Intentions to Marry, 1895 January-June

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840407, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

Imaged by Carole at Archives NZ Wellington, June 11 2025.

1895 is bound in two volumes, January-June and July-December.

Page 547

District of Thames Quarter ending 30 June 1895 Registrar Edward Horriss

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

9 April 1895

Henry William Guthrie
Jessie Wood Paterson

Henry William Guthrie
Jessie Wood Paterson
💍 1895/3477

Bachelor
Spinster

Joiner
School Teacher

32
29

Thames
Thames

3 days
4 weeks

Congregational Church, Mary St, Thames

95/1059

9 April 1895

Rev. W. R. Woolley, Baptist

No	6
Date of Notice	9 April 1895
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Henry William Guthrie	Jessie Wood Paterson
	💍 1895/3477
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Joiner	School Teacher
Age	32	29
Dwelling Place	Thames	Thames
Length of Residence	3 days	4 weeks
Marriage Place	Congregational Church, Mary St, Thames
Folio	95/1059
Consent
Date of Certificate	9 April 1895
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. R. Woolley, Baptist

13 April 1895

George Taylor
Phyllis Rattray

George Taylor
Phyllis Rattray
💍 1895/3455

Bachelor
Spinster

Clerk
None

35
23

Thames
Thames

2 weeks
25 years

The Dwelling of Wm Martin, Mary St

95/1061

13 April 1895

Rev. F. O'Callaghan, D.D., Church of England

No	7
Date of Notice	13 April 1895
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Taylor	Phyllis Rattray
	💍 1895/3455
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Clerk	None
Age	35	23
Dwelling Place	Thames	Thames
Length of Residence	2 weeks	25 years
Marriage Place	The Dwelling of Wm Martin, Mary St
Folio	95/1061
Consent
Date of Certificate	13 April 1895
Officiating Minister	Rev. F. O'Callaghan, D.D., Church of England

15 April 1895

James Peter Anderson
Sarah South

James Peter Anderson
Sarah Smith
💍 1895/419

Bachelor
Spinster

Miner
Dressmaker

25
21

Thames
Thames

25 years
21 years

St George's Church, Mackay St

95/1577

15 April 1895

No	8
Date of Notice	15 April 1895
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Peter Anderson	Sarah South
BDM Match (91%)	James Peter Anderson	Sarah Smith
	💍 1895/419
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Miner	Dressmaker
Age	25	21
Dwelling Place	Thames	Thames
Length of Residence	25 years	21 years
Marriage Place	St George's Church, Mackay St
Folio	95/1577
Consent
Date of Certificate	15 April 1895
Officiating Minister

15 April 1895

Frederick Paget
Agnes Blanche Friend

Frederick Paget Jones
Agnes Blanche Friend
💍 1895/3464

Bachelor
Widow

Commission Agent
None

38
34

Thames
Thames

3 days
6 months

The Office of the Registrar of Marriages

95/1070

15 April 1895

Edward Horriss, Registrar

No	9
Date of Notice	15 April 1895
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Frederick Paget	Agnes Blanche Friend
BDM Match (86%)	Frederick Paget Jones	Agnes Blanche Friend
	💍 1895/3464
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Commission Agent	None
Age	38	34
Dwelling Place	Thames	Thames
Length of Residence	3 days	6 months
Marriage Place	The Office of the Registrar of Marriages
Folio	95/1070
Consent
Date of Certificate	15 April 1895
Officiating Minister	Edward Horriss, Registrar

15 April 1895

Henry Dunn Driver
Sophia Renshaw

Henry Dunn Driver
Sophia Kenshaw
💍 1895/3478

Bachelor
Spinster

Publican
None

25
33

Thames
Thames

3 days
26 years

The Dwelling of Jas Renshaw, Willoughby St, Thames

95/1060

15 April 1895

Rev. W. R. Woolley, Baptist

No	10
Date of Notice	15 April 1895
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Henry Dunn Driver	Sophia Renshaw
BDM Match (96%)	Henry Dunn Driver	Sophia Kenshaw
	💍 1895/3478
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Publican	None
Age	25	33
Dwelling Place	Thames	Thames
Length of Residence	3 days	26 years
Marriage Place	The Dwelling of Jas Renshaw, Willoughby St, Thames
Folio	95/1060
Consent
Date of Certificate	15 April 1895
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. R. Woolley, Baptist

15 April 1895

Aldeberontifus James Bateman
Mary Ann Killgour

Aldeberontifus James Bateman
Mary Ann Killgour
💍 1895/3460

Bachelor
Spinster

Butcher
None

25
24

Thames
Thames

25 years
20 years

The Dwelling of Thos Killgour, Parawai

95/1066

15 April 1895

Rev. Samuel J. Serpell, Wesleyan

No	11
Date of Notice	15 April 1895
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Aldeberontifus James Bateman	Mary Ann Killgour
	💍 1895/3460
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Butcher	None
Age	25	24
Dwelling Place	Thames	Thames
Length of Residence	25 years	20 years
Marriage Place	The Dwelling of Thos Killgour, Parawai
Folio	95/1066
Consent
Date of Certificate	15 April 1895
Officiating Minister	Rev. Samuel J. Serpell, Wesleyan

These records have been automatically transcribed and must be verified using the page image (below)

100% Contrast

100% Brightness

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).