Intentions to Marry, 1892

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840404, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

Imaged by Luke at Archives NZ Wellington, May 28 2025

Page 1344

District of Christchurch Quarter ending 31 March 1892 Registrar H. W. Bishop

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 March 1892

Charles Painter
Elizabeth Edina Martin

Charles Painter
Elizabeth Edina Martin
💍 1892/3808

Bachelor
Spinster

Compositor

35
34

Christchurch
Avonside

14 years
25 years

Holy Trinity Church

92/574

2 March 1892

Rev. W. A. Pascoe, Church of England

No	52
Date of Notice	2 March 1892
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Painter	Elizabeth Edina Martin
	💍 1892/3808
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Compositor
Age	35	34
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Avonside
Length of Residence	14 years	25 years
Marriage Place	Holy Trinity Church
Folio	92/574
Consent
Date of Certificate	2 March 1892
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. A. Pascoe, Church of England

3 March 1892

Allen Vincent Todd
Florence Ellen Searle

Allen Vincent Dodd
Florence Ellen Searle
💍 1892/608

Bachelor
Spinster

Bootmaker

20
17

Christchurch
Christchurch

20 years
17 years

Registrar's Office

92/626

Harriet Todd, mother; Ellen Lloyd, mother

3 March 1892

Dy. Registrar of Marriages, Henry Adams

No	53
Date of Notice	3 March 1892
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Allen Vincent Todd	Florence Ellen Searle
BDM Match (97%)	Allen Vincent Dodd	Florence Ellen Searle
	💍 1892/608
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Bootmaker
Age	20	17
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	20 years	17 years
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office
Folio	92/626
Consent	Harriet Todd, mother; Ellen Lloyd, mother
Date of Certificate	3 March 1892
Officiating Minister	Dy. Registrar of Marriages, Henry Adams

3 March 1892

James Dempsey
Edith Willis

James Dempsey
Edith Willis
💍 1892/635

Bachelor
Spinster

groom
tailoress

21
21

Christchurch
Christchurch

15 years
18 years

St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church

92/603

3 March 1892

Rev. Father Le Menant des Chesnais, Roman Catholic

No	54
Date of Notice	3 March 1892
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Dempsey	Edith Willis
	💍 1892/635
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	groom	tailoress
Age	21	21
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	15 years	18 years
Marriage Place	St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church
Folio	92/603
Consent
Date of Certificate	3 March 1892
Officiating Minister	Rev. Father Le Menant des Chesnais, Roman Catholic

4 March 1892

Arthur Joseph Kennedy
Jane Grace Brooks

Arthur Joseph Kerridge
Jane Grace Brooks
💍 1892/585

Bachelor
Spinster

groom

32
20

Christchurch
Avonside

5 years
20 years

Holy Trinity Church

92/575

Thomas Brooks, Father

4 March 1892

Rev. W. A. Pascoe, Church of England

No	55
Date of Notice	4 March 1892
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Arthur Joseph Kennedy	Jane Grace Brooks
BDM Match (89%)	Arthur Joseph Kerridge	Jane Grace Brooks
	💍 1892/585
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	groom
Age	32	20
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Avonside
Length of Residence	5 years	20 years
Marriage Place	Holy Trinity Church
Folio	92/575
Consent	Thomas Brooks, Father
Date of Certificate	4 March 1892
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. A. Pascoe, Church of England

7 March 1892

Albert John Pearson
Maud Emily Bradford

Albert John Mason
Maude Emily Bradford
💍 1892/578

Bachelor
Spinster

Shunter

21
19

Lyttelton
Christchurch

14 months
12 years

House of Mr. James Henry Bradford

92/587

James Henry Bradford, Father

7 March 1892

Rev. W. S. Potter, Primitive Methodist

No	56
Date of Notice	7 March 1892
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Albert John Pearson	Maud Emily Bradford
BDM Match (90%)	Albert John Mason	Maude Emily Bradford
	💍 1892/578
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Shunter
Age	21	19
Dwelling Place	Lyttelton	Christchurch
Length of Residence	14 months	12 years
Marriage Place	House of Mr. James Henry Bradford
Folio	92/587
Consent	James Henry Bradford, Father
Date of Certificate	7 March 1892
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. S. Potter, Primitive Methodist

7 March 1892

Arthur Ward Beaven
Margaret Hamilton Beath

Arthur Ward Beaven
Margaret Hamilton Beath
💍 1892/4038

Bachelor
Spinster

engineer

35
22

Christchurch
Riccarton

13 years
22 years

House of Mr. G. L. Beath

92/577

7 March 1892

Rev. C. H. Bradbury, Congregational

No	57
Date of Notice	7 March 1892
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Arthur Ward Beaven	Margaret Hamilton Beath
	💍 1892/4038
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	engineer
Age	35	22
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Riccarton
Length of Residence	13 years	22 years
Marriage Place	House of Mr. G. L. Beath
Folio	92/577
Consent
Date of Certificate	7 March 1892
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. H. Bradbury, Congregational

8 March 1892

Alexander McAlpine
Mary Appleyard

Alexander McAlpine
Mary Appleyard
💍 1892/609

Bachelor
Widow

Engine driver

34
42

Christchurch
Christchurch

3 days
20 years

Registrar's Office

92/627

8 March 1892

Dy. Registrar of Marriages, Henry Adams

No	58
Date of Notice	8 March 1892
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Alexander McAlpine	Mary Appleyard
	💍 1892/609
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Engine driver
Age	34	42
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	3 days	20 years
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office
Folio	92/627
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 March 1892
Officiating Minister	Dy. Registrar of Marriages, Henry Adams

8 March 1892

William Henry Suff Crothers
Henrietta Mayfield Cordell

William Henry Duff Crothers
Henrietta Mayfield Cordner
💍 1892/641

Bachelor
Spinster

Clerk

21
23

Christchurch
Oxford Terrace

3 days
1 year

St. Michael's Church

92/608

8 March 1892

Rev. Walter Harper, Church of England

No	59
Date of Notice	8 March 1892
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Henry Suff Crothers	Henrietta Mayfield Cordell
BDM Match (92%)	William Henry Duff Crothers	Henrietta Mayfield Cordner
	💍 1892/641
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Clerk
Age	21	23
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Oxford Terrace
Length of Residence	3 days	1 year
Marriage Place	St. Michael's Church
Folio	92/608
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 March 1892
Officiating Minister	Rev. Walter Harper, 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 1908. 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).