Intentions to Marry, 1893

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840405, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

Imaged by Carole and Luke at Archives NZ Wellington, June 6 2025.

A few pages are missing due to focus issues.

Page 217

District of Nelson Quarter ending 31 March 1893

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
1	9 January 1893	Richard Howard Heller Mary Agnes Madeline Yeom	Richard Howard Weller Mary Agnes Madeline Nevin 💍 1893/3801	Bachelor Widow	Livery Stable Keeper	26 26	Kakapuaka Kakapuaka	15 years 20 years	Residence of Richd. Heller Kakapuaka	93/4064		9 January 1893	Harold Edwd. Evatt, Church of England Minister
2	11 January 1893	Frederick Clark Margaret Parker Oliver	Frederick Clark Margaret Parker Oliver 💍 1893/1054	Bachelor Spinster	Carpenter Dressmaker	27 27	St Vincent St Nelson Stoke	12 years 3 years	All Saints Church	93/483		11 January 1893	J. Whitmore Chatterton, Church of England Minister
3	12 January 1893	Arthur Lusty Caroline Green	Arthur Lusty Caroline Green 💍 1893/3932	Bachelor Spinster	Farmer	32 17	Richmond Richmond	32 years 3 years	Residence of Benjamin Lusty Richmond	93/487	Matthew Green, Father	12 January 1893	Thomas Bray, Baptist Minister
4	14 January 1893	Charles King Annie Lucretia Ahlgren	Charles King Annie Lucretia Ahlgren 💍 1893/1232	Bachelor Spinster	Carriage Painter Dressmaker	27 24	Bridge St Nelson Bridge St Nelson	3 days 3 days	Residence of Revd. J. H. McKenzie Nelson	93/489		14 January 1893	J. H. McKenzie, Presbyterian Minister
5	24 January 1893	George Harwood Nobley Emily Alice Hammond	George Harwood Webley Emily Alice Hammond 💍 1893/1051	Bachelor Spinster	Painter	22 21	Brook St Nelson Richmond	22 years 21 years	Residence of John Nobley Brook St Nelson	93/479		24 January 1893	Thomas Bray, Baptist Minister
6	26 January 1893	Herbert Hawken Nelly Cross	Herbert Hawken Lilly Cross 💍 1893/1250	Bachelor Spinster	Vocalist Vocalist	22 18	Namea Road Nelson Namea Road Nelson	30 days 30 days	For J. H. McKenzie Nelson	93/490		26 January 1893	J. H. McKenzie, Presbyterian Minister
7	3 February 1893	John Abraham Bass Annie Ellen Alice Jones	John Abraham Cass Annie Ellen Alice Lines 💍 1893/1251	Bachelor Spinster	Baker Domestic Servant	29 22	Namea Road Nelson Sherry River	5 years 5 weeks	Residence of the bride's farmer Sherry River	93/492		3 February 1893	Chas. Wm. Jennings, Church of England Minister
8	4 February 1893	James Richard Barthrop Alice Grooby	James Richard Barltrop Alice Grooby 💍 1893/1243	Widower Spinster	Clerk Housekeeper	33 33	Alton St Nelson Alton St Nelson	33 years 12 years	The Grea Grove Nelson	93/491		4 February 1893	J. H. McKenzie, Presbyterian Minister
9	6 February 1893	Gordon Alexander Yule Campbell Catherine Laura Percival	Gordon Alex Noble Campbell Catherine Louisa Parmients 💍 1893/1057	Bachelor Spinster	Clerk	22 22	Bridge St Nelson Bridge St Nelson	6 months 22 years	Catholic Station	93/485		6 February 1893	W. J. Mahoney, Roman Catholic Priest
10	13 February 1893	Henry Thomas Harman Susan Elizabeth Nickless	Henry Thomas Harman Susan Elizabeth Wilkins 💍 1893/1059	Bachelor Spinster	Labourer	25 26	Kawai St Nelson Grove St Nelson	21 years 26 years	Residence of Henry Nickless Grove St Nelson	93/488		13 February 1893	J. P. Kempthorne, Church of England Minister
11	14 February 1893	Thomas Lisle Adams Charlotte Pauline Hill Scadden	Thomas Lisle Adams Charlotte Pauline Hui Scadden 💍 1893/3959	Widower Spinster	Mine Manager	54 35	Masonic Hotel Nelson Kawai St Nelson	13 days 25 years	Residence of Mosley a Black Kawai St Nelson	93/481		14 February 1893	J. W. Isitt, Wesleyan Minister
12	17 February 1893	Alfred Sheat Laura Herford Thompson	Alfred Sheat Laura Herford Thompson 💍 1893/1050	Bachelor Spinster	Farmer School Teacher	39 25	Richmond Richmond	39 years 25 years	Malthaus Church	93/478		17 February 1893	William George Baker, Church of England Minister
13	3 March 1893	William Ritchie Hannah Lewin	William Ritchie Hannah Lemin 💍 1893/1052	Bachelor Spinster	Tailor	38 26	St Vincent St Nelson Wakapuaka	3 days 16 years	Baptist Church	93/480		3 March 1893	Thomas Bray, Baptist Minister
14	11 March 1893	Richard King Georgina Heywood	Richard King Georgiana Heywood 💍 1893/1056	Widower Widow	Farmer	43 30	Richmond Richmond	17 days 10 years	Residence of Richard King	93/484		11 March 1893	Wm. Geo. Baker, Church of England Minister
15	16 March 1893	Ernest Stacey Lewis Allan Mary Hanna Roberts	Ernest Stoney Lewis Allan Mary Hannah Roberts 💍 1893/1252	Bachelor Spinster	Engineer Servant	21 22	Trafalgar St Nelson Namea Road Nelson	18 years 11 years	Residence of Thomas Roberts	93/493		16 March 1893	J. H. McKenzie, Presbyterian Minister
16	21 March 1893	Arthur Edwin Andrew Bessie Isabel Close	Arthur Edwin Andrews Bessie Isabel Close 💍 1893/1536	Bachelor Spinster	Storeman	20 19	South St Nelson Wakapuaka	4 years 19 years	Residence of Charles Mallindin	93/1505	Mother	21 March 1893	Ernest Evatt, Church of England Minister

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).