Intentions to Marry, 1886

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840398, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

Imaged by Luke at Archives NZ Wellington, May 14 2025

Page 944

District of Wairau Quarter ending 30 September 1886

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
21	1 July 1886	James Fryer Minnie Louisa Lawrence	James Fryer Minnie Louisa Laurance 💍 1886/2207	Bachelor Spinster	Butcher	23 years 19 years	Blenheim Blenheim	11 years 10 years	The House of Mr. David Lawrence, Blenheim	86/12154	David Lawrence, father	1 July 1886	Revd. J. S. Grace
22	1 July 1886	Felix Williams Doper Matilda Borch	Felix William Soper Matilda Borck 💍 1886/2179	Bachelor Spinster	Farmer	25 22	Willow Glen, Spring Creek Willow Glen, Spring Creek	about 25 years about 10 years	The Office of the Registrar of Marriages, Blenheim	86/12149		1 July 1886	The Registrar of Marriages, Blenheim
23	2 July 1886	John Waters Catherine Jane Wemyss	John Waters Catherine Jane Wemyss 💍 1886/2180	Bachelor Spinster	Draper	23 19	Renwick Town Renwick Town	2 years about 10 years	The Office of the Registrar of Marriages, Blenheim	86/12150	John Wemyss, father	2 July 1886	The Registrar of Marriages, Blenheim
24	5 July 1886	Thomas Arthur Sowman Dophy Hannah Braggie	Thomas Arthur Sowman Sophy Hannah Bragge 💍 1886/2171	Bachelor Spinster	Hairdresser Domestic Servant	19 19	Blenheim Picton	12 years 2 years	The Presbyterian Church, Picton	86/12142	William Sowman, father; Alfred Braggie, father	5 July 1886	Revd. G. K. Stowell
25	9 July 1886	George Henry Frank Annie Veronica McAllister	George Henry Frank Annie Veronica McAllister 💍 1886/2210	Bachelor Spinster	Clerk	28 18	Blenheim Blenheim	3 18	Roman Catholic Church, Blenheim	86/12157	John McAllister, father	9 July 1886	Revd. W. J. Lewis
26	10 July 1886	Edmund Hill Stratford Sarah Amelia Springall	Edmund Hill Stratford Sarah Amelia Springall 💍 1886/2190	Bachelor Spinster	Surveyor	28 21	Blenheim Blenheim	27 2 Months	The Presbyterian Church, Blenheim	86/12161		10 July 1886	Revd. W. O. Robb
27	13 July 1886	George William Woods Maria Rebecca Andrews	George William Woods Maria Rebecca Andrews 💍 1886/2175	Bachelor Spinster	Telegraphist Milliner	22 19	Blenheim Blenheim	7 years 3	The House of Mr. Joseph Andrews, Charles Street, Blenheim	86/12145	Joseph Andrews, father	13 July 1886	Revd. John Crump
28	22 July 1886	John McAllister Angelena Batchelor	John McAllister Angelena Batchelor 💍 1886/2211	Widower Spinster	Coach Builder Dressmaker	50 35	Blenheim Blenheim	23 8	The Roman Catholic Church, Blenheim	86/12158		22 July 1886	Revd. W. J. Lewis
29	14 August 1886	Thomas Morcom Alice Thomas	Thomas Morcom Alice Thomas 💍 1886/2176	Bachelor Spinster	Wheelwright Dressmaker	24 19	Blenheim Blenheim	22 19	The House of Mr. Edward Thomas, Mause Road, Blenheim	86/12146	Edward Thomas, father	14 August 1886	Revd. John Crump
30	16 August 1886	Michael McGrath Bridget Fitzgerald	Michael McGrath Bridget Fitzgerald 💍 1886/2212	Bachelor Spinster	Labourer Domestic Servant	24 23	Starborough Blenheim	5 7	The Roman Catholic Church, Blenheim	86/12159		16 August 1886	Revd. W. J. Lewis
31	28 August 1886	Henry James Brewer Elizabeth Mary Boyton	Henry James Brewer Elizabeth Mary Boyton 💍 1886/2189	Bachelor Spinster	Painter Waitress	32 35	Blenheim Blenheim	4 days 7	The Roman Catholic Church, Blenheim	86/12160		28 August 1886	Revd. Paul Aubrey

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).