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 096

District of Auckland Quarter ending 31 March 1883

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

8 January 1883

Patrick Bedford
Margaret Carroll

Patrick Bedford
Margaret Carroll
💍 1883/134

Bachelor
Spinster

Bushman
Domestic Servant

37
28

Grey St Auckland
Grey St Auckland

9 years
16 years

Dwelling house of Mr. Nicholas Simms, Grey St Auckland

83/98

8 January 1883

Revd. Walter McDonald, Roman Catholic Church of Auckland

No	8
Date of Notice	8 January 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Patrick Bedford	Margaret Carroll
	💍 1883/134
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Bushman	Domestic Servant
Age	37	28
Dwelling Place	Grey St Auckland	Grey St Auckland
Length of Residence	9 years	16 years
Marriage Place	Dwelling house of Mr. Nicholas Simms, Grey St Auckland
Folio	83/98
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 January 1883
Officiating Minister	Revd. Walter McDonald, Roman Catholic Church of Auckland

8 January 1883

Robert Miller
Emma Logan

Robert Millen
Emma Logan
💍 1883/168

Bachelor
Spinster

Blacksmith
Dressmaker

23
21

Pakuranga
Auckland

10 years
3 years

Dwelling house of Mr. Waith Architect, Auckland

83/109

8 January 1883

Revd. R. F. Macnicol, Presbyterian

No	9
Date of Notice	8 January 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Robert Miller	Emma Logan
BDM Match (96%)	Robert Millen	Emma Logan
	💍 1883/168
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Blacksmith	Dressmaker
Age	23	21
Dwelling Place	Pakuranga	Auckland
Length of Residence	10 years	3 years
Marriage Place	Dwelling house of Mr. Waith Architect, Auckland
Folio	83/109
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 January 1883
Officiating Minister	Revd. R. F. Macnicol, Presbyterian

8 January 1883

William John Smith
Elizabeth Goodson

William John Smith
Elizabeth Goodson
💍 1883/89

Bachelor
Spinster

Salesman

25
18

Newton
Parnell

3 years
3 years

Office of the Regr. of Marriages, Auckland

83/130

Charles William Goodson, Father

8 January 1883

J. Owen Lord, Dep. Reg.

No	10
Date of Notice	8 January 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William John Smith	Elizabeth Goodson
	💍 1883/89
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Salesman
Age	25	18
Dwelling Place	Newton	Parnell
Length of Residence	3 years	3 years
Marriage Place	Office of the Regr. of Marriages, Auckland
Folio	83/130
Consent	Charles William Goodson, Father
Date of Certificate	8 January 1883
Officiating Minister	J. Owen Lord, Dep. Reg.

8 January 1883

Joshua Wright
Maria Clarkson

Joshua Wright
Marie Clarkson
💍 1883/164

Bachelor
Spinster

Draper

27
24

Tauranga
Auckland

3 years
1 year

St. Benedicts Church, Newton

83/105

8 January 1883

Very Revd. J. O'Downey, Roman Catholic

No	11
Date of Notice	8 January 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Joshua Wright	Maria Clarkson
BDM Match (96%)	Joshua Wright	Marie Clarkson
	💍 1883/164
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Draper
Age	27	24
Dwelling Place	Tauranga	Auckland
Length of Residence	3 years	1 year
Marriage Place	St. Benedicts Church, Newton
Folio	83/105
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 January 1883
Officiating Minister	Very Revd. J. O'Downey, Roman Catholic

8 January 1883

Samuel Kitchen
Mary Ann Reilly

Samuel Hitchin
Mary Ann Rielly
💍 1883/58

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Dressmaker

27
21

Remuera
Auckland

2 years
1 year

Office of the Regr. of Marriages, Auckland

83/122

8 January 1883

J. Owen Lord, Dep. Reg.

No	12
Date of Notice	8 January 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Samuel Kitchen	Mary Ann Reilly
BDM Match (86%)	Samuel Hitchin	Mary Ann Rielly
	💍 1883/58
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Dressmaker
Age	27	21
Dwelling Place	Remuera	Auckland
Length of Residence	2 years	1 year
Marriage Place	Office of the Regr. of Marriages, Auckland
Folio	83/122
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 January 1883
Officiating Minister	J. Owen Lord, Dep. Reg.

9 January 1883

Frederick John Philpott
Margaret McNeill

Frederick John Philpott
Margaret McNeill
💍 1883/60

Bachelor
Widow

Labourer
Housekeeper

36
38

Auckland
Auckland

14 days
14 days

Office of the Regr. of Marriages, Auckland

83/124

9 January 1883

J. Owen Lord, Dep. Reg.

No	13
Date of Notice	9 January 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Frederick John Philpott	Margaret McNeill
	💍 1883/60
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Labourer	Housekeeper
Age	36	38
Dwelling Place	Auckland	Auckland
Length of Residence	14 days	14 days
Marriage Place	Office of the Regr. of Marriages, Auckland
Folio	83/124
Consent
Date of Certificate	9 January 1883
Officiating Minister	J. Owen Lord, Dep. Reg.

9 January 1883

William Hamer
Kate Mary Hampton

William Hamer
Kate Mary Frampton
💍 1883/59

Bachelor
Widow

Mason
Servant

39
40

Late Melbourne Auckland
Late Melbourne Auckland

8 days
8 days

Office of the Regr. of Marriages, Auckland

83/123

9 January 1883

J. Owen Lord, Dep. Reg.

No	14
Date of Notice	9 January 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Hamer	Kate Mary Hampton
BDM Match (94%)	William Hamer	Kate Mary Frampton
	💍 1883/59
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Mason	Servant
Age	39	40
Dwelling Place	Late Melbourne Auckland	Late Melbourne Auckland
Length of Residence	8 days	8 days
Marriage Place	Office of the Regr. of Marriages, Auckland
Folio	83/123
Consent
Date of Certificate	9 January 1883
Officiating Minister	J. Owen Lord, Dep. Reg.

9 January 1883

Peter Brady
Catherine McGrath

Peter Brady
Catherine McGrath
💍 1883/96

Bachelor
Spinster

Shoemaker

22
21

Panmure
Panmure

19 years
21 years

Roman Catholic Church, Panmure

83/101

9 January 1883

Revd. P. Riordan, Roman Catholic

No	15
Date of Notice	9 January 1883
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Peter Brady	Catherine McGrath
	💍 1883/96
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Shoemaker
Age	22	21
Dwelling Place	Panmure	Panmure
Length of Residence	19 years	21 years
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Church, Panmure
Folio	83/101
Consent
Date of Certificate	9 January 1883
Officiating Minister	Revd. P. Riordan, Roman Catholic

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).