Intentions to Marry, 1885

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840397, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

Imaged by Carole at Archives NZ Wellington, April 30 2025

Page 789

District of Quarter ending

No	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
22	23 March 1885	Christopher McLanogh Mary Ann Hammond	Christopher McConogh Mary Ann Hammond 💍 1885/1445	Bachelor Spinster	Painter Servant	33 26	Collingwood Street Nelson Collingwood Street Nelson	4 years 2 weeks	St Mary's Church Nelson	85/1426	Sophia having authority	6 April 1885	Revd William Joseph Mahany Roman Catholic Church
25	30 March 1885	George Iregea Annie Ada Elizabeth Bowman	George Tregea Annie Ada Elizabeth Bowman 💍 1885/1441	Bachelor Spinster	Tinsmith Servant	23 18	Hardy Street Nelson Collingwood Street Nelson	21 years 10 years	Office of Registrar Nelson	85/1427	Sophia having authority	15 April 1885	Robert Newton Registrar
26	2 April 1885	Edward Graham Margaret Stewart	Edward Graham Margaret Stewart 💍 1885/1363	Bachelor Spinster	Mariner Nil	27 18	W. Murray Nelson Ultima Road Nelson	15 months 18 years	Residence of David Miller Nelson	85/1407	James Stewart father	2 April 1885	Revd Patrick Calder Presbyterian Church
27	11 April 1885	Alfred George Trafford Martha Elizabeth Stewart		Bachelor Widow	Farmer Nil	27 32	Aniseed Valley Wairnea Aniseed Valley Wairnea	27 years 15 months	Residence of William Stewart Taiere Valley Nelson	85/1408		11 April 1885	Revd Patrick Calder Presbyterian Church
28	28 April 1885	John Richard Jones Eliza Emily Shore	John Richard Jones Eliza Emily Shone 💍 1885/1459	Widower Spinster	Carpenter Nil	39 22	Collingwood Street Nelson New Street Nelson	2 years 4 years	Residence of Thomas Shore New Street Nelson	85/1414		18 April 1885	Revd William Henry Beck Wesleyan Church
29	2 May 1885	John Hammond Mary Ellen Wells	Fedor Charles John Hammerich Mary Ellen Wells 💍 1885/1440	Widower Spinster	Pensioner Servant	71 56	Melbourne Street Nelson Melbourne Street Nelson	3 years 3 years	Residence of John Hammond Melbourne Street Nelson	85/1421		8 May 1885	Revd Thomas A. Party Baptist Minister
30	8 May 1885	James Fred Gregor Bessie Pellan	James Nicol Grigor Bessie Pollock 💍 1885/1365	Bachelor Spinster	Gardener Nil	39 25	Alma Street Nelson Alma Street Nelson	3 years 3 years	Registry Office Alma Street	85/1409		8 May 1885	Revd Patrick Calder Presbyterian Minister
31	8 May 1885	Henry Goddard Mary Blissold	Henry Goddard Mary Jane Clissold 💍 1885/1457	Bachelor Spinster	Labourer Dressmaker	32 22	Lyell Hope	5 days 22 years	Residence of Blissold Hope	85/1414		8 May 1885	Revd Charles O. Mules Church of England
32	9 May 1885	Henry Baigent Phabe Almore	Henry Baigent Phoebe Atmore 💍 1885/1458	Widower Spinster	Timber Merchant Nil	40 24	Wairnea Street Alma Street	12 years 24 years	Congregational Church Nelson	85/1415		9 May 1885	Revd H. J. Lewis Congregational Church
33	23 May 1885	George Frank Bennett Smallbone Ann Louise Winslett	George Frank Bennett Smallbone Ann Louisa Wimsett 💍 1885/1456	Bachelor Spinster	Telegraphist Nil	27 21	Wairnea Road Hardy Street	3 years 25 years	All Saints Church Nelson	85/1413		23 May 1885	Revd Charles William Jenny Church of England
34	12 May 1885	Reuben Barlow Alexander Jane Paul Thomson	Reuben Barlour Alexander Jane Paul Thomson 💍 1885/1460	Bachelor Teacher	Farmer Teacher	28 20	Tai Tai Valley Nelson Bridge Street Nelson	3 days 18 years	Residence of James P. Thomson Bridge Street Nelson	85/1417	James Paul Thomson father	12 May 1885	Revd William Henry Beck Wesleyan Church
35	19 May 1885	Alexander Will Ironside Margaret Somerville Halliwell	Alexander Will Ironside Margaret Simerville Hallworth 💍 1885/1437	Bachelor Spinster	Clerk Nil	29 20	Haven Road Nelson Haven Road Nelson	3 days 1 month	Residence of Jonathan Haile Haven Road Nelson	85/1410	Ann Haile mother	19 May 1885	Revd Patrick Calder Presbyterian Church
36	3 June 1885	William Andrews Cordelia Polglase	William Andrews Cordelia Polglase 💍 1885/1461	Bachelor Spinster	Farmer Nil	22 21	Brook Street Valley Nelson Brook Street Valley Nelson	6 days 21 years	Residence of Joseph Polglase Brook Street Valley Nelson	85/1418		3 June 1885	Revd William Henry Beck Wesleyan Church
37	6 June 1885	Frederick William O'Dea Sarah Ann Houran		Bachelor Spinster	Farmer Servant	23 20	Hope Wairnea Bishopdale Nelson	23 years 2 years	Christchurch Nelson	85/1950		22 June 1885	Revd John Pratt Kempthorne Church of England

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 1894. More registers will be added as the project continues.

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).