Intentions to Marry, 1888

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840400, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

Imaged by Alexandra at Archives NZ Wellington, May 14 2025

Page 1351

District of Nelson Quarter ending 31 December 1888

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
66	16 October 1888	Thomas Thomas Eliza Bell	Thomas Thomas Eliza Bell 💍 1888/3013	Widower Widow	Farmer Nil	59 52	Harley Street, Nelson Harley Street, Nelson	3 days 4 weeks	Office of the Registrar of Marriages, Nelson	88/3130		16 October 1888	Robert Kiton, Registrar
67	17 October 1888	William Carr Sarah Jane Bright	William Carr Sarah Jane Bright 💍 1888/3025	Bachelor Spinster	Innkeeper Dressmaker	35 21	Waimea Road, Nelson Waimea Road, Nelson	9 days 21 years	All Saints Church, Nelson	88/3118		17 October 1888	Revd. Francis Inner Jones, Church of England
68	17 October 1888	Charles Tandy Ellen Lukins Jones	Charles Tandy Ellen Lukuis Jones 💍 1888/3027	Bachelor Spinster	Coach Builder Dressmaker	28 26	Hardy Street, Nelson Waimea Street, Nelson	3 days 24 years	Christchurch	88/3120		17 October 1888	Revd. Allan S. Jones Jones, Church of England
69	20 October 1888	William Burke Annie M'Cormack	William Burke Annie McCormack 💍 1888/3026	Bachelor Widow	Cab Driver Nil	38 37	Collingwood Street, Nelson Collingwood Street, Nelson	8 years 12 years	St. Mary, Catholic Church, Nelson	88/3119		20 October 1888	Revd. William Joseph Mahony, Roman Catholic Church
70	27 October 1888	George Chapman Elizabeth Spicer	George Chapman Elizabeth Spicer 💍 1888/3014	Widower Spinster	Miller Servant	31 22	Nile Street East, Nelson Bridge Street, Nelson	15 years 4 days	Office of the Registrar of Marriage, Nelson	88/3131		27 October 1888	Robert Kiton, Registrar
71	29 October 1888	Austin Herbert Bisley Mary Gawkrodger	Austin Herbert Bisley Mary Gaukrodger 💍 1888/3007	Bachelor Spinster	Merchant Nil	28 26	Collingwood Street, Nelson Brook Street, Nelson	28 years 4 years	Wesleyan Church, Nelson	88/3124		29 October 1888	Revd. William Oliver, Wesleyan Church
72	3 November 1888	William Frederick Christoph Nelwass Florence Annis Kerr	William Frederick Christopher Schwass Florence Annie Kerr 💍 1888/3006	Bachelor Spinster	Farmer Nil	23 19	Waimea West Waimea West	10 years 19 years	Residence of James Kerr, Waimea West	88/3123	James Kerr, Father	3 November 1888	Revd. Henry Hayward, Church of England
73	5 November 1888	James Cooper Naomi Ranger	James Cooper Naomi Ranger 💍 1888/3010	Bachelor Widow	Labourer Nil	35 30	Vanguard Street, Nelson Washington Valley, Nelson	6 months 5 months	Residence of James Pasch, Vanguard Street, Nelson	88/3127		5 November 1888	Revd. Richard James Williams, Congregational Church
74	7 November 1888	Henry Rishlton Walker Lydia Winter Howatt	Henry Rishton Walker Lydia Winton Hounsell 💍 1888/3008	Bachelor Spinster	Engineer Nil	22 23	Nile Street East, Nelson Nile Street East, Nelson	3 days 23 years	Wesleyan Church, Nelson	88/3125		7 November 1888	Revd. William Oliver, Wesleyan Church
75	22 November 1888	Joseph John Baker Ellen Kenning	Joseph John Baker Ellen Kenning 💍 1888/3011	Bachelor Spinster	Carpenter Nil	25 20	Wellington Street, Nelson Stone Street, Nelson	25 years 20 years	Residence of Bogle, Kawai Street, Nelson	88/3128	William Kenning, Father	22 November 1888	Revd. Richard J. Williams, Congregational Church
76	24 November 1888	Thomas Brough Jane Wells	Thomas Brough Jane Wells 💍 1888/3009	Widower Spinster	French Polisher None	36 21	Grove Street, Nelson Tor Tor Street, Nelson	6 years 3 days	Residence of George Page, Tor Tor Street, Nelson	88/3126		24 November 1888	Revd. William Oliver, Wesleyan Church
77	15 December 1888	John McDowell Hannah Lindman	John McDowell Hannah Lindman 💍 1888/3023	Bachelor Widow	Miner Housekeeper	50 45	Collingwood Street, Nelson Collingwood Street, Nelson	4 days 5 years	Catholic Station, Nelson	88/3116		15 December 1888	Revd. William J. Mahony, Roman Catholic Church

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).