Intentions to Marry, 1894

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840406, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

Imaged by Luke at Archives NZ Wellington, June 6 2025

Page 130

District of Napier Quarter ending 31 March 1894 Registrar Sydney J. Jago

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

8 January 1894

John Twigg
Alberta Young

John Twigg
Alberta Young
💍 1894/2055

Bachelor
Spinster

Manager of Dairy Factory
School Teacher

25
32

Hastings
Napier

4 months
2 years

Cathedral

94/2099

8 January 1894

Rev. De Berdt Hovell, Church of England

No	1
Date of Notice	8 January 1894
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Twigg	Alberta Young
	💍 1894/2055
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Manager of Dairy Factory	School Teacher
Age	25	32
Dwelling Place	Hastings	Napier
Length of Residence	4 months	2 years
Marriage Place	Cathedral
Folio	94/2099
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 January 1894
Officiating Minister	Rev. De Berdt Hovell, Church of England

12 January 1894

John Edwin Rolls
Sarah Ellen Lord

John Edwin Rollo
Sarah Ellen Lord
💍 1894/280

Bachelor
Spinster

Trainer

35
20

Greenmeadows
Taradale

3 years
20 years

Residence of bride's mother, Taradale

94/281

William Lock, father

12 January 1894

Rev. A. P. Clarke, Church of England

No	2
Date of Notice	12 January 1894
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Edwin Rolls	Sarah Ellen Lord
BDM Match (97%)	John Edwin Rollo	Sarah Ellen Lord
	💍 1894/280
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Trainer
Age	35	20
Dwelling Place	Greenmeadows	Taradale
Length of Residence	3 years	20 years
Marriage Place	Residence of bride's mother, Taradale
Folio	94/281
Consent	William Lock, father
Date of Certificate	12 January 1894
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. P. Clarke, Church of England

16 January 1894

Thomas Peter Halpin
Elizabeth Kenny

Thomas Peter Halpin
Elizabeth Kenny
💍 1894/572

Bachelor
Spinster

Draper

27
25

Napier
Napier

16 months
9 years

Roman Catholic Church, Napier

94/589

16 January 1894

Rev. M. Grogan, Roman Catholic Priest

No	3
Date of Notice	16 January 1894
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Peter Halpin	Elizabeth Kenny
	💍 1894/572
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Draper
Age	27	25
Dwelling Place	Napier	Napier
Length of Residence	16 months	9 years
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Church, Napier
Folio	94/589
Consent
Date of Certificate	16 January 1894
Officiating Minister	Rev. M. Grogan, Roman Catholic Priest

17 January 1894

William Burnett
Margaret Anne Caldwell

William Burnet
Margaret Jane Caldwell
💍 1894/282

Bachelor
Spinster

Draper

34
27

Napier
Napier

7 years
14 years

St. Paul's Presbyterian Church, Napier

94/283

17 January 1894

Rev. D. Sidey, Presbyterian Minister

No	4
Date of Notice	17 January 1894
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Burnett	Margaret Anne Caldwell
BDM Match (92%)	William Burnet	Margaret Jane Caldwell
	💍 1894/282
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Draper
Age	34	27
Dwelling Place	Napier	Napier
Length of Residence	7 years	14 years
Marriage Place	St. Paul's Presbyterian Church, Napier
Folio	94/283
Consent
Date of Certificate	17 January 1894
Officiating Minister	Rev. D. Sidey, Presbyterian Minister

20 January 1894

Robert Walter Sherriff
Elsie Day Cobb

Robert Walker Ashcroft
Elsie Day Cobb
💍 1894/284

Bachelor
Spinster

Tinsmith

23
29

Napier
Napier

10 years
9 years

Residence of bride's parents, Emerson St, Napier

94/267

20 January 1894

Rev. H. J. Elliott, Wesleyan Methodist

No	5
Date of Notice	20 January 1894
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Robert Walter Sherriff	Elsie Day Cobb
BDM Match (84%)	Robert Walker Ashcroft	Elsie Day Cobb
	💍 1894/284
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Tinsmith
Age	23	29
Dwelling Place	Napier	Napier
Length of Residence	10 years	9 years
Marriage Place	Residence of bride's parents, Emerson St, Napier
Folio	94/267
Consent
Date of Certificate	20 January 1894
Officiating Minister	Rev. H. J. Elliott, Wesleyan Methodist

