Intentions to Marry, 1889

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840401, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

Imaged by Carole at Archives NZ Wellington, May 23 2025

Page 963

District of Nelson Quarter ending 30 September 1889

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
29	9 July 1889	Robert Ellis Kate Evans	Robert Ellis Kate Evans 💍 1889/2204	Bachelor Spinster	Sheep Farmer Nil	27 23	Collingwood Street Nelson Wakapuaka	3 days 1 week	Christchurch	89/2213		9 July 1889	Revd John Hampton, Church of England
30	9 July 1889	Thomas McNab Agnes Stewart	Thomas McNab Agnes Stewart 💍 1889/2268	Bachelor Spinster	Mariner Nil	32 18	11 Murray Street Nelson Victoria Road Nelson	4 years 18 years	Residence of James Stewart, Victoria Road Nelson	89/2204	James Stewart, Father	9 July 1889	Revd Patrick Calder, Presbyterian Church
31	11 July 1889	William James Whiting Ann Elizabeth Head	William James Whiting Annie Elizabeth Hart 💍 1889/2267	Bachelor Spinster	Carpenter Servant	22 23	Brook Street Valley Nelson Nile Street Nelson	22 years 5 years	Residence of David Whiting, Brook Street Valley Nelson	89/2203		11 July 1889	Revd Thomas Bray, Baptist Church
32	19 July 1889	David Whisson Mary Anne Burke	David Watson Mary Ellen York 💍 1889/2598	Bachelor Spinster	Steward Nil	31 19	Bridge Street Nelson Bridge Street Nelson	1 week 1 week	St Mary, Catholic Church	89/2211	Patrick Burke, Father	19 July 1889	Revd William Joseph Mahoney, Roman Catholic Church
33	26 July 1889	Charles Henry John Schroder Martha Palmer	Charles Henry John Schroder Martha Palmer 💍 1889/2656	Bachelor Spinster	Farmer Nil	20 22	Hope Hope	20 years 22 years	Residence of William Palmer, Farmer, Hope	89/2645	Frederick John Charles Schroder, Father	26 July 1889	Revd Charles Oliver Mules, Church of England
34	5 August 1889	Gabriel Gabrielsen Kate Eliza Nowell	Gabriel Gabrielson Kate Eliza Rowell 💍 1889/2193	Bachelor Widow	Seaman Nil	30 20	Nepeanville Nelson Wakefield Quay Nelson	3 years 20 years	Residence of Mrs Kate E. Nowell, Wakefield Quay Nelson	89/2208		5 August 1889	Revd Richard James Williams, Congregational Church
35	7 August 1889	Robert Henry Mundy Urana Arnold	Robert Henry Mundy Orana Arnold 💍 1889/2269	Bachelor Spinster	Cab Owner Nil	22 21	Haven Road Nelson Haven Road Nelson	1 month 21 years	Residence of Mrs C. Arnold, Haven Road Nelson	89/2205		7 August 1889	Revd Patrick Calder, Presbyterian Church
36	13 August 1889	Henry Thetford Kate Sophia Handley	Henry Thetford Kate Sophia Hoadley 💍 1889/2200	Bachelor Spinster	Gardener Nil	34 29	Nile Street Nelson Nile Street Nelson	18 months 1 year	Residence of Henry Thetford, Nile Street Nelson	89/2209		13 August 1889	Revd William T. Oliver, Wesleyan Church
37	31 August 1889	William McMicken Caroline Annie Watson	William McConkey Caroline Annie Rathbun 💍 1889/2205	Bachelor Spinster	Horse Trainer Nil	24 21	Richmond Richmond	4 months 2 months	Office of the Registrar of Marriages, Nelson	89/2214		31 August 1889	Robert Watson, Registrar
38	2 September 1889	Jonathan Haile Anne Hallworth	Jonathan Harle Anne Hallworth 💍 1889/2270	Bachelor Widow	Bus Proprietor Nil	51 54	Haven Road Nelson Haven Road Nelson	5 years 5 years	Residence of Jonathan Haile, Haven Road Nelson	89/2206		2 September 1889	Revd Patrick Calder, Presbyterian Church
39	12 September 1889	Charles Henry Carter Sarah Ann Adams	Charles Henry Carter Sarah Ann Adams 💍 1889/2201	Bachelor Spinster	Blacksmith Servant	24 23	Harley Street Nelson Harley Street Nelson	24 years 23 years	Residence of Alfred Carter, Harley Street Nelson	89/2210		12 September 1889	Revd William T. Oliver, Wesleyan 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).