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 296

District of Christchurch Quarter ending 31 March 1895 Registrar M. Macpherson

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 March 1895

Peter Combe
Jessie Harriet Babington

Peter Combe Cunningham
Jessie Harriet Babington
💍 1895/467

Bachelor
Spinster

Sheep Farmer

26
21

Christchurch
Christchurch

2 years
2 years

St. Michael's Church, Christchurch

95/1633

9 March 1895

Rev. Canon Cholmondeley, Church of England

No	90
Date of Notice	9 March 1895
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Peter Combe	Jessie Harriet Babington
BDM Match (75%)	Peter Combe Cunningham	Jessie Harriet Babington
	💍 1895/467
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Sheep Farmer
Age	26	21
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	2 years	2 years
Marriage Place	St. Michael's Church, Christchurch
Folio	95/1633
Consent
Date of Certificate	9 March 1895
Officiating Minister	Rev. Canon Cholmondeley, Church of England

11 March 1895

Matthew Henry West
Louisa Agnes Spindler

Matthew Henry West
Louisa Agnes Amy
💍 1895/37

Bachelor
Spinster

Clerk

38 years
25

Christchurch
Christchurch

14 years
10 years

St. Luke's Church, Christchurch

95/1670

11 March 1895

Rev. Canon Lingard, Church of England

No	91
Date of Notice	11 March 1895
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Matthew Henry West	Louisa Agnes Spindler
BDM Match (81%)	Matthew Henry West	Louisa Agnes Amy
	💍 1895/37
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Clerk
Age	38 years	25
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	14 years	10 years
Marriage Place	St. Luke's Church, Christchurch
Folio	95/1670
Consent
Date of Certificate	11 March 1895
Officiating Minister	Rev. Canon Lingard, Church of England

12 March 1895

Robert James Stark
Alicia Gardner

Robert James Stark
Alicia Gardner
💍 1895/42

Bachelor
Spinster

Hairdresser

26
25

Christchurch
Christchurch

3 days
3 months

House of Mr. Geo. Wm. Gardner, Hereford St., Linwood

95/1695

12 March 1895

Rev. G. Webster, Presbyterian

No	92
Date of Notice	12 March 1895
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Robert James Stark	Alicia Gardner
	💍 1895/42
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Hairdresser
Age	26	25
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	3 days	3 months
Marriage Place	House of Mr. Geo. Wm. Gardner, Hereford St., Linwood
Folio	95/1695
Consent
Date of Certificate	12 March 1895
Officiating Minister	Rev. G. Webster, Presbyterian

13 March 1895

James Calvert Park
Freda Kathleen Carlisle

James Calvert Park
Mabel Kathleen Cardale
💍 1895/2977

Bachelor
Spinster

Station Manager

40
20

Christchurch
Christchurch

3 days
20 years

St. Michael's Church, Christchurch

95/1694

Flora Emily Carlisle, Mother

13 March 1895

Rev. A. W. Averill, Church of England

No	93
Date of Notice	13 March 1895
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Calvert Park	Freda Kathleen Carlisle
BDM Match (83%)	James Calvert Park	Mabel Kathleen Cardale
	💍 1895/2977
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Station Manager
Age	40	20
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	3 days	20 years
Marriage Place	St. Michael's Church, Christchurch
Folio	95/1694
Consent	Flora Emily Carlisle, Mother
Date of Certificate	13 March 1895
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. W. Averill, Church of England

13 March 1895

James Pritchard
Sarah Elizabeth Bevan

James Pritchard
Elizabeth Sarah Bevan
💍 1895/2989

Widower
Domestic

Miner

55
23

Christchurch
Christchurch

22 years
10 years

House of Mr. Jas. Pritchard, Matson St., Linwood

95/1705

13 March 1895

Rev. J. Dawson, Wesleyan Methodist

No	94
Date of Notice	13 March 1895
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Pritchard	Sarah Elizabeth Bevan
BDM Match (71%)	James Pritchard	Elizabeth Sarah Bevan
	💍 1895/2989
Condition	Widower	Domestic
Profession	Miner
Age	55	23
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	22 years	10 years
Marriage Place	House of Mr. Jas. Pritchard, Matson St., Linwood
Folio	95/1705
Consent
Date of Certificate	13 March 1895
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Dawson, Wesleyan Methodist

13 March 1895

George Easterbrook
Elizabeth Downham

George Easterbrooke
Elizabeth Downham
💍 1895/3538

Widower
Widow

Laborer

61
43

Christchurch
Christchurch

10 years
20 years

House of Mrs. E. Downham, Linwood

95/1818

13 March 1895

Rev. C. M. McLean, Wright, Presbyterian

No	95
Date of Notice	13 March 1895
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Easterbrook	Elizabeth Downham
BDM Match (97%)	George Easterbrooke	Elizabeth Downham
	💍 1895/3538
Condition	Widower	Widow
Profession	Laborer
Age	61	43
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	10 years	20 years
Marriage Place	House of Mrs. E. Downham, Linwood
Folio	95/1818
Consent
Date of Certificate	13 March 1895
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. M. McLean, Wright, Presbyterian

13 March 1895

Frederick John Craddock
Eleanor Maude Payne

Frederick John Craddock
Eleanor Maude Payne
💍 1895/38

Bachelor
Spinster

Accountant

23
23

Christchurch
Christchurch

23 years
2 years

St. Luke's Church, Christchurch

95/1671

13 March 1895

Rev. Canon Lingard, Church of England

No	96
Date of Notice	13 March 1895
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Frederick John Craddock	Eleanor Maude Payne
	💍 1895/38
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Accountant
Age	23	23
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	23 years	2 years
Marriage Place	St. Luke's Church, Christchurch
Folio	95/1671
Consent
Date of Certificate	13 March 1895
Officiating Minister	Rev. Canon Lingard, 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).