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 576

District of Christchurch Quarter ending 31 March 1885 Registrar J. Markerson

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

13 February 1885

John Lowry
Amelia Dyer

John Lowry
Amelia Dyer
💍 1885/820

Bachelor
Spinster

Laborer
Dressmaker

32
24

Woolston
St Albans

1 year
3 years

St. Johns Church

85/501

13 February 1885

Rev. H. Cre. Watson, Church of England

No	53
Date of Notice	13 February 1885
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Lowry	Amelia Dyer
	💍 1885/820
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Laborer	Dressmaker
Age	32	24
Dwelling Place	Woolston	St Albans
Length of Residence	1 year	3 years
Marriage Place	St. Johns Church
Folio	85/501
Consent
Date of Certificate	13 February 1885
Officiating Minister	Rev. H. Cre. Watson, Church of England

13 February 1885

William Henry Bellamy
James Same

William Henry Bellamy
Janet Dann
💍 1885/625

Bachelor
Spinster

Coachbuilder

24
31

Christ Church
Christ Church

24 years
21 years

Registrar's Office

85/519

13 February 1885

J. Markerson

No	54
Date of Notice	13 February 1885
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Henry Bellamy	James Same
BDM Match (75%)	William Henry Bellamy	Janet Dann
	💍 1885/625
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Coachbuilder
Age	24	31
Dwelling Place	Christ Church	Christ Church
Length of Residence	24 years	21 years
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office
Folio	85/519
Consent
Date of Certificate	13 February 1885
Officiating Minister	J. Markerson

14 February 1885

George Day Leggett
Anne Lintott

George Day Leggett
Ann Lintott
💍 1885/3698

Bachelor
Widow

Farmer
Housekeeper

38
35

Springston
Springston

12 years
3 years

Residence of W. Deans, New W. Deansdale

85/356

14 February 1885

Rev. W. Deans, Presbyterian

No	55
Date of Notice	14 February 1885
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Day Leggett	Anne Lintott
BDM Match (96%)	George Day Leggett	Ann Lintott
	💍 1885/3698
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Farmer	Housekeeper
Age	38	35
Dwelling Place	Springston	Springston
Length of Residence	12 years	3 years
Marriage Place	Residence of W. Deans, New W. Deansdale
Folio	85/356
Consent
Date of Certificate	14 February 1885
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. Deans, Presbyterian

16 February 1885

Edward Foster
Mary

Widower
Widow

Farmer

56
55

Paparua
Paparua

3 years
3 years

Registrar's Office

85/580

16 February 1885

J. Markerson

No	56
Date of Notice	16 February 1885
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edward Foster	Mary
Condition	Widower	Widow
Profession	Farmer
Age	56	55
Dwelling Place	Paparua	Paparua
Length of Residence	3 years	3 years
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office
Folio	85/580
Consent
Date of Certificate	16 February 1885
Officiating Minister	J. Markerson

16 February 1885

John Bathgate
Ellen Mary Fox

John Bathgate Macmillan
Ellen Mary Fox
💍 1885/576

Bachelor
Spinster

Master Mariner

29
24

Sydney
Christchurch

6 years

St. Michael's Church

85/604

16 February 1885

Rev. W. Harper, Church of England

No	57
Date of Notice	16 February 1885
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Bathgate	Ellen Mary Fox
BDM Match (78%)	John Bathgate Macmillan	Ellen Mary Fox
	💍 1885/576
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Master Mariner
Age	29	24
Dwelling Place	Sydney	Christchurch
Length of Residence		6 years
Marriage Place	St. Michael's Church
Folio	85/604
Consent
Date of Certificate	16 February 1885
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. Harper, Church of England

17 February 1885

David Leiner
Bridget Ragleton

David Quinn
Bridget Eagleton
💍 1885/1475

Bachelor
Spinster

Laborer
Servant

26
27

Christchurch
Christchurch

3 days
3 days

Roman Catholic Church

85/1520

17 February 1885

Rev. L. M. Ginaty, Roman Catholic

No	58
Date of Notice	17 February 1885
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	David Leiner	Bridget Ragleton
BDM Match (80%)	David Quinn	Bridget Eagleton
	💍 1885/1475
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Laborer	Servant
Age	26	27
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Church
Folio	85/1520
Consent
Date of Certificate	17 February 1885
Officiating Minister	Rev. L. M. Ginaty, Roman Catholic

17 February 1885

Henry William Jennings
Ellen Grace Kent

Henry William Jennings
Ellen Grace Kent
💍 1885/660

Bachelor
Spinster

Clerk

29
26

Christchurch
Christchurch

3 years
3 years

Wesleyan Church

85/616

17 February 1885

Rev. G. Bond, Wesleyan

No	59
Date of Notice	17 February 1885
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Henry William Jennings	Ellen Grace Kent
	💍 1885/660
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Clerk
Age	29	26
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	3 years	3 years
Marriage Place	Wesleyan Church
Folio	85/616
Consent
Date of Certificate	17 February 1885
Officiating Minister	Rev. G. Bond, Wesleyan

18 February 1885

Andrew Davidson
Eleanor Curle

Andrew Davidson
Eleanor Curle
💍 1885/3778

Widower
Spinster

Tailor
Teacher

68
45

Christchurch
Christchurch

14 years
4 days

Residence of Andrew Davidson, First Street

85/563

18 February 1885

Rev. H. S. Redstone, Methodist

No	60
Date of Notice	18 February 1885
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Andrew Davidson	Eleanor Curle
	💍 1885/3778
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Tailor	Teacher
Age	68	45
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	14 years	4 days
Marriage Place	Residence of Andrew Davidson, First Street
Folio	85/563
Consent
Date of Certificate	18 February 1885
Officiating Minister	Rev. H. S. Redstone, Methodist

18 February 1885

James Walter Spratt
Annie Bennett

James Walter Spratt
Emily Annie Bennetts
💍 1885/659

Bachelor
Spinster

Engineer

27
21

Christchurch
Christchurch

3 years
3 years

Wesleyan Church

85/610

18 February 1885

Rev. G. Bond, Wesleyan

No	61
Date of Notice	18 February 1885
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Walter Spratt	Annie Bennett
BDM Match (83%)	James Walter Spratt	Emily Annie Bennetts
	💍 1885/659
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Engineer
Age	27	21
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	3 years	3 years
Marriage Place	Wesleyan Church
Folio	85/610
Consent
Date of Certificate	18 February 1885
Officiating Minister	Rev. G. Bond, Wesleyan

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).