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 1527

District of Nelson Quarter ending 31 December 1894 Registrar W. Calders

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
49	1 October 1894	Herbert Cooker Dorothy Kruse	Herbert Cooper Dorothy Kruse 💍 1894/3246	Bachelor Spinster	Baker Servant	25 25	Harley Street Maina Road	1 year 25 years	Office of the Registrar of Marriages, Nelson	94/3586		1 October 1894	W. Calders, Registrar
50	3 October 1894	William Coria Johnston Fanny Malcolm	William Corrie Johnston Fanny Malcolm 💍 1894/3247	Bachelor Spinster	Evangelist	46 28	Richmond Richmond	3 days 28 years	Office of the Registrar of Marriages, Nelson	94/3587		3 October 1894	W. Calders, Registrar
51	14 October 1894	Andrew Herbert Foy Mary Hannah Ford	Andrew Herbert Foy Mary Hannah Ford 💍 1894/3249	Bachelor Spinster	Butcher	25 29	Appleby Appleby	3 days 25 years	Residence of Charles Henry Ford, Appleby	94/3592		14 October 1894	A. J. Wright, Church of England Minister
52	20 October 1894	William Thomas Evans Mary Ann Goodman	William Thomas Evans Mary Ann Goodman 💍 1894/4130	Bachelor Spinster	Labourer	27 21	Wakefield Quay, Nelson Wakefield Quay, Nelson	3 days 3 days	At the residence of Oswald Goodman, Stoke	94/3589		20 October 1894	J. H. Mackenzie, Presbyterian Minister
53	26 October 1894	Percy Jemmens Clara Jane Hebberd	Percy Jennens Clara Jane Hebberd 💍 1894/4122	Bachelor Spinster	Accountant	24 24	Halifax Street, Nelson Halifax Street, Nelson	24 years 22 years	Residence of Cornelius Hebberd, Clifton Terrace, Wakapuaka	94/3590		26 October 1894	J. H. Mackenzie, Presbyterian Minister
54	29 October 1894	James Spencer Rose Eatwell	James Spencer Rose Eatnell 💍 1894/3243	Bachelor Spinster	Farmer	23 24	Manica Street, Nelson Manica Street, Nelson	23 years 18 years	Congregational Church, Hardy Street, Nelson	94/3583		29 October 1894	E. C. Isaacs, Congregational Minister
55	7 November 1894	William Read Agnes Paulina Met	William Reid Agnes Paulina Wet 💍 1894/4055	Bachelor Spinster	Fisherman	20 20	Russell Street, Nelson Russell Street, Nelson	20 years 3 months	Catholic Station, Manuka Street, Nelson	94/3591		7 November 1894	W. J. Mahonay, Roman Catholic Priest
56	8 November 1894	Alfred Ernest Bruce Annie Ellen Bartlett	Alfred Ernest Bruce Annie Ellen Bartlett 💍 1894/3244	Bachelor Spinster	Seaman	25 20	Russell Street, Nelson Russell Street, Nelson	3 days 8 days	Residence of Alfred Ernest Bruce, Russell Street, Nelson	94/3584		8 November 1894	E. B. Isaacs, Congregational Minister
57	14 November 1894	Arthur Edward Clayden Ellen Louisa Painton	Arthur Edward Clayden Ellen Louisa Painton 💍 1894/3245	Bachelor Spinster	Farmer	32 24	Manuka Street, Nelson Cambria Street, Nelson	3 days 10 days	The Residence of Peter Cook, Manuka Street, Nelson	94/3585		14 November 1894	E. C. Isaacs, Congregational Minister
58	15 November 1894	William Joseph Gay Mary Evelyn Frost	William Joseph Gay Mary Evelyn Frost 💍 1894/3248	Bachelor Spinster	Tailor	20 18	Bridge Street Hillside, Wakapuaka	18 years 18 years	St. Andrew's Church, Wakapuaka	94/3588	Joseph Gay, father; Walter Frost, father	15 November 1894	J. D. G. Galway, Church of England Minister
59	21 November 1894	Walter William Jackson Florence Bertha Young	Walter William Jackson Florence Bertha Young 💍 1894/3253	Bachelor Spinster	Farmer Dressmaker	22 21	Grove Street, Nelson Grove Street, Nelson	3 years 21 years	Christ Church, Trafalgar Square, Nelson	94/3595	Henry Robertson Young, father	21 November 1894	Thomas Gray, Baptist Minister
60	28 November 1894	Richard Alfred Wakelin Una Agnes Newton	Richard Alfred Wakelin Una Agnes Newton 💍 1894/3822	Bachelor Spinster	Commercial Traveller	26 21	Trafalgar Hotel, Bridge Street, Nelson Bridge Street, Nelson	3 days 21 years	Christ Church, Trafalgar Square, Nelson	94/4039		28 November 1894	J. P. Kempthorne, Church of England Minister
61	1 December 1894	William Harding Emms Eleanor Adams	William Harding Emms Eleanor Adams 💍 1894/3250	Bachelor Spinster	Tanner Domestic Servant	23 23	Avon Road, Nelson Harley Street, Nelson	7 years 1 month	Residence of Charles Carter, Harley Street, Nelson	94/3593		1 December 1894	W. Dawson, Wesleyan Minister
62	4 December 1894	Newton Charles Holdaway Ida Laura Moore	Newton Charles Holdaway Ida Laura Moore 💍 1894/3799	Bachelor Spinster	Coach Builder Assistant in boot and photo store	26 21	Salisbury Road, Richmond Tory Street, Nelson	5 years 21 years	Christ Church, Trafalgar Square, Nelson	94/4038		4 December 1894	J. P. Kempthorne, 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 1899. 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).