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 302

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

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

7 January 1898

James Walker
Martha Ellen Teanibee

James Walker
Martha Ellen Turnbull
💍 1898/2346

Bachelor
Spinster

Tobacconist
Tailoress

30
27

Christchurch
Christchurch

30 years
27 years

St. Paul's Church, Cashel Street, Christchurch

98/797

7 January 1898

Rev. F. Plenslee, Presbyterian

No	9
Date of Notice	7 January 1898
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Walker	Martha Ellen Teanibee
BDM Match (86%)	James Walker	Martha Ellen Turnbull
	💍 1898/2346
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Tobacconist	Tailoress
Age	30	27
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	30 years	27 years
Marriage Place	St. Paul's Church, Cashel Street, Christchurch
Folio	98/797
Consent
Date of Certificate	7 January 1898
Officiating Minister	Rev. F. Plenslee, Presbyterian

8 January 1898

John Harper
Alice Turner

John Harper
Alice Turner
💍 1898/686

Bachelor
Spinster

Painter

27
24

Christchurch
Christchurch

27 years
7 years

House of Mrs. Harper, Hamish Street, Linwood

98/780

8 January 1898

Rev. J. D. Burrows, Wesleyan

No	10
Date of Notice	8 January 1898
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Harper	Alice Turner
	💍 1898/686
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Painter
Age	27	24
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	27 years	7 years
Marriage Place	House of Mrs. Harper, Hamish Street, Linwood
Folio	98/780
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 January 1898
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. D. Burrows, Wesleyan

8 January 1898

Mark Gordon Adam
Charlotte Letitia Dunn

Mark Gordon Adam
Charlotte Letitia Dunn
💍 1898/4071

Bachelor
Spinster

Laborer
Domestic

25
21

Christchurch
Christchurch

25 years
4 years

Presbyterian Church, Prebbleton

98/3274

8 January 1898

Rev. A. M. Wright, Presbyterian

No	11
Date of Notice	8 January 1898
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Mark Gordon Adam	Charlotte Letitia Dunn
	💍 1898/4071
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Laborer	Domestic
Age	25	21
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	25 years	4 years
Marriage Place	Presbyterian Church, Prebbleton
Folio	98/3274
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 January 1898
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. M. Wright, Presbyterian

10 January 1898

George Rastarch
Kate Clease Finnis

George Eastwick
Kate Ann Finnis
💍 1898/657

Bachelor
Spinster

Hawker
Domestic

20
18

Christchurch
Christchurch

20 years
8 years

Registrar's Office

98/794

George Rastarch, Father; Elizabeth Butcher, Mother

10 January 1898

Registrar of Marriages, J. M. Vaudecasse

No	12
Date of Notice	10 January 1898
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Rastarch	Kate Clease Finnis
BDM Match (70%)	George Eastwick	Kate Ann Finnis
	💍 1898/657
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Hawker	Domestic
Age	20	18
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	20 years	8 years
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office
Folio	98/794
Consent	George Rastarch, Father; Elizabeth Butcher, Mother
Date of Certificate	10 January 1898
Officiating Minister	Registrar of Marriages, J. M. Vaudecasse

10 January 1898

Charles Augustus F. Clair Wilkins
Rebecca Essex Frost

Charles Augustus St Clair Wilkins
Rebecca Essex Frost
💍 1898/2392

Bachelor
Spinster

Iron Moulder
Tailoress

24
24

Christchurch
Christchurch

24 years
3 years

House of Mr. Rich Frost, Casamaglie Street, Christchurch

98/819

10 January 1898

Rev. W. Tusley, Wesleyan

No	13
Date of Notice	10 January 1898
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Augustus F. Clair Wilkins	Rebecca Essex Frost
BDM Match (97%)	Charles Augustus St Clair Wilkins	Rebecca Essex Frost
	💍 1898/2392
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Iron Moulder	Tailoress
Age	24	24
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	24 years	3 years
Marriage Place	House of Mr. Rich Frost, Casamaglie Street, Christchurch
Folio	98/819
Consent
Date of Certificate	10 January 1898
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. Tusley, Wesleyan

10 January 1898

William Ernest Woodham
Edith Rose Hobbs

William Ernest Woodham
Edith Rose Hobbs
💍 1898/668

Bachelor
Spinster

Laborer
Domestic

20
18

Christchurch
Christchurch

20 years
15 years

House of Rev. J. Orchard, Dust Belt, Christchurch

98/760

George William Hobbs, Father

10 January 1898

Rev. J. Orchard, Wesleyan

No	14
Date of Notice	10 January 1898
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Ernest Woodham	Edith Rose Hobbs
	💍 1898/668
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Laborer	Domestic
Age	20	18
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	20 years	15 years
Marriage Place	House of Rev. J. Orchard, Dust Belt, Christchurch
Folio	98/760
Consent	George William Hobbs, Father
Date of Certificate	10 January 1898
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Orchard, Wesleyan

11 January 1898

Charles Sammelson
Sarah Griffin

Charles Samuelson
Sarah Griffin
💍 1898/658

Bachelor
Supposed Widow

Gardener

38
39

Christchurch
Christchurch

14 years
13 years

Registrar's Office

98/725

11 January 1898

Registrar of Marriages, J. M. Vaudecasse

No	15
Date of Notice	11 January 1898
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Sammelson	Sarah Griffin
BDM Match (97%)	Charles Samuelson	Sarah Griffin
	💍 1898/658
Condition	Bachelor	Supposed Widow
Profession	Gardener
Age	38	39
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	14 years	13 years
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office
Folio	98/725
Consent
Date of Certificate	11 January 1898
Officiating Minister	Registrar of Marriages, J. M. Vaudecasse

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).