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 516

District of Palmerston North Quarter ending 30 June 1880

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

21 May 1890

John Denson
Wilhelmine Fredriecha Louise Maul

John Denson
Wilhelmine Friderike Louise Maul
💍 1890/1160

Bachelor
Spinster

Carpenter

24 years
22 years

Palmerston North
Palmerston North

3 years
14 years

At the house of Fredrich Maul

90/1212

21 May 1890

Rev. Carl Conrad Wilhelm Meyer Lutheran Minister Marton

No	21
Date of Notice	21 May 1890
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Denson	Wilhelmine Fredriecha Louise Maul
BDM Match (91%)	John Denson	Wilhelmine Friderike Louise Maul
	💍 1890/1160
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carpenter
Age	24 years	22 years
Dwelling Place	Palmerston North	Palmerston North
Length of Residence	3 years	14 years
Marriage Place	At the house of Fredrich Maul
Folio	90/1212
Consent
Date of Certificate	21 May 1890
Officiating Minister	Rev. Carl Conrad Wilhelm Meyer Lutheran Minister Marton

2 June 1890

John Bett
Mary Ann Margaret Carvile

John Bett
Mary Ann Margaret Carville
💍 1890/3759

Bachelor
Spinster

Coach Builder

26 years
23 years

Palmerston North
Palmerston North

7 years
4 years

At the residence of Peter Carvile Park Road Palmerston N.

90/1901

2 June 1890

Rev. A. M. Wright Presbyterian Minister Palmerston North

No	22
Date of Notice	2 June 1890
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Bett	Mary Ann Margaret Carvile
BDM Match (98%)	John Bett	Mary Ann Margaret Carville
	💍 1890/3759
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Coach Builder
Age	26 years	23 years
Dwelling Place	Palmerston North	Palmerston North
Length of Residence	7 years	4 years
Marriage Place	At the residence of Peter Carvile Park Road Palmerston N.
Folio	90/1901
Consent
Date of Certificate	2 June 1890
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. M. Wright Presbyterian Minister Palmerston North

3 June 1890

William Henry Bryan
Elizabeth Wealleans

William Henry Bryan
Elizabeth Wealleans
💍 1890/1159

Bachelor
Spinster

Station Overseer

25 years
22 years

Aorangi
Aorangi

1 week
1 year

At the residence of George Wilcocks Aorangi

90/1211

3 June 1890

Rev. Walter Harris Primitive Methodist Feilding

No	23
Date of Notice	3 June 1890
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Henry Bryan	Elizabeth Wealleans
	💍 1890/1159
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Station Overseer
Age	25 years	22 years
Dwelling Place	Aorangi	Aorangi
Length of Residence	1 week	1 year
Marriage Place	At the residence of George Wilcocks Aorangi
Folio	90/1211
Consent
Date of Certificate	3 June 1890
Officiating Minister	Rev. Walter Harris Primitive Methodist Feilding

3 June 1890

Thomas Taylor
Mary Hazell

Thomas Taylor
Mary Hazell
💍 1890/1157

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer

32 years
25 years

Pohangina
Pohangina

3 years
7 months

At the Registrars Office, Palmerston North

90/1209

3 June 1890

Robert N. Kelling Registrar Palmerston North

No	24
Date of Notice	3 June 1890
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Taylor	Mary Hazell
	💍 1890/1157
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	32 years	25 years
Dwelling Place	Pohangina	Pohangina
Length of Residence	3 years	7 months
Marriage Place	At the Registrars Office, Palmerston North
Folio	90/1209
Consent
Date of Certificate	3 June 1890
Officiating Minister	Robert N. Kelling Registrar Palmerston North

4 June 1890

Eugene Joyce
Ellen Walsh

Eugene Joyce
Ellen Walsh
💍 1890/1154

Bachelor
Spinster

Laborer
Domestic Servant

31 years
26 years

Ashurst
Ashurst

6 weeks
1 week

At St. Patrick's Church Palmerston North

90/1205

4 June 1890

Rev. J. T. Patterson C.P. Palmerston North

No	25
Date of Notice	4 June 1890
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Eugene Joyce	Ellen Walsh
	💍 1890/1154
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Laborer	Domestic Servant
Age	31 years	26 years
Dwelling Place	Ashurst	Ashurst
Length of Residence	6 weeks	1 week
Marriage Place	At St. Patrick's Church Palmerston North
Folio	90/1205
Consent
Date of Certificate	4 June 1890
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. T. Patterson C.P. Palmerston North

6 June 1890

Edward Walter Secker
Annie Elizabeth Jewell

Edward Walter Seeker
Annie Elizabeth Sewell
💍 1890/3770

Bachelor
Spinster

Accountant

29 years
18 years

Palmerston North
Palmerston North

6 years
3 years

At the house of E. W. Secker Terrace End

90/1902

Ann Henderson Jewell mother

6 June 1890

Rev. A. M. Wright Presbyterian Minister Palmerston North

No	26
Date of Notice	6 June 1890
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edward Walter Secker	Annie Elizabeth Jewell
BDM Match (95%)	Edward Walter Seeker	Annie Elizabeth Sewell
	💍 1890/3770
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Accountant
Age	29 years	18 years
Dwelling Place	Palmerston North	Palmerston North
Length of Residence	6 years	3 years
Marriage Place	At the house of E. W. Secker Terrace End
Folio	90/1902
Consent	Ann Henderson Jewell mother
Date of Certificate	6 June 1890
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. M. Wright Presbyterian Minister Palmerston North

12 June 1890

William Thompson Rhaupara Cook
Ade Hawkins

William Thompson Rhanpara Cook
Ada Hawkins
💍 1890/2086

Bachelor
Spinster

Printer

25 years
23 years

Foxton
Palmerston North

2 years
5 years

At the house of G. F. Hawkins Palmerston North

90/1903

12 June 1890

Rev. A. M. Wright Presbyterian Minister Palmerston North

No	27
Date of Notice	12 June 1890
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Thompson Rhaupara Cook	Ade Hawkins
BDM Match (94%)	William Thompson Rhanpara Cook	Ada Hawkins
	💍 1890/2086
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Printer
Age	25 years	23 years
Dwelling Place	Foxton	Palmerston North
Length of Residence	2 years	5 years
Marriage Place	At the house of G. F. Hawkins Palmerston North
Folio	90/1903
Consent
Date of Certificate	12 June 1890
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. M. Wright Presbyterian Minister Palmerston North

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 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).