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 669

District of Wellington Quarter ending 30 September 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	Date of Certificate	Officiating Minister
183	1 July 1892	James Stokes Lilian Preece	James Stokes Lilian Preece 💍 1892/2178	Bachelor Spinster	Baker	23 23	Wellington Wellington	9 weeks 8 [illegible]	Registrars Office Wellington	92/2317	1 July 1892	Mr. W. Wyatt
184	1 July 1892	Henry Shottlander Matilda Jackson	Henry Shotlander Matilda Jackson 💍 1892/2165	Bachelor Spinster	Commission agent	29 22	Wellington Wellington	years years	Jewish Synagogue	92/2305	1 July 1892	Rev. H. Leweren
185	2 July 1892	Charles William Godard Veronica Agnes McLean	Charles William Goddard Veronica Agnes McLean 💍 1892/2179	Bachelor Spinster	Mariner	33 22	Wellington Wellington	years 7 weeks	Registrars Office Wellington	92/2318	2 July 1892	Mr. W. Wyatt
186	4 July 1892	Cornelius Byrne Mary Ann Boyle	Cornelius Byrne Mary Anne Boyle 💍 1892/2153	Bachelor Spinster	Farmer	29 26	Wellington Wellington	14 days years	St. Marys of the Angels	92/2292	4 July 1892	Rev. R. Coffey
187	4 July 1892	Thomas William John Nicholson Bonthorn Margaret Annie Anstiss	Thomas William John Nicholsen Banthorne Margaret Annie Antrotus 💍 1892/2145	Bachelor Spinster	Ironmonger	32 23	Wellington Island Bay	years years	House of Mr. Anstiss Island Bay	92/2285	4 July 1892	Rev. R. Coffey
188	5 July 1892	George Joseph Taylor Isabella Sutherland	George Joseph Taylor Isabella Sutherland 💍 1892/2655	Bachelor Spinster	Market Gardener	31 31	Wanganui Wellington	5 months 7 [illegible]	House of Mr. Williamson Queen Street	92/2888	5 July 1892	Rev. J. Paterson
189	7 July 1892	Robert Dupras Jossivill Marian Frances James	Robert Duprat Tosswill Marian Frances Sanders 💍 1892/2180	Bachelor Spinster	Farmer	21 25	Wellington Wellington	3 days [illegible]	Registrars Office Wellington	92/2319	7 July 1892	Mr. W. Wyatt
190	8 July 1892	Robert Strang Eliza Macaulay	Robert Strang Eliza Macaulay 💍 1892/2173	Widower Widow	Master Mariner	42 39	Wellington Wellington	years years	House of Bridegroom Watson Street	92/2313	8 July 1892	Rev. J. K. Elling
191	8 July 1892	Richard H. Cleary Henrietta Worthing	Richard McCleary Henrietta Whiting 💍 1892/2158	Bachelor Spinster	Bootmaker	30 22	Wellington Wellington	years 4 months	House of Mr. Garard Courtenay Place	92/2274	8 July 1892	Mr. Samuel Costall
192	9 July 1892	George Philip Catley Charlotte Cecilia Seevers	George Philip Catley Charlotte Cecilia Sievers 💍 1892/2182	Bachelor Spinster	Farmer	31 29	Wellington Makara	years years	Cathedral	92/2298	9 July 1892	Rev. T. Dawson
193	9 July 1892	John Houghton Mary Ann Benger	John Houghton Mary Ann Benger Jolly 💍 1892/2188	Bachelor Spinster	Farmer	24 26	Wellington Wellington	14 days 3 [illegible]	Registrars Office Wellington	92/2320	9 July 1892	Mr. W. Wyatt
194	9 July 1892	William Hanyon Emily Jane Avery	William Slanyon Emily Jane Avery 💍 1892/2199	Bachelor Spinster	Engineer	41 27	Wellington Wellington	years years	Registrars Office Wellington	92/2321	9 July 1892	Mr. W. Wyatt
195	11 July 1892	William Morrison Annie Esther Fitzgerald	William Morrison Annie Esther Fitzgerald 💍 1892/2150	Bachelor Spinster	Chemist & Druggist	22 21	Wellington Wellington	6 weeks years	House of Mr. Fitzgerald Woodsworth Street	92/2289	11 July 1892	Rev. W. Stiver
196	12 July 1892	Charles Brown Sarah Ann Howes	Charles Brown Sarah Ann Howes 💍 1892/2206	Bachelor Spinster	Mariner	34 35	Wellington Wellington	years years	Registrars Office Wellington	92/2322	12 July 1892	Mr. W. Wyatt
197	12 July 1892	Alfred Rayner Maria Josephine O'Shaughnessy	Alfred Rayner Maria Josephine O'Shaughnessy 💍 1892/2183	Bachelor Spinster	Brewer	28 27	Wellington Wellington	1 week years	House of Mr. Rees Brook Street	92/2299	12 July 1892	Rev. P. Power

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).