Intentions to Marry, 1897 January-June

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840411, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

Imaged by Luke at Archives NZ Wellington, June 25 2025

1897 is bound in two volumes, January-June and July-December.

Page 147

District of Napier Quarter ending 31 March 1897 Registrar S. J. Jago

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

5 January 1897

Benjamin Bucknell
Lizzie Watson

Benjamin Bucknell
Lizzie Watson
💍 1897/4250

Bachelor
Spinster

Blacksmith
Domestic

29
25

Riccarton, Napier
Napier

16 years 3 days
8 months

Baptist Church, Napier

97/335

5 January 1897

Rev. F. D. Cox, Baptist

No	1
Date of Notice	5 January 1897
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Benjamin Bucknell	Lizzie Watson
	💍 1897/4250
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Blacksmith	Domestic
Age	29	25
Dwelling Place	Riccarton, Napier	Napier
Length of Residence	16 years 3 days	8 months
Marriage Place	Baptist Church, Napier
Folio	97/335
Consent
Date of Certificate	5 January 1897
Officiating Minister	Rev. F. D. Cox, Baptist

11 January 1897

Geo Augustus Greenwood
Rowena Eloise Wilson

George Agustus Greenwood
Rowena Eloise Wilson
💍 1897/4231

Bachelor
Spinster

Bond Officer

28
22

Wellington, Napier
Napier

5 months 3 days
22 years

Residence of Bride's Father, Napier

97/340

11 January 1897

Rev. D. Sidey, Presbyterian

No	2
Date of Notice	11 January 1897
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Geo Augustus Greenwood	Rowena Eloise Wilson
BDM Match (92%)	George Agustus Greenwood	Rowena Eloise Wilson
	💍 1897/4231
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Bond Officer
Age	28	22
Dwelling Place	Wellington, Napier	Napier
Length of Residence	5 months 3 days	22 years
Marriage Place	Residence of Bride's Father, Napier
Folio	97/340
Consent
Date of Certificate	11 January 1897
Officiating Minister	Rev. D. Sidey, Presbyterian

12 January 1897

Jas Walter Riley
Louisa Margaret Saylor

James Walter Riley
Louisa Margaret Taylor
💍 1897/3793

Bachelor
Spinster

Engineer
Domestic

26
25

Spit
Spit

5 months
5 months

Roman Catholic Church, Napier

97/362

12 January 1897

Rev. M. Grogan, R.C. Priest

No	3
Date of Notice	12 January 1897
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Jas Walter Riley	Louisa Margaret Saylor
BDM Match (92%)	James Walter Riley	Louisa Margaret Taylor
	💍 1897/3793
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Engineer	Domestic
Age	26	25
Dwelling Place	Spit	Spit
Length of Residence	5 months	5 months
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Church, Napier
Folio	97/362
Consent
Date of Certificate	12 January 1897
Officiating Minister	Rev. M. Grogan, R.C. Priest

13 January 1897

Geo Christenson
Annie Anderson

Bachelor
Spinster

Laborer
Domestic

25
24

Norsewood, Napier
Norsewood, Napier

21 years 4 days
23 years 4 months

Residence of Mr. Miller, Dickon Street, Napier

97/328

13 January 1897

Rev. H. J. Miller, Congregationalist

No	4
Date of Notice	13 January 1897
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Geo Christenson	Annie Anderson
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Laborer	Domestic
Age	25	24
Dwelling Place	Norsewood, Napier	Norsewood, Napier
Length of Residence	21 years 4 days	23 years 4 months
Marriage Place	Residence of Mr. Miller, Dickon Street, Napier
Folio	97/328
Consent
Date of Certificate	13 January 1897
Officiating Minister	Rev. H. J. Miller, Congregationalist

15 January 1897

Samuel Jane
Emma Jane Goodall

Samuel Jane
Emma Jane Goodall
💍 1897/523

Bachelor
Spinster

Laborer
Domestic

24
18

Wairoa, Napier
Napier

21 years 4 days
12 years

Residence of Bride's Father, Onepoto Gully, Napier

97/1492

Jas E. Goodall, Father

15 January 1897

Rev. J. J. Paterson, Presbyterian

No	5
Date of Notice	15 January 1897
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Samuel Jane	Emma Jane Goodall
	💍 1897/523
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Laborer	Domestic
Age	24	18
Dwelling Place	Wairoa, Napier	Napier
Length of Residence	21 years 4 days	12 years
Marriage Place	Residence of Bride's Father, Onepoto Gully, Napier
Folio	97/1492
Consent	Jas E. Goodall, Father
Date of Certificate	15 January 1897
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. J. Paterson, Presbyterian

15 January 1897

Wm Painter
Clara Saylor

William Painter
Clara Taylor
💍 1897/863

Bachelor
Spinster

Laborer
Domestic

22
21

Mercer
Napier

18 years
21 years

Office of Registrar of Marriages, Napier

97/321

15 January 1897

S. J. Jago, Registrar

No	6
Date of Notice	15 January 1897
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Wm Painter	Clara Saylor
BDM Match (79%)	William Painter	Clara Taylor
	💍 1897/863
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Laborer	Domestic
Age	22	21
Dwelling Place	Mercer	Napier
Length of Residence	18 years	21 years
Marriage Place	Office of Registrar of Marriages, Napier
Folio	97/321
Consent
Date of Certificate	15 January 1897
Officiating Minister	S. J. Jago, Registrar

21 January 1897

John Geo Legeyt
Ada Fitzsimmons

John George Le Geyt
Ada Fitzsimmons
💍 1897/4238

Bachelor
Spinster

Tallowman

31
21

Weston Spit
Spit

7 years
2 years

Residence of Duncan Smith, Spit

97/329

21 January 1897

Rev. W. H. Beech, Methodist

No	7
Date of Notice	21 January 1897
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Geo Legeyt	Ada Fitzsimmons
BDM Match (87%)	John George Le Geyt	Ada Fitzsimmons
	💍 1897/4238
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Tallowman
Age	31	21
Dwelling Place	Weston Spit	Spit
Length of Residence	7 years	2 years
Marriage Place	Residence of Duncan Smith, Spit
Folio	97/329
Consent
Date of Certificate	21 January 1897
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. H. Beech, Methodist

22 January 1897

Geo Lovegrove
Charlotte Emmeline Bowcher

George Lovegrove
Charlotte Emmiline Bowcher
💍 1897/4251

Bachelor
Spinster

Laborer

30
26

Spit
Napier

18 months
4 days

Church of England, Spit

97/336

22 January 1897

Rev. O. Dean, Church of England

No	8
Date of Notice	22 January 1897
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Geo Lovegrove	Charlotte Emmeline Bowcher
BDM Match (89%)	George Lovegrove	Charlotte Emmiline Bowcher
	💍 1897/4251
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Laborer
Age	30	26
Dwelling Place	Spit	Napier
Length of Residence	18 months	4 days
Marriage Place	Church of England, Spit
Folio	97/336
Consent
Date of Certificate	22 January 1897
Officiating Minister	Rev. O. Dean, Church of England

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).