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 1347

District of Quarter ending 31 March 1892 Registrar J. J. Pautherson

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

29 January 1892

William Moatt
Matilda Campion Cothic

William Porter
Matilda Wootton
💍 1892/693

Bachelor
Spinster

Grain Merchant

29
28

Christchurch
Christchurch

5 years
28 years

House of Rev J. Hosking, Suburban South, Christchurch

92/564

29 January 1892

Rev A Peters, United Methodist

No	29
Date of Notice	29 January 1892
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Moatt	Matilda Campion Cothic
BDM Match (61%)	William Porter	Matilda Wootton
	💍 1892/693
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Grain Merchant
Age	29	28
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	5 years	28 years
Marriage Place	House of Rev J. Hosking, Suburban South, Christchurch
Folio	92/564
Consent
Date of Certificate	29 January 1892
Officiating Minister	Rev A Peters, United Methodist

29 January 1892

James John Wilson
Eunice Gardiner

James John Wilson
Emma Gardiner
💍 1892/629

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer

37
21

Christchurch
Christchurch

5 years
5 years

St. Julies Church, Christchurch

92/597

29 January 1892

Rev McKenzie, Gibson, Church of England

No	30
Date of Notice	29 January 1892
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James John Wilson	Eunice Gardiner
BDM Match (83%)	James John Wilson	Emma Gardiner
	💍 1892/629
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	37	21
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	5 years	5 years
Marriage Place	St. Julies Church, Christchurch
Folio	92/597
Consent
Date of Certificate	29 January 1892
Officiating Minister	Rev McKenzie, Gibson, Church of England

29 January 1892

Joseph William Voice
Edith Alice Kelly

Joseph William Voice
Edith Alice Kelly
💍 1892/584

Bachelor
Spinster

Coach Builder

24
19

Christchurch
Christchurch

5 years
19 years

Church of Holy Trinity, Avonside

92/573

Elizabeth Pearce, Mother

29 January 1892

Rev W. A. Pascoe, Church of England

No	31
Date of Notice	29 January 1892
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Joseph William Voice	Edith Alice Kelly
	💍 1892/584
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Coach Builder
Age	24	19
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	5 years	19 years
Marriage Place	Church of Holy Trinity, Avonside
Folio	92/573
Consent	Elizabeth Pearce, Mother
Date of Certificate	29 January 1892
Officiating Minister	Rev W. A. Pascoe, Church of England

30 January 1892

Alexander Crawford Aune
Maria Suckling

Alexanda Crawford
Annie Marie Suckling
💍 1892/1863

Widower
Spinster

Salesman

42
28

Christchurch
Christchurch

3 days
28 years

Church of St. Paul, Christchurch

92/983

30 January 1892

Rev F. T. Ileslie, Presbyterian

No	32
Date of Notice	30 January 1892
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Alexander Crawford Aune	Maria Suckling
BDM Match (67%)	Alexanda Crawford	Annie Marie Suckling
	💍 1892/1863
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Salesman
Age	42	28
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	3 days	28 years
Marriage Place	Church of St. Paul, Christchurch
Folio	92/983
Consent
Date of Certificate	30 January 1892
Officiating Minister	Rev F. T. Ileslie, Presbyterian

30 January 1892

Arthur Albert Wagstaff
Charlotte Lambert Malcolm

Arthur Albert Wagstaff
Charlotte Lambert Malcolm
💍 1892/628

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer

26
26

Christchurch
Christchurch

5 years
3 years

All Saints Church, Burwood

92/588

30 January 1892

Rev F. R. Inwood, Church of England

No	33
Date of Notice	30 January 1892
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Arthur Albert Wagstaff	Charlotte Lambert Malcolm
	💍 1892/628
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	26	26
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	5 years	3 years
Marriage Place	All Saints Church, Burwood
Folio	92/588
Consent
Date of Certificate	30 January 1892
Officiating Minister	Rev F. R. Inwood, Church of England

4 February 1892

John Christopher Chase
Marie Violet Ridley

John Christopher Chase
Marie Violet Ridley
💍 1892/3810

Bachelor
Spinster

Clerk

29
30

Christchurch
Christchurch

5 years
25 years

Roman Catholic Church, Barbados St. Chch

92/611

4 February 1892

Rev Father Cummings, Roman Catholic

No	34
Date of Notice	4 February 1892
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Christopher Chase	Marie Violet Ridley
	💍 1892/3810
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Clerk
Age	29	30
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	5 years	25 years
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Church, Barbados St. Chch
Folio	92/611
Consent
Date of Certificate	4 February 1892
Officiating Minister	Rev Father Cummings, Roman Catholic

5 February 1892

John Dodds
Edith Eliza Cummings

John Dodds
Edith Eliza Arminger Arminger
💍 1892/645

Bachelor
Spinster

Clerk

27
17

Christchurch
Christchurch

3 years
2 years

St. Pauls Church, Chch

92/599

James Cummings, Father

5 February 1892

Rev F. T. Ileslie, Presbyterian

No	35
Date of Notice	5 February 1892
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Dodds	Edith Eliza Cummings
BDM Match (79%)	John Dodds	Edith Eliza Arminger Arminger
	💍 1892/645
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Clerk
Age	27	17
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	3 years	2 years
Marriage Place	St. Pauls Church, Chch
Folio	92/599
Consent	James Cummings, Father
Date of Certificate	5 February 1892
Officiating Minister	Rev F. T. Ileslie, Presbyterian

8 February 1892

William Francis Roche
Lillian Ada Brice

William Francis Roche
Lillian Ada Brice
💍 1892/634

Widower
Spinster

Commercial Traveller

36
23

Christchurch
Christchurch

11 months
23 years

St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, Manchester Street

92/602

8 February 1892

Rev Father de Chemis, Roman Catholic

No	36
Date of Notice	8 February 1892
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Francis Roche	Lillian Ada Brice
	💍 1892/634
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Commercial Traveller
Age	36	23
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	11 months	23 years
Marriage Place	St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, Manchester Street
Folio	92/602
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 February 1892
Officiating Minister	Rev Father de Chemis, Roman Catholic

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).