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 294

District of Christchurch Quarter ending 31 March 1895 Registrar J.M. Wilkinson

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

26 February 1895

Richard Wellington
Georgina Jemima Wood Maxfield

Richard William Fereday
Georgina Jemima Wood Macpherson
💍 1895/3274

Widower
Widow

Solicitor

Full age
Full age

Christchurch
Dunedin

3 years
1 week

St. Mary's Church, Mornington, Dunedin

95/816

26 February 1895

Rev. E. J. Bowden, Church of England

No	76
Date of Notice	26 February 1895
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Richard Wellington	Georgina Jemima Wood Maxfield
BDM Match (65%)	Richard William Fereday	Georgina Jemima Wood Macpherson
	💍 1895/3274
Condition	Widower	Widow
Profession	Solicitor
Age	Full age	Full age
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Dunedin
Length of Residence	3 years	1 week
Marriage Place	St. Mary's Church, Mornington, Dunedin
Folio	95/816
Consent
Date of Certificate	26 February 1895
Officiating Minister	Rev. E. J. Bowden, Church of England

26 February 1895

Lucien Gauthier
Lucy Anne Fowler

Luciano Gautier Glen
Lucy Ann Fowler
💍 1895/3030

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic

33
23

Christchurch
Christchurch

14 days
3 years

Registrar's Office, Christchurch

95/618

26 February 1895

Registrar, J.M. Wilkinson

No	77
Date of Notice	26 February 1895
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Lucien Gauthier	Lucy Anne Fowler
BDM Match (77%)	Luciano Gautier Glen	Lucy Ann Fowler
	💍 1895/3030
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic
Age	33	23
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	14 days	3 years
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office, Christchurch
Folio	95/618
Consent
Date of Certificate	26 February 1895
Officiating Minister	Registrar, J.M. Wilkinson

28 February 1895

William John Larcombe
Theresa Holland

William John Larcombe
Theresa Holland
💍 1895/4017

Bachelor
Spinster

Telegraphist

27
23

Christchurch
Christchurch

2 years
4 years

House of Mr. John Larcombe, Lincoln Road

95/1653

28 February 1895

Rev. D. Hercus, Presbyterian

No	78
Date of Notice	28 February 1895
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William John Larcombe	Theresa Holland
	💍 1895/4017
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Telegraphist
Age	27	23
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	2 years	4 years
Marriage Place	House of Mr. John Larcombe, Lincoln Road
Folio	95/1653
Consent
Date of Certificate	28 February 1895
Officiating Minister	Rev. D. Hercus, Presbyterian

1 March 1895

Anah Lewis
Alethea Clarissa Speers

Anah Lewis
Alethea Clarrissa Byers
💍 1895/3031

Widower
Widow

Miller
Baker

53
50

Christchurch
Christchurch

14 days
10 years

Registrar's Office, Christchurch

95/619

1 March 1895

Registrar, J.M. Wilkinson

No	79
Date of Notice	1 March 1895
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Anah Lewis	Alethea Clarissa Speers
BDM Match (91%)	Anah Lewis	Alethea Clarrissa Byers
	💍 1895/3031
Condition	Widower	Widow
Profession	Miller	Baker
Age	53	50
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	14 days	10 years
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office, Christchurch
Folio	95/619
Consent
Date of Certificate	1 March 1895
Officiating Minister	Registrar, J.M. Wilkinson

4 March 1895

William George Thompson
Emma Ellen Heath Roughton

William George Thompson
Emma Ellen Heath Righton
💍 1895/2976

Bachelor
Spinster

Miller

23
24

Christchurch
Christchurch

3 days
24 years

St. Michael's Church, Christchurch

95/693

4 March 1895

Rev. A. W. Averill, Church of England

No	80
Date of Notice	4 March 1895
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William George Thompson	Emma Ellen Heath Roughton
BDM Match (96%)	William George Thompson	Emma Ellen Heath Righton
	💍 1895/2976
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Miller
Age	23	24
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	3 days	24 years
Marriage Place	St. Michael's Church, Christchurch
Folio	95/693
Consent
Date of Certificate	4 March 1895
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. W. Averill, Church of England

5 March 1895

James McCreadie Morrison
Alice Ann Walsh

James McCreadie Morrison
Alice Ann Walshaw
💍 1895/3182

Bachelor
Spinster

Clerk
Tailoress

24
23

Christchurch
Christchurch

3 years
3 years

House of Mr. J. R. Walsh, 218 Gloucester St.

95/713

5 March 1895

Rev. J. Sarginson, Congregational

No	81
Date of Notice	5 March 1895
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James McCreadie Morrison	Alice Ann Walsh
BDM Match (94%)	James McCreadie Morrison	Alice Ann Walshaw
	💍 1895/3182
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Clerk	Tailoress
Age	24	23
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	3 years	3 years
Marriage Place	House of Mr. J. R. Walsh, 218 Gloucester St.
Folio	95/713
Consent
Date of Certificate	5 March 1895
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Sarginson, Congregational

5 March 1895

Frederick Walter Edwards
Marion Barker

Frederick Walter Edwards
Marion Barker
💍 1895/50

Bachelor
Spinster

Baker

25
22

Christchurch
Christchurch

13 years
22 years

All Saints Church, Burwood

95/682

5 March 1895

Rev. F. R. Inwood, Church of England

No	82
Date of Notice	5 March 1895
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Frederick Walter Edwards	Marion Barker
	💍 1895/50
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Baker
Age	25	22
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	13 years	22 years
Marriage Place	All Saints Church, Burwood
Folio	95/682
Consent
Date of Certificate	5 March 1895
Officiating Minister	Rev. F. R. Inwood, 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).