Intentions to Marry, 1890

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840402, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

Imaged by Luke at Archives NZ Wellington, May 23 2025

Page 137

District of Wellington Quarter ending 31 March 1890 Registrar William Thomas Wyatt

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

28 January 1890

George McCartney
Mary Teager Francis

George McCartney
Mary Seager Francis
💍 1890/421

Bachelor
Spinster

Clerk

22
21

Wellington
Wellington

9 months
3 months

House of Mr Francis Hankey Street

90/276

28 January 1890

Rev. J. Paterson

No	25
Date of Notice	28 January 1890
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George McCartney	Mary Teager Francis
BDM Match (97%)	George McCartney	Mary Seager Francis
	💍 1890/421
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Clerk
Age	22	21
Dwelling Place	Wellington	Wellington
Length of Residence	9 months	3 months
Marriage Place	House of Mr Francis Hankey Street
Folio	90/276
Consent
Date of Certificate	28 January 1890
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Paterson

30 January 1890

Thomas William McLachlan
Jane Tonks

Thomas William McLachlan
Jane Tonks
💍 1890/3600

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer

24
23

Wellington
Wellington

years
years

Registrars office Wellington

90/306

30 January 1890

W. T. Wyatt

No	26
Date of Notice	30 January 1890
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas William McLachlan	Jane Tonks
	💍 1890/3600
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer
Age	24	23
Dwelling Place	Wellington	Wellington
Length of Residence	years	years
Marriage Place	Registrars office Wellington
Folio	90/306
Consent
Date of Certificate	30 January 1890
Officiating Minister	W. T. Wyatt

31 January 1890

Frederick Reed
Mary Keeper

Frederick Reid
Mary Keeper
💍 1890/423

Widower
Spinster

Settler

45
27

Wellington
Wellington

3 weeks
6 months

St Peters Church

90/295

31 January 1890

Rev. W. C. Waters

No	27
Date of Notice	31 January 1890
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Frederick Reed	Mary Keeper
BDM Match (96%)	Frederick Reid	Mary Keeper
	💍 1890/423
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Settler
Age	45	27
Dwelling Place	Wellington	Wellington
Length of Residence	3 weeks	6 months
Marriage Place	St Peters Church
Folio	90/295
Consent
Date of Certificate	31 January 1890
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. C. Waters

5 February 1890

Henry Oliff
Alice Turner

Henry Oliff
Alice Turner
💍 1890/3601

Bachelor
Spinster

Mariner

30
27

Wellington
Wellington

years
years

Registrars office Wellington

90/307

5 February 1890

W. T. Wyatt

No	28
Date of Notice	5 February 1890
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Henry Oliff	Alice Turner
	💍 1890/3601
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Mariner
Age	30	27
Dwelling Place	Wellington	Wellington
Length of Residence	years	years
Marriage Place	Registrars office Wellington
Folio	90/307
Consent
Date of Certificate	5 February 1890
Officiating Minister	W. T. Wyatt

6 February 1890

David Hickey
Mary Buckley

David Hickey
Mary Buckley
💍 1890/3663

Bachelor
Spinster

Storeman

24
25

Wellington
Wellington

years
years

St Mary of the Angels

90/259

6 February 1890

Rev. P. Kerrigan

No	29
Date of Notice	6 February 1890
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	David Hickey	Mary Buckley
	💍 1890/3663
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Storeman
Age	24	25
Dwelling Place	Wellington	Wellington
Length of Residence	years	years
Marriage Place	St Mary of the Angels
Folio	90/259
Consent
Date of Certificate	6 February 1890
Officiating Minister	Rev. P. Kerrigan

8 February 1890

Edward Patrick Brogan
Alice Tierney

Edward Patrick Brogan
Alicia Tierney
💍 1890/218

Bachelor
Spinster

Clerk

24
23

Wellington
Petone

years
1 month

St Marys Cathedral

90/246

8 February 1890

Very Rev. J. McNamara

No	30
Date of Notice	8 February 1890
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edward Patrick Brogan	Alice Tierney
BDM Match (93%)	Edward Patrick Brogan	Alicia Tierney
	💍 1890/218
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Clerk
Age	24	23
Dwelling Place	Wellington	Petone
Length of Residence	years	1 month
Marriage Place	St Marys Cathedral
Folio	90/246
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 February 1890
Officiating Minister	Very Rev. J. McNamara

