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 249

District of Christchurch Quarter ending 31 March 1890 Registrar J. M. Mulliss

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

24 February 1890

Walter Hazelwood
Fanny Jenkins

Walter Hazelwood
Fanny Jenkins
💍 1890/476

Bachelor
Spinster

Thoraceman
Housekeeper

46
35

Christchurch
Christchurch

1 week
1 week

Registrars Office

90/549

24 February 1890

Registrar J. M. Mulliss

No	55
Date of Notice	24 February 1890
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Walter Hazelwood	Fanny Jenkins
	💍 1890/476
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Thoraceman	Housekeeper
Age	46	35
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	1 week	1 week
Marriage Place	Registrars Office
Folio	90/549
Consent
Date of Certificate	24 February 1890
Officiating Minister	Registrar J. M. Mulliss

25 February 1890

James Mitchell
Eliza Carr

James Mitchell Fisher
Eliza Carr
💍 1890/383

Widower
Widow

Labourer

55
51

Christchurch
Christchurch

2 years
14 years

St. Lukes Church

90/476

25 February 1890

Rev. C. Brigand, Church of England

No	56
Date of Notice	25 February 1890
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Mitchell	Eliza Carr
BDM Match (83%)	James Mitchell Fisher	Eliza Carr
	💍 1890/383
Condition	Widower	Widow
Profession	Labourer
Age	55	51
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	2 years	14 years
Marriage Place	St. Lukes Church
Folio	90/476
Consent
Date of Certificate	25 February 1890
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Brigand, Church of England

26 February 1890

Tom Smith
Catherine Harris

Tom Smith
Catherine Harris
💍 1890/81

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Servant

25
21

Christchurch
Christchurch

12 years
9 years

St. Michaels Church

90/503

26 February 1890

Rev. W. Harper, Church of England

No	57
Date of Notice	26 February 1890
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Tom Smith	Catherine Harris
	💍 1890/81
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Servant
Age	25	21
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	12 years	9 years
Marriage Place	St. Michaels Church
Folio	90/503
Consent
Date of Certificate	26 February 1890
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. Harper, Church of England

26 February 1890

Thomas George Nozee
Bessie Houston Straw

Thomas George Voyce
Bessie Hinston Straw
💍 1890/787

Bachelor
Spinster

Watchmaker

24
22

Christchurch
Christchurch

5 years
20 years

House of Mr. G. F. Straw, Oxford Terrace West

90/912

26 February 1890

Rev. W. Ready, Bible Christian

No	58
Date of Notice	26 February 1890
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas George Nozee	Bessie Houston Straw
BDM Match (87%)	Thomas George Voyce	Bessie Hinston Straw
	💍 1890/787
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Watchmaker
Age	24	22
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	5 years	20 years
Marriage Place	House of Mr. G. F. Straw, Oxford Terrace West
Folio	90/912
Consent
Date of Certificate	26 February 1890
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. Ready, Bible Christian

26 February 1890

Robert Berte
Eliza Clarke

Robert Berti
Eliza Clarke
💍 1890/2671

Bachelor
Spinster

Jeweller
Dressmaker

23
24

Christchurch
Christchurch

23 years
6 years

St. Johns Church

90/521

26 February 1890

Rev. J. C. B. Hoare, Church of England

No	59
Date of Notice	26 February 1890
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Robert Berte	Eliza Clarke
BDM Match (96%)	Robert Berti	Eliza Clarke
	💍 1890/2671
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Jeweller	Dressmaker
Age	23	24
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	23 years	6 years
Marriage Place	St. Johns Church
Folio	90/521
Consent
Date of Certificate	26 February 1890
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. C. B. Hoare, Church of England

27 February 1890

George Forbes
Edith Helen Hurrell

George Forbes Campbell
Edith Helen Hurrell
💍 1890/477

Bachelor
Spinster

Dairyman
Dressmaker

21
21

Christchurch
Christchurch

21 years
21 years

Registrars Office

90/550

27 February 1890

Registrar J. M. Mulliss

No	60
Date of Notice	27 February 1890
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Forbes	Edith Helen Hurrell
BDM Match (80%)	George Forbes Campbell	Edith Helen Hurrell
	💍 1890/477
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Dairyman	Dressmaker
Age	21	21
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	21 years	21 years
Marriage Place	Registrars Office
Folio	90/550
Consent
Date of Certificate	27 February 1890
Officiating Minister	Registrar J. M. Mulliss

27 February 1890

Charles Musson
Elizabeth Yobris

Charles Musson
Elizabeth Tobin
💍 1890/478

Bachelor
Widow

Labourer
Housekeeper

50
43

Christchurch
Christchurch

21 years
25 years

Registrars Office

90/551

27 February 1890

Registrar J. M. Mulliss

No	61
Date of Notice	27 February 1890
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Musson	Elizabeth Yobris
BDM Match (91%)	Charles Musson	Elizabeth Tobin
	💍 1890/478
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Labourer	Housekeeper
Age	50	43
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	21 years	25 years
Marriage Place	Registrars Office
Folio	90/551
Consent
Date of Certificate	27 February 1890
Officiating Minister	Registrar J. M. Mulliss

28 February 1890

John Thomas Diamond
Emma Martin

John Thomas Diamond
Emma Martin
💍 1890/100

Bachelor
Widow

Labourer
Housekeeper

39
25

Christchurch
Christchurch

20 years
2 years

St. Lukes Church

90/477

28 February 1890

Ven. Archdeacon Dudley, Church of England

No	62
Date of Notice	28 February 1890
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Thomas Diamond	Emma Martin
	💍 1890/100
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Labourer	Housekeeper
Age	39	25
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	20 years	2 years
Marriage Place	St. Lukes Church
Folio	90/477
Consent
Date of Certificate	28 February 1890
Officiating Minister	Ven. Archdeacon Dudley, Church of England

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).