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 1019

District of Wairau Quarter ending 30 June 1892

No	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
18	12 April 1892	William Alfred Sowman Mary Cribb	William Alfred Sowman Mary Cribb 💍 1892/1219	Widower Widow	Grocer Nurse	27 38	Wynen Street Blenheim Manse Road Blenheim	14 years 13 years	Church of the Nativity Blenheim	92/1398		12 April 1892	Venble I. S. Grace
19	16 April 1892	John Campbell Wilson Sarah Hannam	John Campbell Wilson Sarah Hannan 💍 1892/1227	Bachelor Spinster	Painter Waitress	27 24	Blenheim Blenheim	8 years 24 years	The house of Mrs Hannam, Charles Street Blenheim	92/1405		16 April 1892	Revd W. O. Robb
20	18 April 1892	William Simpson Annie Elizabeth Patchett	William Simpson Annie Elizabeth Patchett 💍 1892/1220	Bachelor Spinster	Labourer	25 18	Blenheim Blenheim	about 2 years 14 years	The residence of Mrs Joseph Patchett, Smith Street Blenheim	92/1399	Joseph Patchett, father	18 April 1892	Venble I. S. Grace
21	22 April 1892	Walter Mead Priscilla Emma Simms	Walter Mead Priscilla Emma Timms 💍 1892/1221	Bachelor Spinster	Waggoner	24 20	Hillersden Wairau Valley Wairau Valley	3 1/2 years 20 years	The residence of Mr Samuel Simms, Wairau Valley	92/1400	Samuel Simms, father	22 April 1892	Venble I. S. Grace
22	22 April 1892	Thomas O'Sullivan Mary Ann Hunter	Thomas O'Sullivan Mary Ann Hunter 💍 1892/1214	Bachelor Spinster	Labourer	22 24	Tua Marina Tua Marina	about 15 years 22 years	St Patrick's Roman Catholic Church, Tua Marina	92/1393		22 April 1892	Very Revd Patrick Herrigan
23	28 April 1892	Marco Tosella Ottavia Giarulli	Marco Fosella Ottavia Ciarulli 💍 1892/1301	Bachelor Spinster	Clothing Manufacturer	46 36	Temporary Tua Marina, usual Wellington Temporary Tua Marina, usual Wellington	3 days 3 days	The office of the Registrar of Marriages Blenheim	92/1410		28 April 1892	The Registrar of Marriages Blenheim
24	10 May 1892	James Gleeson Bridget Maher	James Gleeson Bridget Maher 💍 1892/1215	Bachelor Spinster	Flaxmiller	35 21	usual Waverley Temporary Blenheim	about 11 years 12 years	The Roman Catholic Church Blenheim	92/1394		10 May 1892	Very Revd Patrick Herrigan
25	12 May 1892	James Lees Selina Higgins	James Lees Selina Higgins 💍 1892/1228	Bachelor Spinster	Produce Merchant	50 50	Blenheim Blenheim	9 years about 30 years	The Presbyterian Manse Blenheim	92/1406		12 May 1892	Revd W. O. Robb
26	14 May 1892	Archibald Neilson Bridget Frances O'Leary	Archibald Neilson McAllister Bridget Frances O'Leary 💍 1892/1216	Bachelor Spinster	Blacksmith	26 22	Blenheim Blenheim	26 years 22 years	The Roman Catholic Church Blenheim	92/1395		14 May 1892	Very Revd Augustine Aubrey
27	16 May 1892	Henry Edward Beattie Hannah Hunter	Henry Edward Beattie Hannah Hunter 💍 1892/1217	Bachelor Spinster	Police Constable	29 22	Blenheim Tua Marina	3 years 22 years	The residence of Mr Michael O'Neill, Nicholson Street Blenheim	92/1396		16 May 1892	Revd Paul Aubrey
28	19 May 1892	Alexander John Shaw Sarah Margaret Parsons	Alexander John Shaw Sarah Margaret Parsons 💍 1892/1302	Bachelor Spinster	Hotelkeeper	26 16	Renwick Town Marshlands Tua Marina	26 years 16 years	The office of the Registrar of Marriages Blenheim	92/1411	Margaret Hinsey, Mother	19 May 1892	The Registrar of Marriages Blenheim
29	20 May 1892	Edgar James Puttman Ellen Stevens	Edgar James Pettman Ellen Stevens 💍 1892/1303	Widower Widow	Gardener Housekeeper	31 29	Springlands Springlands	2 3/12 years 7 months	The office of the Registrar of Marriages Blenheim	92/1412		20 May 1892	The Registrar of Marriages Blenheim
30	31 May 1892	John Dutton Bridget Annie Maher	John Dutton Bridget Ann Maher 💍 1892/1218	Bachelor Spinster	Miner Housekeeper	32 23	usual Queen Charlotte Sound present Blenheim usual Chakipawa present Blenheim	5 days 5 days	Roman Catholic Church Blenheim	92/1397		31 May 1892	Revd Paul Aubrey
31	1 June 1892	Thomas John Miller Grace Watson	Thomas John Muller Grace Watson 💍 1892/1222	Bachelor Spinster	Flaxmill Manager	27 19	Bartlett's Creek Renwick Town	19 months 19 years	The residence of Mr Charles Henry Watson, Renwick Town	92/1401	Charles Henry Watson, father	1 June 1892	Venble I. S. Grace
32	3 June 1892	George Henry Aberhart Annie Clifford	George Henry Aberhart Annie Clifford 💍 1892/1294	Bachelor Spinster	Farmer Domestic Servant	22 26	Grove Town Grove Town & Blenheim	22 years 3 1/2 years	The Wesleyan Church Blenheim	92/1408		3 June 1892	Revd Wm B. Marten

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 1894. More registers will be added as the project continues.

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).