10 February 1890

Valdemar Rode Anderson
Annie Julia Robinson

Valdemar Rodes Anderson
Annie Julia Robinson
💍 1890/793

Bachelor
Spinster

Telegraphist

22
22

Wellington
Wellington

8 months
5 months

House of Mr Campbell Brougham Street

90/896

10 February 1890

Rev. C. I. Ogg

No	31
Date of Notice	10 February 1890
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Valdemar Rode Anderson	Annie Julia Robinson
BDM Match (98%)	Valdemar Rodes Anderson	Annie Julia Robinson
	💍 1890/793
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Telegraphist
Age	22	22
Dwelling Place	Wellington	Wellington
Length of Residence	8 months	5 months
Marriage Place	House of Mr Campbell Brougham Street
Folio	90/896
Consent
Date of Certificate	10 February 1890
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. I. Ogg

10 February 1890

Arthur Staples
Barbara Gray

Arthur Staples
Barbara Gray
💍 1890/420

Bachelor
Spinster

Bootmaker

21
18

Kilbirnie
Wellington

years
years

House of The Rev. J. K. Elliott Oriental Bay

90/293

George Gray, Father

10 February 1890

Rev. J. K. Elliott

No	32
Date of Notice	10 February 1890
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Arthur Staples	Barbara Gray
	💍 1890/420
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Bootmaker
Age	21	18
Dwelling Place	Kilbirnie	Wellington
Length of Residence	years	years
Marriage Place	House of The Rev. J. K. Elliott Oriental Bay
Folio	90/293
Consent	George Gray, Father
Date of Certificate	10 February 1890
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. K. Elliott

11 February 1890

James Foster
Mary Morshead

James Foster
Mary Morshead
💍 1890/342

Bachelor
Widow

Engineer

34
29

Wellington
Wellington

15 months
years

St Marks Church

90/253

11 February 1890

Rev. R. Coffey

No	33
Date of Notice	11 February 1890
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Foster	Mary Morshead
	💍 1890/342
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Engineer
Age	34	29
Dwelling Place	Wellington	Wellington
Length of Residence	15 months	years
Marriage Place	St Marks Church
Folio	90/253
Consent
Date of Certificate	11 February 1890
Officiating Minister	Rev. R. Coffey

12 February 1890

Francis Alfred Shelridge
Mary Ann Millner

Francis Alfred Thelridge
Mary Ann Millecen
💍 1890/332

Francis Alfred Cramer
Mary Jane Hill
💍 1891/3311

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer

27
22

Wellington
Wellington

3 days
years

House of Mr Jesse Millner Adelaide Road

90/267

12 February 1890

Rev. W. Shirer

No	34
Date of Notice	12 February 1890
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Francis Alfred Shelridge	Mary Ann Millner
BDM Match (89%)	Francis Alfred Thelridge	Mary Ann Millecen
	💍 1890/332
BDM Match (62%)	Francis Alfred Cramer	Mary Jane Hill
	💍 1891/3311
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	27	22
Dwelling Place	Wellington	Wellington
Length of Residence	3 days	years
Marriage Place	House of Mr Jesse Millner Adelaide Road
Folio	90/267
Consent
Date of Certificate	12 February 1890
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. Shirer

12 February 1890

George Edwin Deane
Isabel Mabel Stenhouse

Bachelor
Spinster

Medical Practitioner
Reader

32
24

Wellington
Wellington

1 week
years

St Josephs Church

90/248

12 February 1890

Very Rev. Felix Walters

No	35
Date of Notice	12 February 1890
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Edwin Deane	Isabel Mabel Stenhouse
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Medical Practitioner	Reader
Age	32	24
Dwelling Place	Wellington	Wellington
Length of Residence	1 week	years
Marriage Place	St Josephs Church
Folio	90/248
Consent
Date of Certificate	12 February 1890
Officiating Minister	Very Rev. Felix Walters

13 February 1890

Albert Seager
Lydia Emily Elliott

Albert Seager
Lydia Emily Elliott
💍 1890/231

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer

21
18

Lower Hutt
Lower Hutt

years
years

Registrars office Wellington

90/308

Edward Elliott, Father

13 February 1890

W. T. Wyatt

No	36
Date of Notice	13 February 1890
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Albert Seager	Lydia Emily Elliott
	💍 1890/231
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer
Age	21	18
Dwelling Place	Lower Hutt	Lower Hutt
Length of Residence	years	years
Marriage Place	Registrars office Wellington
Folio	90/308
Consent	Edward Elliott, Father
Date of Certificate	13 February 1890
Officiating Minister	W. T. Wyatt

These records have been automatically transcribed and must be verified using the page image (below)

100% Contrast

100% Brightness

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).