Intentions to Marry, 1898 January-June

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840413, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

Imaged by Luke at Archives NZ Wellington, June 27 2025

1898 is bound in two volumes, January-June and July-December.

Page 305

District of Christchurch Quarter ending 31 March 1898 Registrar J. M. Macferson

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

24 January 1898

Frederick Ellis Asquith
Lilian Eliza Gill

Frederick Ellis Asquith
Lillian Eliza Gill
💍 1898/2384

Bachelor
Spinster

Compositor

26
22

Christchurch
Christchurch

26 Years
18 Years

Wesleyan Church, Durham Street

98/834

24 January 1898

Rev. S. Macnicoll, Wesleyan

No	32
Date of Notice	24 January 1898
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Frederick Ellis Asquith	Lilian Eliza Gill
BDM Match (97%)	Frederick Ellis Asquith	Lillian Eliza Gill
	💍 1898/2384
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Compositor
Age	26	22
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	26 Years	18 Years
Marriage Place	Wesleyan Church, Durham Street
Folio	98/834
Consent
Date of Certificate	24 January 1898
Officiating Minister	Rev. S. Macnicoll, Wesleyan

25 January 1898

Adam John Niven
Sarah Ellen Wilding

Adam John Niven
Sarah Ellen Wilding
💍 1898/671

Bachelor
Spinster

Bootmaker
Machinist

28
22

St. Albans
Sydenham

2 Years
3 Weeks

In the house of Rev. I. Orchard, Christchurch

98/762

25 January 1898

Rev. I. Orchard, Wesleyan

No	33
Date of Notice	25 January 1898
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Adam John Niven	Sarah Ellen Wilding
	💍 1898/671
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Bootmaker	Machinist
Age	28	22
Dwelling Place	St. Albans	Sydenham
Length of Residence	2 Years	3 Weeks
Marriage Place	In the house of Rev. I. Orchard, Christchurch
Folio	98/762
Consent
Date of Certificate	25 January 1898
Officiating Minister	Rev. I. Orchard, Wesleyan

27 January 1898

James Murphy
Anne Shelley

James Murphy
Anne Shelley
💍 1898/1721

Widower
Spinster

Labourer
Servant

52
41

Opawa
Opawa

12 Years
3 Months

Roman Catholic Church, Barbadoes Street

98/1963

27 January 1898

Rev. R. S. Cummings, Roman Catholic

No	34
Date of Notice	27 January 1898
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Murphy	Anne Shelley
	💍 1898/1721
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Servant
Age	52	41
Dwelling Place	Opawa	Opawa
Length of Residence	12 Years	3 Months
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Church, Barbadoes Street
Folio	98/1963
Consent
Date of Certificate	27 January 1898
Officiating Minister	Rev. R. S. Cummings, Roman Catholic

28 January 1898

Stratford Love Collett
Marion Gore

Stratford John Collett
Marion Gore
💍 1898/2373

Bachelor
Spinster

Mechanic

21
25

Christchurch
Ship "Tongariro"

4 Days

St. Michael's Church, Christchurch

98/824

28 January 1898

Rev. A. W. Averill, Church of England

No	35
Date of Notice	28 January 1898
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Stratford Love Collett	Marion Gore
BDM Match (93%)	Stratford John Collett	Marion Gore
	💍 1898/2373
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Mechanic
Age	21	25
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Ship "Tongariro"
Length of Residence	4 Days
Marriage Place	St. Michael's Church, Christchurch
Folio	98/824
Consent
Date of Certificate	28 January 1898
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. W. Averill, Church of England

28 January 1898

Edward William Leven
Ada Williams

Edward William Genet
Ada Williams
💍 1898/638

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Servant

24
18

Linwood
Sumner

1 Year
10 Years

Registrar's Office

98/709

Lillias Bonar Williams, Mother

28 January 1898

Registrar Marriages, J. M. Macferson

No	36
Date of Notice	28 January 1898
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edward William Leven	Ada Williams
BDM Match (93%)	Edward William Genet	Ada Williams
	💍 1898/638
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Servant
Age	24	18
Dwelling Place	Linwood	Sumner
Length of Residence	1 Year	10 Years
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office
Folio	98/709
Consent	Lillias Bonar Williams, Mother
Date of Certificate	28 January 1898
Officiating Minister	Registrar Marriages, J. M. Macferson

29 January 1898

Michael Joseph Fitzharris
Susan Agetha Carrigg

Michael Joseph Fitzharris
Susan Agatha Carrigg
💍 1898/2365

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer

21
19

Christchurch
Christchurch

6 Weeks
8 Weeks

Roman Catholic Church, Barbadoes Street

98/792

Martin Carrigg, Father

29 January 1898

Rev. R. S. Cummings

No	37
Date of Notice	29 January 1898
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Michael Joseph Fitzharris	Susan Agetha Carrigg
BDM Match (98%)	Michael Joseph Fitzharris	Susan Agatha Carrigg
	💍 1898/2365
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer
Age	21	19
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	6 Weeks	8 Weeks
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Church, Barbadoes Street
Folio	98/792
Consent	Martin Carrigg, Father
Date of Certificate	29 January 1898
Officiating Minister	Rev. R. S. Cummings

31 January 1898

George Gerard Bergh
Fredericka Marie Bergh

George Gerard
Frederikka Marie Bergh
💍 1898/2380

Bachelor
Spinster

Sheepfarmer

31
22

Christchurch
Christchurch

3 Days
22 Years

St. John's Church, Christchurch

98/813

31 January 1898

Rev. H. C. Watson, Church of England

No	38
Date of Notice	31 January 1898
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Gerard Bergh	Fredericka Marie Bergh
BDM Match (82%)	George Gerard	Frederikka Marie Bergh
	💍 1898/2380
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Sheepfarmer
Age	31	22
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	3 Days	22 Years
Marriage Place	St. John's Church, Christchurch
Folio	98/813
Consent
Date of Certificate	31 January 1898
Officiating Minister	Rev. H. C. Watson, Church of England

31 January 1898

George Francis Gibbs
Minnie Brunsdon

George Francis Gibbs
Minnie Brunsdon
💍 1898/639

Bachelor
Spinster

Mechanic
Domestic

29
21

Christchurch
Christchurch

29 Years
21 Years

Registrar's Office Christchurch

98/730

31 January 1898

Registrar Marriages, M Packerson

No	39
Date of Notice	31 January 1898
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Francis Gibbs	Minnie Brunsdon
	💍 1898/639
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Mechanic	Domestic
Age	29	21
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	29 Years	21 Years
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office Christchurch
Folio	98/730
Consent
Date of Certificate	31 January 1898
Officiating Minister	Registrar Marriages, M Packerson

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).