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 232

District of Wellington Quarter ending 31 March 1897 Registrar W. W. Wyatt

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 March 1897

John Ashmole Taylor
Edith Florence Grove

John Ashmore Taylor
Edith Florence Grave
💍 1897/3604

Bachelor
Spinster

Paper Merchant

23
23

Wellington
Oamaru

years
years

St. Luke's Church, Oamaru

97/2346

5 March 1897

No	85
Date of Notice	5 March 1897
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Ashmole Taylor	Edith Florence Grove
BDM Match (95%)	John Ashmore Taylor	Edith Florence Grave
	💍 1897/3604
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Paper Merchant
Age	23	23
Dwelling Place	Wellington	Oamaru
Length of Residence	years	years
Marriage Place	St. Luke's Church, Oamaru
Folio	97/2346
Consent
Date of Certificate	5 March 1897
Officiating Minister

6 March 1897

Charles John Leatham
Alice Maud Silberg

Charles John Leatham
Alice Maude Silbery
💍 1897/4291

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer

27
18

Wellington
Petone

years
years

House of Mrs. Silberg, Petone

97/585

Emily Silberg

6 March 1897

Rev. Alexander Thomson

No	86
Date of Notice	6 March 1897
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles John Leatham	Alice Maud Silberg
BDM Match (95%)	Charles John Leatham	Alice Maude Silbery
	💍 1897/4291
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer
Age	27	18
Dwelling Place	Wellington	Petone
Length of Residence	years	years
Marriage Place	House of Mrs. Silberg, Petone
Folio	97/585
Consent	Emily Silberg
Date of Certificate	6 March 1897
Officiating Minister	Rev. Alexander Thomson

6 March 1897

Francis Frederick William Eberlet
Harriet Reed

Francis Frederick William Eberlet
Harriet Reed
💍 1897/3851

Bachelor
Spinster

Clerk

28
27

Wellington
Wellington

years
years

House of Mrs. Campbell, Colquhoun Courtenay Place, Wellington

97/548

6 March 1897

Mr. A. F. Turner

No	87
Date of Notice	6 March 1897
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Francis Frederick William Eberlet	Harriet Reed
	💍 1897/3851
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Clerk
Age	28	27
Dwelling Place	Wellington	Wellington
Length of Residence	years	years
Marriage Place	House of Mrs. Campbell, Colquhoun Courtenay Place, Wellington
Folio	97/548
Consent
Date of Certificate	6 March 1897
Officiating Minister	Mr. A. F. Turner

6 March 1897

Charles Melton
Edith Carter

Charles Melton
Edith Carter
💍 1897/3931

Bachelor
Spinster

Sailor

26
27

Wellington
Wellington

years
years

St. Paul's Church, Wellington

1897/511

6 March 1897

Rev. J. H. Sprott

No	88
Date of Notice	6 March 1897
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Melton	Edith Carter
	💍 1897/3931
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Sailor
Age	26	27
Dwelling Place	Wellington	Wellington
Length of Residence	years	years
Marriage Place	St. Paul's Church, Wellington
Folio	1897/511
Consent
Date of Certificate	6 March 1897
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. H. Sprott

8 March 1897

George Brazier
Emma Symonds Slater

George Brazier
Emma Symonds Slater
💍 1897/4262

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer

36
28

Wellington
Millis Street, Wellington

3 days
1 day

St. John's Church, Millis Street, Wellington

97/563

8 March 1897

Rev. J. Patterson

No	89
Date of Notice	8 March 1897
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Brazier	Emma Symonds Slater
	💍 1897/4262
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer
Age	36	28
Dwelling Place	Wellington	Millis Street, Wellington
Length of Residence	3 days	1 day
Marriage Place	St. John's Church, Millis Street, Wellington
Folio	97/563
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 March 1897
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Patterson

8 March 1897

William James Eddie
Harriet Charley

William James Eddie
Harriet Thorley
💍 1897/3858

Bachelor
Spinster

Salesman

27
21

Wellington
Kawarra

years
years

House of Rev. J. Ward, Rintoul Street, Wellington

97/554

8 March 1897

Rev. Josiah Ward

No	90
Date of Notice	8 March 1897
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William James Eddie	Harriet Charley
BDM Match (93%)	William James Eddie	Harriet Thorley
	💍 1897/3858
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Salesman
Age	27	21
Dwelling Place	Wellington	Kawarra
Length of Residence	years	years
Marriage Place	House of Rev. J. Ward, Rintoul Street, Wellington
Folio	97/554
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 March 1897
Officiating Minister	Rev. Josiah Ward

9 March 1897

William Percy James Andrews
Florence Elizabeth Tatnell

William Percy James Andrews
Florence Elizabeth Tatnell
💍 1897/3932

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer

27
27

Wellington
Wellington

9 days
2 days

St. Paul's Church, Wellington

97/512

9 March 1897

Rev. J. H. Sprott

No	91
Date of Notice	9 March 1897
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Percy James Andrews	Florence Elizabeth Tatnell
	💍 1897/3932
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	27	27
Dwelling Place	Wellington	Wellington
Length of Residence	9 days	2 days
Marriage Place	St. Paul's Church, Wellington
Folio	97/512
Consent
Date of Certificate	9 March 1897
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. H. Sprott

9 March 1897

Christopher Columbus McAuley
Eliza Sophia Davis

Christopher Columbus McAuley
Eliza Sophia Davis
💍 1897/922

Bachelor
Spinster

Mariner

25
25

Wellington
Wellington

4 months
years

Registrar's Office, Wellington

97/505

9 March 1897

W. W. Wyatt

No	92
Date of Notice	9 March 1897
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Christopher Columbus McAuley	Eliza Sophia Davis
	💍 1897/922
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Mariner
Age	25	25
Dwelling Place	Wellington	Wellington
Length of Residence	4 months	years
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office, Wellington
Folio	97/505
Consent
Date of Certificate	9 March 1897
Officiating Minister	W. W. Wyatt

11 March 1897

Charles Westwood Earle
Catherine Hannah Wright

Charles Westwood Earle
Catherine Hannah Wright
💍 1897/3852

Bachelor
Spinster

Journalist

25
20

Wellington
Wellington

years
years

House of Mrs. Wright, Thompson Street, Wellington

97/549

11 March 1897

Mr. A. F. Turner

No	93
Date of Notice	11 March 1897
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Westwood Earle	Catherine Hannah Wright
	💍 1897/3852
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Journalist
Age	25	20
Dwelling Place	Wellington	Wellington
Length of Residence	years	years
Marriage Place	House of Mrs. Wright, Thompson Street, Wellington
Folio	97/549
Consent
Date of Certificate	11 March 1897
Officiating Minister	Mr. A. F. Turner

13 March 1897

Alfred Rainbird Burrell
Alice Elizabeth Ellis

Alfred Rainbird Burrell
Alice Elizabeth Ellis
💍 1897/3922

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer

31
30

Wellington
Wellington

years
years

Wesleyan Church, Taranaki Street, Wellington

97/525

13 March 1897

Rev. W. Baumber

No	94
Date of Notice	13 March 1897
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Alfred Rainbird Burrell	Alice Elizabeth Ellis
	💍 1897/3922
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer
Age	31	30
Dwelling Place	Wellington	Wellington
Length of Residence	years	years
Marriage Place	Wesleyan Church, Taranaki Street, Wellington
Folio	97/525
Consent
Date of Certificate	13 March 1897
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. Baumber

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).