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 185

District of Wairau Quarter ending 31 March 1890 Registrar W. H. Baillie

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

2 January 1890

Daniel Scannell
Johanna M. Gratt

Daniel Scannell
Johanna McGrath
💍 1890/240

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic Servant

34 years
28 years

Manse Road, Blenheim
Blenheim

10 years
10 years

The Roman Catholic Church, Blenheim

90/391

2 January 1890

Rev. H. J. Lewiss

No	1
Date of Notice	2 January 1890
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Daniel Scannell	Johanna M. Gratt
BDM Match (91%)	Daniel Scannell	Johanna McGrath
	💍 1890/240
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic Servant
Age	34 years	28 years
Dwelling Place	Manse Road, Blenheim	Blenheim
Length of Residence	10 years	10 years
Marriage Place	The Roman Catholic Church, Blenheim
Folio	90/391
Consent
Date of Certificate	2 January 1890
Officiating Minister	Rev. H. J. Lewiss

3 January 1890

Charles Nisbitt
Jemima Gardiner

Charles Nesbitt
Jemima Gardiner
💍 1890/255

Bachelor
Spinster

Butcher
Domestic Servant

23 years
21 years

Blenheim
Blenheim

1 year
21 years

The House of Mr. Fred Brown, Maxwell Road, Blenheim

90/387

3 January 1890

Rev. J. S. Grace

No	2
Date of Notice	3 January 1890
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Nisbitt	Jemima Gardiner
BDM Match (97%)	Charles Nesbitt	Jemima Gardiner
	💍 1890/255
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Butcher	Domestic Servant
Age	23 years	21 years
Dwelling Place	Blenheim	Blenheim
Length of Residence	1 year	21 years
Marriage Place	The House of Mr. Fred Brown, Maxwell Road, Blenheim
Folio	90/387
Consent
Date of Certificate	3 January 1890
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. S. Grace

7 January 1890

Thomas Batty
Clara Louisa Coward

Thomas Batty
Clara Louisa Coward
💍 1890/256

Widower
Spinster

Cabinet Maker
Dressmaker

29 years
22 years

Springlands
Percy Street, Blenheim

1 year
22 years

The House of Mr. Patchett, Manse Road, Blenheim

90/388

7 January 1890

Rev. Henry Bull

No	3
Date of Notice	7 January 1890
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Batty	Clara Louisa Coward
	💍 1890/256
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Cabinet Maker	Dressmaker
Age	29 years	22 years
Dwelling Place	Springlands	Percy Street, Blenheim
Length of Residence	1 year	22 years
Marriage Place	The House of Mr. Patchett, Manse Road, Blenheim
Folio	90/388
Consent
Date of Certificate	7 January 1890
Officiating Minister	Rev. Henry Bull

14 February 1890

Arthur James Farmar
Jessie Myhill Worthington

Arthur James Farmar
Jessie Myhill Worthington
💍 1890/3517

Batchelor
Spinster

Commission agent

26 years
19 years

Blenheim
Havelock

26 years
9 months

The English Church, Havelock

90/386

Mary Elizabeth Brandon, Mother and Guardian

14 February 1890

Rev. H. Ensor

No	4
Date of Notice	14 February 1890
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Arthur James Farmar	Jessie Myhill Worthington
	💍 1890/3517
Condition	Batchelor	Spinster
Profession	Commission agent
Age	26 years	19 years
Dwelling Place	Blenheim	Havelock
Length of Residence	26 years	9 months
Marriage Place	The English Church, Havelock
Folio	90/386
Consent	Mary Elizabeth Brandon, Mother and Guardian
Date of Certificate	14 February 1890
Officiating Minister	Rev. H. Ensor

17 February 1890

Richard Dick McIsaac
Catherine Kennedy

Richard Dick McIsaac
Catherine Kennedy
💍 1890/257

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer

29 years
23 years

Upper Wairau
Grove Town

29 years
23 years

The Church of the Nativity, Blenheim

90/389

17 February 1890

Rev. J. S. Grace

No	5
Date of Notice	17 February 1890
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Richard Dick McIsaac	Catherine Kennedy
	💍 1890/257
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer
Age	29 years	23 years
Dwelling Place	Upper Wairau	Grove Town
Length of Residence	29 years	23 years
Marriage Place	The Church of the Nativity, Blenheim
Folio	90/389
Consent
Date of Certificate	17 February 1890
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. S. Grace

15 March 1890

James Cameron
Ruth Anne Knight

James Cameron
Ruth Anne Knight
💍 1890/242

Bachelor
Spinster

Police Constable

35 years
20 years

Blenheim
Blenheim

18 months
10 years

The Residence of Mr. Alex Knight, Maxwell Road, Blenheim

90/393

Alexander Knight, Father

15 March 1890

Rev. W. O. Robb

No	6
Date of Notice	15 March 1890
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Cameron	Ruth Anne Knight
	💍 1890/242
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Police Constable
Age	35 years	20 years
Dwelling Place	Blenheim	Blenheim
Length of Residence	18 months	10 years
Marriage Place	The Residence of Mr. Alex Knight, Maxwell Road, Blenheim
Folio	90/393
Consent	Alexander Knight, Father
Date of Certificate	15 March 1890
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. O. Robb

28 March 1890

Daniel George Moore
Emily Jane Magdalen Stuart Munro

Daniel George Moore
Emily Jane Magdalen Sewart Munro
💍 1890/239

Bachelor
Spinster

Station Manager
Governess

35 years
22 years

Leefield, Waihopai
Barkhouse

19 years
16 months

The House of Mr. Alexander Munro, Barkhouse

90/390

28 March 1890

Rev. J. S. Grace

No	7
Date of Notice	28 March 1890
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Daniel George Moore	Emily Jane Magdalen Stuart Munro
BDM Match (97%)	Daniel George Moore	Emily Jane Magdalen Sewart Munro
	💍 1890/239
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Station Manager	Governess
Age	35 years	22 years
Dwelling Place	Leefield, Waihopai	Barkhouse
Length of Residence	19 years	16 months
Marriage Place	The House of Mr. Alexander Munro, Barkhouse
Folio	90/390
Consent
Date of Certificate	28 March 1890
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. S. Grace

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).