Intentions to Marry, 1887

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840399, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

Imaged by Carole at Archives NZ Wellington, May 14 2025

Page 611

District of Christchurch Quarter ending 30 June 1887 Registrar J. M. Paulkerson

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

5 April 1887

Edwin Hopping
Martha Jane Rusbridge

Edwin Hopping
Martha Jane Rusbridge
💍 1887/1875

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer

18
18

Woolston
Woolston

5 years
10 years

Christchurch

87/3595

Charles Hopping, Henry Frederick Rusbridge, Fathers

5 April 1887

Rev. T. Merton

No	84
Date of Notice	5 April 1887
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edwin Hopping	Martha Jane Rusbridge
	💍 1887/1875
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer
Age	18	18
Dwelling Place	Woolston	Woolston
Length of Residence	5 years	10 years
Marriage Place	Christchurch
Folio	87/3595
Consent	Charles Hopping, Henry Frederick Rusbridge, Fathers
Date of Certificate	5 April 1887
Officiating Minister	Rev. T. Merton

5 April 1887

John Moles
Mary Ann Dale

John Moles
Mary Ann Dale
💍 1887/1783

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Servant

35
25

Christchurch
Christchurch

5 years
3 years

Christchurch

87/3498

5 April 1887

Rev. J. Plenslie

No	85
Date of Notice	5 April 1887
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Moles	Mary Ann Dale
	💍 1887/1783
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Servant
Age	35	25
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	5 years	3 years
Marriage Place	Christchurch
Folio	87/3498
Consent
Date of Certificate	5 April 1887
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Plenslie

5 April 1887

Harry Forward
Margaret McLean Howard

Harry Forward
Margaret McLean Stewart
💍 1887/3321

Bachelor
Spinster

Barman

30
22

Christchurch
Christchurch

20 years
3 years

Office

87/1401

5 April 1887

Registrar of Marriages, J. M. Paulkerson

No	86
Date of Notice	5 April 1887
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Harry Forward	Margaret McLean Howard
BDM Match (91%)	Harry Forward	Margaret McLean Stewart
	💍 1887/3321
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Barman
Age	30	22
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	20 years	3 years
Marriage Place	Office
Folio	87/1401
Consent
Date of Certificate	5 April 1887
Officiating Minister	Registrar of Marriages, J. M. Paulkerson

5 April 1887

Watson Francis Cooper
Delia Frances Jane Ypstein

Watson Francis Cooper
Lelia Frances Lane
💍 1887/3379

Widower
Spinster

Compositor

36
27

Christchurch
Christchurch

27 years
16 years

Rev. G. Bond's Pastorage

87/1435

5 April 1887

Rev. G. Bond, Wesleyan

No	87
Date of Notice	5 April 1887
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Watson Francis Cooper	Delia Frances Jane Ypstein
BDM Match (81%)	Watson Francis Cooper	Lelia Frances Lane
	💍 1887/3379
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Compositor
Age	36	27
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	27 years	16 years
Marriage Place	Rev. G. Bond's Pastorage
Folio	87/1435
Consent
Date of Certificate	5 April 1887
Officiating Minister	Rev. G. Bond, Wesleyan

6 April 1887

Robert McClelland
Mary Jane McGuire

Robert McClelland
Mary Jane McGuire
💍 1887/3350

Bachelor
Spinster

Constable

29
24

Christchurch
Christchurch

7 years
16 years

In the Roman Catholic Church, Christchurch

87/1429

6 April 1887

Rev. L. McGuinaty, Roman Catholic

No	88
Date of Notice	6 April 1887
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Robert McClelland	Mary Jane McGuire
	💍 1887/3350
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Constable
Age	29	24
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	7 years	16 years
Marriage Place	In the Roman Catholic Church, Christchurch
Folio	87/1429
Consent
Date of Certificate	6 April 1887
Officiating Minister	Rev. L. McGuinaty, Roman Catholic

6 April 1887

Thomas Wilkins
Jane Woodhouse

Bachelor
Spinster

Woolclasser
Dressmaker

22
20

Christchurch
Christchurch

22 years
10 years

Church

87/1444

Walter Henry Birchly, Garratt, Fathers

6 April 1887

Rev. W. A. Pascoe, Church of England

No	89
Date of Notice	6 April 1887
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Wilkins	Jane Woodhouse
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Woolclasser	Dressmaker
Age	22	20
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	22 years	10 years
Marriage Place	Church
Folio	87/1444
Consent	Walter Henry Birchly, Garratt, Fathers
Date of Certificate	6 April 1887
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. A. Pascoe, Church of England

7 April 1887

William Allen Jewell
Helene Ada Romonf

William Allen Jewell
Helene Ada Esnouf
💍 1887/3361

Bachelor
Spinster

Cabinet Maker
Dressmaker

24
24

Christchurch
St. Albans

24 years
14 years

Church

87/1433

7 April 1887

Rev. W. Z. Gillam, Church of England

No	90
Date of Notice	7 April 1887
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Allen Jewell	Helene Ada Romonf
BDM Match (88%)	William Allen Jewell	Helene Ada Esnouf
	💍 1887/3361
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Cabinet Maker	Dressmaker
Age	24	24
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	St. Albans
Length of Residence	24 years	14 years
Marriage Place	Church
Folio	87/1433
Consent
Date of Certificate	7 April 1887
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. Z. Gillam, Church of England

9 April 1887

Luke Coleman
Mary Barklee

Luke Coleman
Mary Barkle
💍 1887/3320

Bachelor
Spinster

Dealer
Servant

28
22

Christchurch
Christchurch

5 years
12 years

Registrar Office

87/1400

9 April 1887

Registrar of Marriages, J. M. Paulkerson

No	91
Date of Notice	9 April 1887
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Luke Coleman	Mary Barklee
BDM Match (96%)	Luke Coleman	Mary Barkle
	💍 1887/3320
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Dealer	Servant
Age	28	22
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	5 years	12 years
Marriage Place	Registrar Office
Folio	87/1400
Consent
Date of Certificate	9 April 1887
Officiating Minister	Registrar of Marriages, J. M. Paulkerson

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).