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 944

District of Masterton Quarter ending 30 September 1885

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
30	6 July 1885	Samuel William Chandler Louisa Russell	Samuel William Chandler Louisa Russell 💍 1885/2255	Bachelor Spinster	Laborer	19 17	Masterton Masterton	4 years 12 months	Office of Registrar of Marriages	85/2310	Henry Chandler, father; Joseph Russell, father	6 July 1885	John Bagge, Registrar
31	29 July 1885	George Young Louisa Bowser	George Young Louisa Boroser 💍 1885/2256	Widower Widow	Clerk	35 29	Masterton Masterton	10 years 6 years	Office of Registrar of Marriages	85/2311		29 July 1885	John Bagge, Registrar
32	21 August 1885	John McDonald Annie McKenzie	John McDonald Annie McKenzie 💍 1885/2234	Bachelor Spinster	Shepherd	26 21	Gladstone Kuripuni	5 years 3 days	House of Mrs. Casterton, Mary McKenzie	85/2313		21 August 1885	Rev. David Fulton, Presbyterian Minister
33	24 August 1885	August Bruenn Lucy Threadwell	August Bruenn Lucy Threadwell 💍 1885/2233	Bachelor Spinster	Laborer Domestic Servant	36 27	Kuripuni Kuripuni	5 months 3 days	Office of Registrar of Marriages	85/2312		24 August 1885	John Bagge, Registrar
34	27 August 1885	Ernest Arthur Minifie Hester Margaret Dempsey	Ernest Arthur Minifie Hestor Margaret Dempsey 💍 1885/2238	Bachelor Spinster	Grocer Dressmaker	20 21	Masterton Masterton	2 years 18 months	House of Mr. Josiah Minifie	85/2317	Josiah Minifie, father	27 August 1885	Rev. J. S. Norman, Wesleyan Minister
35	29 August 1885	Alexander Napier Mary Charlotte Burling	Alexander Napier Mary Charlotte Burling 💍 1885/2235	Bachelor Spinster	Sheep Farmer	42 20	Alfredton Alfredton	6 years 3 years	House of Mr. Arthur Burling	85/2314	Arthur Burling, father	29 August 1885	Rev. David Fulton, Presbyterian Minister
36	11 September 1885	John Carter Elizabeth Mary Hodder	John Carter Elizabeth Mary Hodder 💍 1885/2254	Bachelor Spinster	Settler Cook	27 21	Eketahuna Eketahuna	2 years 1 year	House of Mr. James Jones	85/2309		11 September 1885	Rev. W. E. Paige, Church of England
37	16 September 1885	Richard James Hilton Margaret Thompson	Richard James Titton Margaret Thompson 💍 1885/2236	Widower Spinster	Accountant	33 19	Masterton Masterton	18 months 5 years	House of Mr. James Thompson	85/2315	James Thompson, father	16 September 1885	Rev. David Fulton, Presbyterian Minister
38	19 September 1885	Henry Walden Leah Mabel Ingram	Henry Walden Leah Mabel Ingram 💍 1885/2237	Bachelor Spinster	Draper	25 21	Greytown Masterton	2 years 10 years	House of Mr. Jasper Charles Ingram	85/2316		19 September 1885	Rev. David Fulton, Presbyterian Minister
39	25 September 1885	James Loader Elizabeth Jane Warner	James Loader Elizabeth Jane Warner 💍 1885/3712	Bachelor Spinster	Carrier Domestic Servant	22 25	Masterton Taueru	6 years 3 months	House of Mr. Allen Charles Rogers	85/3167		25 September 1885	Rev. W. E. Paige, 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 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).