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 841

District of Geraldine Quarter ending 30 June 1898 Registrar Agnes Andrews

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

512

4 April 1898

George Bethune
Lizzie Walls

George Bathune
Lizzie Walls
💍 1898/2249

Bachelor
Spinster

Saddler
Dressmaker

31
25

Geraldine
Sydenham

6 years
25 years

St. Saviour's Church

98/2531

4 April 1898

Rev. Edwin Arthur Scott, Church of England

No	512
Date of Notice	4 April 1898
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Bethune	Lizzie Walls
BDM Match (96%)	George Bathune	Lizzie Walls
	💍 1898/2249
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Saddler	Dressmaker
Age	31	25
Dwelling Place	Geraldine	Sydenham
Length of Residence	6 years	25 years
Marriage Place	St. Saviour's Church
Folio	98/2531
Consent
Date of Certificate	4 April 1898
Officiating Minister	Rev. Edwin Arthur Scott, Church of England

513

5 April 1898

Edward McCabe
Minnie Hansen

Edward McCabe
Minnie Hansen
💍 1898/1828

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic Servant

21
23

Geraldine
Geraldine

12 days
8 months

Registrar's Office

98/2080

5 April 1898

A. Andrews, Registrar

No	513
Date of Notice	5 April 1898
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edward McCabe	Minnie Hansen
	💍 1898/1828
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic Servant
Age	21	23
Dwelling Place	Geraldine	Geraldine
Length of Residence	12 days	8 months
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office
Folio	98/2080
Consent
Date of Certificate	5 April 1898
Officiating Minister	A. Andrews, Registrar

514

6 April 1898

Donald McKay
Helen McSherry

Donald McKay
Helen McSherry
💍 1898/2282

Bachelor
Spinster

Shepherd
Domestic Servant

46
30

Kakahu
Timaru

5 years
12 days

The House of Mrs. Rooney, Bank Street, Timaru

98/2542

6 April 1898

Rev. William Gillies, Presbyterian

No	514
Date of Notice	6 April 1898
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Donald McKay	Helen McSherry
	💍 1898/2282
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Shepherd	Domestic Servant
Age	46	30
Dwelling Place	Kakahu	Timaru
Length of Residence	5 years	12 days
Marriage Place	The House of Mrs. Rooney, Bank Street, Timaru
Folio	98/2542
Consent
Date of Certificate	6 April 1898
Officiating Minister	Rev. William Gillies, Presbyterian

515

19 April 1898

Joseph Buck
Mary Elizabeth Fleming

Joseph Buck
Mary Elizabeth Fleming
💍 1898/1829

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Dressmaker

37
27

Geraldine
Geraldine

3 days
12 years

The House of Mrs. Jane Fleming, Geraldine

98/2081

19 April 1898

Rev. Henry Williams, Primitive Methodist

No	515
Date of Notice	19 April 1898
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Joseph Buck	Mary Elizabeth Fleming
	💍 1898/1829
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Dressmaker
Age	37	27
Dwelling Place	Geraldine	Geraldine
Length of Residence	3 days	12 years
Marriage Place	The House of Mrs. Jane Fleming, Geraldine
Folio	98/2081
Consent
Date of Certificate	19 April 1898
Officiating Minister	Rev. Henry Williams, Primitive Methodist

516

18 May 1898

Joseph Ward
Rebecca Johnston

No matching marriage registration found.

Widower
Widow

Farmer
Farmer

61
40

Arundel
Arundel

3 years
5 years

The Manse, Geraldine

There is a large cross against this entry.

18 May 1898

Rev. A. Bruce Todd, Presbyterian

No	516
Date of Notice	18 May 1898
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Joseph Ward	Rebecca Johnston
	💍 No matching marriage registration found.
Condition	Widower	Widow
Profession	Farmer	Farmer
Age	61	40
Dwelling Place	Arundel	Arundel
Length of Residence	3 years	5 years
Marriage Place	The Manse, Geraldine
Folio	There is a large cross against this entry.
Consent
Date of Certificate	18 May 1898
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. Bruce Todd, Presbyterian

517

15 June 1898

Angus McPherson
Rebecca McBeth

Angus McPherson
Rebecca McBeth
💍 1898/1830

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
School Teacher

28
27

Fairfield
Te Moana

12 years
5 years

The School House, Te Moana

98/2082

15 June 1898

Rev. A. Bruce Todd, Presbyterian

No	517
Date of Notice	15 June 1898
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Angus McPherson	Rebecca McBeth
	💍 1898/1830
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	School Teacher
Age	28	27
Dwelling Place	Fairfield	Te Moana
Length of Residence	12 years	5 years
Marriage Place	The School House, Te Moana
Folio	98/2082
Consent
Date of Certificate	15 June 1898
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. Bruce Todd, Presbyterian

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).