22 January 1894

James Stuart Orr
Fanny Smith

James Stireat Orr
Fanny Smith
💍 1894/4230

Bachelor
Spinster

Tanner

26
26

Puketitiri
Papakura

4 years
6 years

Residence of bride's father, Papakura

94/284

22 January 1894

Rev. D. Sidey, Presbyterian Minister

No	6
Date of Notice	22 January 1894
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Stuart Orr	Fanny Smith
BDM Match (88%)	James Stireat Orr	Fanny Smith
	💍 1894/4230
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Tanner
Age	26	26
Dwelling Place	Puketitiri	Papakura
Length of Residence	4 years	6 years
Marriage Place	Residence of bride's father, Papakura
Folio	94/284
Consent
Date of Certificate	22 January 1894
Officiating Minister	Rev. D. Sidey, Presbyterian Minister

24 January 1894

William Finlayson
Mary Elizabeth Watt

William McIntyre Finlayson
Mary Elizabeth Watt
💍 1894/28

William Fielding
Margaret Watt
💍 1894/3906

Bachelor
Spinster

Boilermaker
Dressmaker

23
24

Napier
Napier

7 years
24 years

Residence of bride's parents, Hillston Road, Napier

94/285

24 January 1894

Rev. D. Sidey, Presbyterian Minister

No	7
Date of Notice	24 January 1894
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Finlayson	Mary Elizabeth Watt
BDM Match (83%)	William McIntyre Finlayson	Mary Elizabeth Watt
	💍 1894/28
BDM Match (61%)	William Fielding	Margaret Watt
	💍 1894/3906
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Boilermaker	Dressmaker
Age	23	24
Dwelling Place	Napier	Napier
Length of Residence	7 years	24 years
Marriage Place	Residence of bride's parents, Hillston Road, Napier
Folio	94/285
Consent
Date of Certificate	24 January 1894
Officiating Minister	Rev. D. Sidey, Presbyterian Minister

1 February 1894

Francis Murrow
Alice McBryde

Francis Murrow
Alice McBryde
💍 1894/573

Bachelor
Spinster

Painter

24
48

Napier
Napier

Since birth
Since birth

St. Mary's Catholic Church, Napier

94/590

John McBryde, father

1 February 1894

Rev. M. Grogan, Roman Catholic Priest

No	8
Date of Notice	1 February 1894
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Francis Murrow	Alice McBryde
	💍 1894/573
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Painter
Age	24	48
Dwelling Place	Napier	Napier
Length of Residence	Since birth	Since birth
Marriage Place	St. Mary's Catholic Church, Napier
Folio	94/590
Consent	John McBryde, father
Date of Certificate	1 February 1894
Officiating Minister	Rev. M. Grogan, Roman Catholic Priest

1 February 1894

Kenneth Alexander McKenzie
Maud Endora Watson

Kenneth Alexander McKenzie
Maud Endora Watson
💍 1894/289

Bachelor
Spinster

Storekeeper

37
22

Napier
Napier

Since birth
15 years

St. Paul's Presbyterian Church, Napier

94/272

1 February 1894

Rev. D. Paterson, Presbyterian Minister

No	9
Date of Notice	1 February 1894
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Kenneth Alexander McKenzie	Maud Endora Watson
	💍 1894/289
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Storekeeper
Age	37	22
Dwelling Place	Napier	Napier
Length of Residence	Since birth	15 years
Marriage Place	St. Paul's Presbyterian Church, Napier
Folio	94/272
Consent
Date of Certificate	1 February 1894
Officiating Minister	Rev. D. Paterson, Presbyterian Minister

3 February 1894

Frank Bennett
Sarah Franklin

Frank Bennett
Sarah Franklyn
💍 1894/288

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer

31
20

Clive
Clive

10 years
19 years

Church of England, Clive

94/271

Joseph Franklin, father

3 February 1894

Rev. W. St. Hill, Church of England

No	10
Date of Notice	3 February 1894
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Frank Bennett	Sarah Franklin
BDM Match (96%)	Frank Bennett	Sarah Franklyn
	💍 1894/288
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	31	20
Dwelling Place	Clive	Clive
Length of Residence	10 years	19 years
Marriage Place	Church of England, Clive
Folio	94/271
Consent	Joseph Franklin, father
Date of Certificate	3 February 1894
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. St. Hill, 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 1903. 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).