1965

26 January 1883

Revd F. Kerrigan

No	15
Date of Notice	26 January 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Wallace	Mary McEntee
BDM Match (96%)	James Wallace	Mary McEntere
	💍 1883/1850
Condition	Batchelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer
Age	29	23
Dwelling Place	do	do
Length of Residence	7 months	7 months
Marriage Place	St Mary of the Angels
Folio	83/1965
Consent
Date of Certificate	26 January 1883
Officiating Minister	Revd F. Kerrigan

29 January 1883

William Presley Rash
Emma Wakew

William Presley Rash
Emma Wakeham
💍 1883/298

Batchelor
Spinster

Brickmaker

27
23

Wellington
Wellington

27 years
23 years

Residence of Mr Jenness

83/266

29 January 1883

Revd Wm Baumber

No	16
Date of Notice	29 January 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Presley Rash	Emma Wakew
BDM Match (88%)	William Presley Rash	Emma Wakeham
	💍 1883/298
Condition	Batchelor	Spinster
Profession	Brickmaker
Age	27	23
Dwelling Place	Wellington	Wellington
Length of Residence	27 years	23 years
Marriage Place	Residence of Mr Jenness
Folio	83/266
Consent
Date of Certificate	29 January 1883
Officiating Minister	Revd Wm Baumber

29 January 1883

Arthur Thomas Warner Cobham
Elizabeth Lavinia Anne Edwards

Arthur Thomas Warner Cobham
Elizabeth Lavinia Anne Edwards
💍 1883/1854

Batchelor
Spinster

Cabinet maker

24
24

do
do

23 years
5 months

Residence of Mr Abrams, Adelaide Road Wellington

83/1994

Edward

29 January 1883

Revd J. Paterson

No	17
Date of Notice	29 January 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Arthur Thomas Warner Cobham	Elizabeth Lavinia Anne Edwards
	💍 1883/1854
Condition	Batchelor	Spinster
Profession	Cabinet maker
Age	24	24
Dwelling Place	do	do
Length of Residence	23 years	5 months
Marriage Place	Residence of Mr Abrams, Adelaide Road Wellington
Folio	83/1994
Consent	Edward
Date of Certificate	29 January 1883
Officiating Minister	Revd J. Paterson

30 January 1883

Thomas Bax
Alice Thompson

Thomas Bax
Alice Thompson
💍 1883/386

Batchelor
Spinster

Hospital attendant

27
24

do
do

12 months
7 years

Registrar's Office Wellington

83/278

30 January 1883

Registrar

No	18
Date of Notice	30 January 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Bax	Alice Thompson
	💍 1883/386
Condition	Batchelor	Spinster
Profession	Hospital attendant
Age	27	24
Dwelling Place	do	do
Length of Residence	12 months	7 years
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office Wellington
Folio	83/278
Consent
Date of Certificate	30 January 1883
Officiating Minister	Registrar

30 January 1883

David Atkinson
Lucy Gilligan

David Atkinson
Lucy Gilligan
💍 1883/387

Batchelor
Spinster

Publisher

32
21

do
do

1 week
3 days

83/279

30 January 1883

No	19
Date of Notice	30 January 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	David Atkinson	Lucy Gilligan
	💍 1883/387
Condition	Batchelor	Spinster
Profession	Publisher
Age	32	21
Dwelling Place	do	do
Length of Residence	1 week	3 days
Marriage Place	do
Folio	83/279
Consent
Date of Certificate	30 January 1883
Officiating Minister	do

2 February 1883

Cornelius Bresnan
Catherine McDonald

Cornelius Bresnan
Catherine McDonald
💍 1883/279

Widower
Spinster

Labourer

36
30

do
do

5 years
do

Bowden Cathedral Hill

83/245

2 February 1883

Revd J. McNamara

No	20
Date of Notice	2 February 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Cornelius Bresnan	Catherine McDonald
	💍 1883/279
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Labourer
Age	36	30
Dwelling Place	do	do
Length of Residence	5 years	do
Marriage Place	Bowden Cathedral Hill
Folio	83/245
Consent
Date of Certificate	2 February 1883
Officiating Minister	Revd J. McNamara

3 February 1883

William Thegea
Agnes Dryer

William Tregea
Agnes Fryer
💍 1883/295

Batchelor
Spinster

Clerk

27
20

do
do

2 weeks
7 years

St Peter's Wellington

83/262

3 February 1883

Ven Archdeacon Stock

No	21
Date of Notice	3 February 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Thegea	Agnes Dryer
BDM Match (92%)	William Tregea	Agnes Fryer
	💍 1883/295
Condition	Batchelor	Spinster
Profession	Clerk
Age	27	20
Dwelling Place	do	do
Length of Residence	2 weeks	7 years
Marriage Place	St Peter's Wellington
Folio	83/262
Consent
Date of Certificate	3 February 1883
Officiating Minister	Ven Archdeacon Stock

5 February 1883

Hapi Puketapu
Mary Ann Jane Pitt

[No folio number and no matching marriage registration - it appears this marriage was not registered]

Batchelor
Spinster

Farmer

22
21

Lower Hutt
Wellington

7 years
7 years

St Peter's Church Wellington

5 February 1883

Ven Archdeacon Stock

No	22
Date of Notice	5 February 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Hapi Puketapu	Mary Ann Jane Pitt
	💍 [No folio number and no matching marriage registration - it appears this marriage was not registered]
Condition	Batchelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	22	21
Dwelling Place	Lower Hutt	Wellington
Length of Residence	7 years	7 years
Marriage Place	St Peter's Church Wellington
Folio
Consent
Date of Certificate	5 February 1883
Officiating Minister	Ven Archdeacon Stock

7 February 1883

Edward Mullen
Agnes Hausman

Edward Mullen
Agnes Hansman
💍 1883/389

Batchelor
Widow

Barman

24
32

Wellington
do

3 months
7 years

Registrar's Office Wellington

83/281

7 February 1883

Registrar

No	23
Date of Notice	7 February 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edward Mullen	Agnes Hausman
BDM Match (96%)	Edward Mullen	Agnes Hansman
	💍 1883/389
Condition	Batchelor	Widow
Profession	Barman
Age	24	32
Dwelling Place	Wellington	do
Length of Residence	3 months	7 years
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office Wellington
Folio	83/281
Consent
Date of Certificate	7 February 1883
Officiating Minister	Registrar

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).