Intentions to Marry, 1896 January-June

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840409, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

Imaged by Luke at Archives NZ Wellington, June 11 2025

1896 is bound in two volumes, January-June and July-December.

Page 777

District of Nelson Quarter ending 30 June 1896

No	Date of Notice	Names and Surnames of Parties	BDM Match	Condition	Calling or Profession	Age	Dwelling Place	Length of Residence	Marriage Place	Folio	Date of Certificate	Officiating Minister
14	2 April 1896	George Pratt Eliza Levien formerly Heathwood	George Pratt Eliza Levien 💍 1896/1044	Bachelor Widower	Farmer Music Teacher	53 45	Warmin Street, Nelson Hardy Street, Nelson	8 months 3 years	The residence of W. J. Mahoney, Manuka Street, Nelson	96/1718	2 April 1896	W. J. Mahoney, Roman Catholic Priest
15	6 April 1896	Edward Albert Ernest Dee Ann Magdalena Hoffmann	Edward Albert Ernest Dee Anna Magalena Hofmann 💍 1896/1045	Bachelor Spinster	Tailor Domestic Duties	26 26	Collingwood Street, Nelson St Vincent Street, Nelson	10 years 3 days	Baptist Church, Bridge Street, Nelson	96/1719	6 April 1896	R. S. Gray, Baptist Minister
16	7 April 1896	Richard Williams Lilian Emma Frank	Richard Williams Lilian Emma Frank 💍 1896/1046	Bachelor Spinster	Telegraphist Domestic Duties	25 25	Hardy Street, Nelson Hardy Street, Nelson	4 days 25 years	St Mary's Church, Manuka Street, Nelson	96/1720	7 April 1896	W. J. Mahoney, Roman Catholic Priest
17	7 April 1896	Edward Charles Daubeny Mabel Edith Fell	Edward Charles Dauberry Mabel Edith Fell 💍 1896/1047	Bachelor Spinster	Engineer Domestic Duties	27 26	Brougham Street, Nelson Brougham Street, Nelson	3 days 4 months	The Cathedral, Trafalgar Square, Nelson	96/1721	7 April 1896	C. O. Mules, Bishop of Nelson
18	8 April 1896	Joseph Arnold Clara Adelina Rutherford	Joseph Arnold Clara Adeline Rutherford 💍 1896/1048	Bachelor Spinster	Farmer Domestic Duties	32 29	Waimea West, Nelson Brightwater	32 years 29 years	The Catholic Presbytery, Manuka Street, Nelson	96/1722	8 April 1896	W. J. Mahoney, Roman Catholic Priest
19	9 April 1896	William Snodgrass Sarah Ellen Boylan	William Snodgrass Sarah Ellen Boylan 💍 1896/1049	Bachelor Spinster	Clerk Music Teacher	25 28	Wakefield Quay, Nelson Wakefield Quay, Nelson	3 days 3 days	Roman Catholic Presbytery, Manuka Street, Nelson	96/1723	9 April 1896	W. J. Mahoney, Roman Catholic Priest
20	16 April 1896	Herbert Knight Kate Batchelor	Herbert Knight Kate Batchelor 💍 1896/1027	Bachelor Spinster	Farmer Domestic Duties	27 23	Appleby Nile Street East, Nelson	27 years 23 years	Residence of James Batchelor, Nile Street East, Nelson	96/1724	16 April 1896	E. C. Isaacs, Congregational Minister
21	17 April 1896	Arthur Beatson Siblin Jessie Kennedy Smith	Arthur Beatson Giblin Jessie Kennedy Smith 💍 1896/1028	Bachelor Spinster	Accountant Clerkess	32 25	Waimea Street, Nelson Wellington Terrace, Nelson	20 years 16 years	All Saints Church, Vanguard Street, Nelson	96/1725	17 April 1896	F. W. Chatterton, Church of England Minister
22	23 April 1896	Robert John Bell Amy Wasney	Robert John Bell Amy Wastney 💍 1896/1029	Bachelor Spinster	Farmer	35 33	Wakapuaka Suburban Wakapuaka Suburban	5 days 33 years	Residence of William Wasney, Wakapuaka Suburban	96/1726	23 April 1896	H. Mackenzie, Presbyterian Minister
23	24 April 1896	Raymond England Jane Florence Marguerite Glasgow	Raymond England Lane Florence Marguerite Glasgow 💍 1896/1030	Bachelor Spinster	Gentleman	39 23	Brook Street, Nelson Wakapuaka Road, Nelson	one year one year	Christ Church, Trafalgar Square, Nelson	96/1727	24 April 1896	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 1894. More registers will be added as the project continues.

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).