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 301

District of Christchurch Quarter ending 31 March 1897 Registrar J. M. Pearson

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

15 February 1897

Arthur Frederick Gordons
Alice Sophia Her Spinks

Arthur Frederick Goodwin
Alice Sophia Iles
💍 1897/3964

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer

25
18

Christchurch
Christchurch

1 year
4 years

Wesley Church, Lower High Street, Christchurch

97/733

John Her, Father

15 February 1897

Rev. W. Tinley, Wesley

No	56
Date of Notice	15 February 1897
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Arthur Frederick Gordons	Alice Sophia Her Spinks
BDM Match (72%)	Arthur Frederick Goodwin	Alice Sophia Iles
	💍 1897/3964
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	25	18
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	1 year	4 years
Marriage Place	Wesley Church, Lower High Street, Christchurch
Folio	97/733
Consent	John Her, Father
Date of Certificate	15 February 1897
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. Tinley, Wesley

15 February 1897

Albert John Voice
Rosina Melon Voice

Albert John Voice
Rosina Nelson
💍 1897/3896

Bachelor
Spinster

Fellmonger

27
26

Christchurch
Christchurch

10 years
10 years

St. Saviours Church, Christchurch

97/801

15 February 1897

Rev. F. R. Innes, Church of England

No	57
Date of Notice	15 February 1897
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Albert John Voice	Rosina Melon Voice
BDM Match (78%)	Albert John Voice	Rosina Nelson
	💍 1897/3896
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Fellmonger
Age	27	26
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	10 years	10 years
Marriage Place	St. Saviours Church, Christchurch
Folio	97/801
Consent
Date of Certificate	15 February 1897
Officiating Minister	Rev. F. R. Innes, Church of England

15 February 1897

Matthew Arthur Edwards
Elizabeth Brown Edwards

Matthew Arthur Edwards
Elizabeth Brown
💍 1897/4308

Bachelor
Spinster

Baker
Domestic

24
23

Christchurch
Christchurch

2 years
1 year

St. Andrews Church, Tuam Street, Christchurch

97/746

15 February 1897

Rev. G. Webster, Presbyterian

No	58
Date of Notice	15 February 1897
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Matthew Arthur Edwards	Elizabeth Brown Edwards
BDM Match (83%)	Matthew Arthur Edwards	Elizabeth Brown
	💍 1897/4308
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Baker	Domestic
Age	24	23
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	2 years	1 year
Marriage Place	St. Andrews Church, Tuam Street, Christchurch
Folio	97/746
Consent
Date of Certificate	15 February 1897
Officiating Minister	Rev. G. Webster, Presbyterian

15 February 1897

Robert Swing Mistingall
Malvina Mary Webb Mistingall

Robert Irving McDougall
Malvina Mary Webb
💍 1897/3962

Bachelor
Spinster

Manufacturer

36
26

Christchurch
Christchurch

30 years
17 years

St. Mary's Church, Merivale

97/731

15 February 1897

Rev. H. T. Watson, Church of England

No	59
Date of Notice	15 February 1897
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Robert Swing Mistingall	Malvina Mary Webb Mistingall
BDM Match (63%)	Robert Irving McDougall	Malvina Mary Webb
	💍 1897/3962
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Manufacturer
Age	36	26
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	30 years	17 years
Marriage Place	St. Mary's Church, Merivale
Folio	97/731
Consent
Date of Certificate	15 February 1897
Officiating Minister	Rev. H. T. Watson, Church of England

19 February 1897

George Hayward
Margaret Connolly Hayward

George Hayward
Margaret Connolly
💍 1897/3907

Bachelor
Spinster

Manufacturer

31
21

Christchurch
Christchurch

5 years
11 years

Roman Catholic Church, Barbadoes Street, Christchurch

97/790

19 February 1897

Rev. S. Cummings, Roman Catholic

No	60
Date of Notice	19 February 1897
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Hayward	Margaret Connolly Hayward
BDM Match (84%)	George Hayward	Margaret Connolly
	💍 1897/3907
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Manufacturer
Age	31	21
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	5 years	11 years
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Church, Barbadoes Street, Christchurch
Folio	97/790
Consent
Date of Certificate	19 February 1897
Officiating Minister	Rev. S. Cummings, Roman Catholic

22 February 1897

Henry Charles Holland
Alice Blick Holland

Henry Charles Holland
Alice Blick
💍 1897/3983

Bachelor
Spinster

Storeman

20
21

Christchurch
Christchurch

20 years
3 years

House of G. A. Holland, deceased, Christchurch

97/728

George A. Holland, Father

22 February 1897

Rev. J. Dawson, Methodist

No	61
Date of Notice	22 February 1897
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Henry Charles Holland	Alice Blick Holland
BDM Match (79%)	Henry Charles Holland	Alice Blick
	💍 1897/3983
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Storeman
Age	20	21
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	20 years	3 years
Marriage Place	House of G. A. Holland, deceased, Christchurch
Folio	97/728
Consent	George A. Holland, Father
Date of Certificate	22 February 1897
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Dawson, Methodist

23 February 1897

Harry Petrie Fox
Maud Julia Fox

Harry Petrie
Maria Julia Fox
💍 1897/1115

Bachelor
Widow

Bootmaker
Domestic

27
23

Christchurch
Christchurch

26 years
13 years

House of Mr. John Fox, Hammer Street, Linwood

97/954

23 February 1897

Rev. J. Plenslie, Presbyterian

No	62
Date of Notice	23 February 1897
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Harry Petrie Fox	Maud Julia Fox
BDM Match (78%)	Harry Petrie	Maria Julia Fox
	💍 1897/1115
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Bootmaker	Domestic
Age	27	23
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	26 years	13 years
Marriage Place	House of Mr. John Fox, Hammer Street, Linwood
Folio	97/954
Consent
Date of Certificate	23 February 1897
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Plenslie, Presbyterian

23 February 1897

Henry Wallace Laraman
Nellie Barrett Laraman

Henry Wallace Laraman
Nellie Barrett
💍 1897/3984

Bachelor
Spinster

Bootmaker

29
26

Christchurch
Christchurch

29 years
4 months

House of Mr. W. Burns, Linwood

97/729

23 February 1897

Rev. J. Dawson, Methodist

No	63
Date of Notice	23 February 1897
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Henry Wallace Laraman	Nellie Barrett Laraman
BDM Match (82%)	Henry Wallace Laraman	Nellie Barrett
	💍 1897/3984
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Bootmaker
Age	29	26
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	29 years	4 months
Marriage Place	House of Mr. W. Burns, Linwood
Folio	97/729
Consent
Date of Certificate	23 February 1897
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Dawson, Methodist

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).