Intentions to Marry, 1896 July-December

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840410, 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 216

District of Wellington Quarter ending 30 September 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	Consent	Date of Certificate	Officiating Minister
244	20 July 1896	William Arthur Isaac Elizabeth Jane Day	William Arthur Isaac Elizabeth Jane Day 💍 1896/2030	Bachelor Spinster	Packer	23 23	Wellington Wellington	years	Home of Mr Isaac, Aro Street	96/2920		20 July 1896	Rev. N. B. Redstone
245	20 July 1896	William Smith Edith Thompson Giles	William Smith Edith Thornton Giles 💍 1896/4801	Bachelor Spinster	Shop Farmer	27 29	Wellington Wellington	3 days years	St. Paul's Cathedral	96/4424		20 July 1896	Rev. J. H. Sprott
246	20 July 1896	Charles Julius Phillips Hennchen Samuel	Charles Julius Phillips Hannchen Samuel 💍 1896/2083	Bachelor Spinster	Commercial Traveller	30 25	Wellington Wellington	1 week years	Hebrew Synagogue	96/2880		20 July 1896	Rev. H. Van Staveren
247	20 July 1896	Reuben Staples Mary Halpin	Reuben Staples Mary Halpin 💍 1896/54	Bachelor Spinster	Cabinet Maker	28 25	Wellington Wellington	years 1 week	Registrar's Office	96/2844		20 July 1896	Mr. W. Wyatt
248	21 July 1896	James Johnson Sarah Jane Robinson	James Johnson Sarah Jane Robinson 💍 1896/145 Charles Edward Coly Donaldson Sarah Jane Robinson 💍 1896/3706	Bachelor Spinster	Labourer	21 21	Upper Hutt Upper Hutt	years	Registrar's Office, Wellington	96/2845		21 July 1896	Mr. W. Wyatt
249	22 July 1896	Arthur Walter Chapman Ada Thirza Barker	Arthur Walter Chapman Ada Thirza Barker 💍 1896/2102	Bachelor Spinster	Tailor	24 19	Wellington Wellington	years	House of Mr. G. W. Chapman, Ebor Street	96/2876	Mr. N. Barker, father	22 July 1896	Rev. W. Bamford
250	27 July 1896	Henry Bull Emma Gregory	Henry Bull Emma Gregory 💍 1896/2001 Henry Mould Mary Ann Gregory 💍 1897/4432	Bachelor Spinster	Clerk	24 21	Wellington Wellington	3 days 1 month	St. Peter's Church	96/2870		27 July 1896	Rev. W. G. Waters
251	28 July 1896	John Alfred Denhard Mary Ann Malone	John Alfred Dewhirst Mary Ann Malone 💍 1896/1994	Bachelor Spinster	Blacksmith	28 25	Wellington Wellington	3 days	St. Mary of the Angels	96/2864		28 July 1896	Very Rev. E. Devoy
252	29 July 1896	Augustus William Anderson Sarah Esther Freeman	Augustus William Anderson Sarah Esther Freeman 💍 1896/2308	Bachelor Spinster	Bootmaker	26 24	Wellington Wellington	3 months 2 weeks	House of Mr. Warburton, June Street	96/2900		29 July 1896	Rev. James Guy
253	30 July 1896	William Staples Catherine Geloon	William Staples Catherine Gibson 💍 1896/2095	Bachelor Spinster	Bootmaker	21 18	Wellington Wellington	years	House of Mr. Geloon, Thorndon Quay	96/2891	Thomas Geloon, father	30 July 1896	Rev. J. K. Cleak
254	31 July 1896	Arthur Oswald Hosking Rose Hannah Eagle	Arthur Oswald Hoskins Rose Hannah Eagle 💍 1896/1985	Bachelor Spinster	Bricklayer	21 19	Wellington Wellington	years	Registrar's Office	96/2846	John Ernest Eagle, father	31 July 1896	Mr. W. Wyatt
255	31 July 1896	Thomas Key Thomas Clara Antrobus	Thomas Key Thomson Clara Autrpoleus 💍 1896/2297	Bachelor Spinster	Shop Assistant	29 23	Wellington Wellington	years	House of Mr. McGinn, Adelaide Road	96/2913		31 July 1896	Rev. W. Turner
256	3 August 1896	Charles Henry Hall Sarah Ann Donald	Charles Henry Hall Sarah Ann Dorant 💍 1896/1996	Widower Spinster	Fellmonger	49 21	Wellington Wellington	years	Registrar's Office, Wellington	96/2847		3 August 1896	Mr. W. Wyatt
257	3 August 1896	Henry Phillips Roseina Franks	Henry Phillips Rosetta Frankel 💍 1896/2084	Widower Spinster	Hotel Keeper	60 34	Wellington Wellington	14 days years	Hebrew Synagogue	96/2881		3 August 1896	Rev. H. Van Staveren
258	4 August 1896	Frederick Montague Nelson Edith Flora Hunt	Frederick Montague Nelson Edith Flora Hawk 💍 1896/4802	Bachelor Spinster	Stock Agent	26 27	Wellington Wellington	3 days 1 month	St. Paul's Cathedral	96/4425		4 August 1896	Rev. J. H. Sprott

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).