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 1301

District of Nelson Quarter ending 31 December 1887

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
61	13 October 1887	William Hebche Rosamund Sunley	William Fletcher Kennedy Rosamond Sunley 💍 1887/1282	Bachelor Spinster	Telegraphist Nil	24 21	Manuka Street Nelson Bishopdale Nelson	5 years 15 years	Chapel of Holy Evangelists	87/2957		13 October 1887	Revd. F. W. Chatterton, Church of England
62	14 October 1887	Robert Codington Parker Anne Dennet	Robert Codrington Parker Anne Dennet 💍 1887/3292	Widower Spinster	Maltster Nil	40 41	Bridge Street Nelson Bridge Street Nelson	9 years 9 years	Office of the Registrar of Marriages, Nelson	87/2950		14 October 1887	Robert Kirton, Registrar
63	17 October 1887	Alexander Hunter Susan Goodman	Alexander Hunter Susan Goodman 💍 1887/1284	Bachelor Servant	Watchmaker	23 22	Bridge Street Nelson Bridge Street Nelson	3 years 13 years	Presbyterian Church	87/2959	Residence of Revd. P. Calder, Nile	17 October 1887	Revd. Patrick Calder
64	24 October 1887	James Horsley Jessie Wells	James Hockey Jessie Wells 💍 1887/1285	Bachelor Spinster	Carter Nil	23 20	Bridge Street Nelson Russell Street Nelson	12 years 20 years	Presbyterian Church	87/2960	William Wells, father	24 October 1887	Revd. Patrick Calder
65	12 November 1887	Arthur Sasherley Ellen Schwass	Arthur Satherley Ellen Schwass 💍 1887/3293	Bachelor Spinster	Farmer Servant	22 22	Hope Hope	8 days 1 month	Office of the Registrar of Marriages, Nelson	87/2951		12 November 1887	Robert Kirton, Registrar
66	28 November 1887	Matthew Green Ann Kearns	Matthew Green Ann Kearns 💍 1887/3294	Widower Widow	Farmer Publican	55 46	Richmond Richmond	2 months 2 months	Office of the Registrar of Marriages, Nelson	87/2952		28 November 1887	Robert Kirton, Registrar
67	5 December 1887	Henry Macmahon Annie Black	Henry Macmahon Annie Black 💍 1887/1263	Bachelor Spinster	Farmer Nil	37 35	Bridge Street Nelson Kawai Street Nelson	3 days 4 years	Wesleyan Church	87/2962		5 December 1887	Revd. William C. Oliver
68	6 December 1887	Robert Christian Mary Elizabeth Lawson	Robert Christian Mary Elizabeth Lawson 💍 1887/1262	Bachelor Spinster	Labourer Nil	36 21	Washington Valley Nelson Alton Street Nelson	8 years 1 month	Office of the Registrar of Marriages, Nelson	87/2953		6 December 1887	Robert Kirton, Registrar
69	10 December 1887	Percival Spencer Edwards Caroline Matilda White	Percival Spencer Edwards Caroline Matilda White 💍 1887/1264	Bachelor Spinster	Cordial Maker Nil	25 21	Hardy Street Nelson Collingwood Street Nelson	18 months 21 years	Residence of Mrs. E. White	87/2963		10 December 1887	Revd. William C. Oliver, Wesleyan Church
70	16 December 1887	William Justice Ford Katharine Mary Browning	William Justice Ford Katherine Macey Browning 💍 1887/1286	Bachelor Spinster	Schoolmaster Nil	34 27	Waimea Road Nelson Hampden Street Nelson	18 months 1 year	All Saints Church	87/2961		16 December 1887	Revd. Alfred Cecil Wright, Church of England
71	20 December 1887	Michael Thomas Leoy Clara Cummings	Michael Thomas Levy Clara Cummings 💍 1887/1281	Bachelor Spinster	Tailor Servant	27 21	Halifax Street Nelson Wakapuaka	27 years 1 week	St. Mary Catholic Church	87/2956		20 December 1887	Revd. William Joseph Mahoney, Roman Catholic Church
72	20 December 1887	George Mills Jessie Franklin	George Mills Jessie Franklin 💍 1887/1265	Bachelor Spinster	Tinsmith Servant	26 22	New Street Nelson Nile Street Nelson	3 years 22 years	Wesleyan Church	87/2964		20 December 1887	Revd. William C. Oliver

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).