Intentions to Marry, 1898 July-December

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840414, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

Imaged by Carole at Archives NZ Wellington, June 27 2025

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

Page 273

District of Hokitika Quarter ending 30 September 1898 Registrar William George Douglas

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 July 1898

Herbert Stanley Meredith
Anna Fieldman Barker

Herbert Stanley Meredith
Anne Fieldman Harker
💍 1898/2764

Bachelor
Spinster

Patternmaker
Domestic

27
24

Hokitika
Hokitika

3 days
2 years

Presbyterian Church, Hokitika

98/3139

5 July 1898

Rev. H. Douglas

No	25
Date of Notice	5 July 1898
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Herbert Stanley Meredith	Anna Fieldman Barker
BDM Match (95%)	Herbert Stanley Meredith	Anne Fieldman Harker
	💍 1898/2764
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Patternmaker	Domestic
Age	27	24
Dwelling Place	Hokitika	Hokitika
Length of Residence	3 days	2 years
Marriage Place	Presbyterian Church, Hokitika
Folio	98/3139
Consent
Date of Certificate	5 July 1898
Officiating Minister	Rev. H. Douglas

25 July 1898

George Taylor
Martha Merewether

George Taylor
Martha Merewether
💍 1898/3005

Widower
Spinster

Miner
Domestic

25
21

Stafford
Stafford

2 years
21 years

Residence of George Taylor Senr, Stafford

98/3140

25 July 1898

Rev. Robt. Stewart

No	26
Date of Notice	25 July 1898
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Taylor	Martha Merewether
	💍 1898/3005
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Miner	Domestic
Age	25	21
Dwelling Place	Stafford	Stafford
Length of Residence	2 years	21 years
Marriage Place	Residence of George Taylor Senr, Stafford
Folio	98/3140
Consent
Date of Certificate	25 July 1898
Officiating Minister	Rev. Robt. Stewart

13 August 1898

Robert Greenlee
Mary Ann Sarah Jones

Robert Greenlees
Mary Ann Sarah Jones
💍 1898/3006

Bachelor
Spinster

Miner
Domestic

46
30

Blue Spur
Arahura

2 years
28 years

Wesleyan Church, Hokitika

98/3141

13 August 1898

Rev. B. E. Finger

No	27
Date of Notice	13 August 1898
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Robert Greenlee	Mary Ann Sarah Jones
BDM Match (97%)	Robert Greenlees	Mary Ann Sarah Jones
	💍 1898/3006
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Miner	Domestic
Age	46	30
Dwelling Place	Blue Spur	Arahura
Length of Residence	2 years	28 years
Marriage Place	Wesleyan Church, Hokitika
Folio	98/3141
Consent
Date of Certificate	13 August 1898
Officiating Minister	Rev. B. E. Finger

16 August 1898

James Daniel Lynch
Lily Winifred Gribben

James Daniel Lynch
Lily Winifred Gribben
💍 1898/3995

Bachelor
Spinster

Commission Agent
Domestic

30
23

Hokitika
Hokitika

5 years
23 years

Roman Catholic Church, Hokitika

98/3537

16 August 1898

Rev. J. C. Martin

No	28
Date of Notice	16 August 1898
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Daniel Lynch	Lily Winifred Gribben
	💍 1898/3995
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Commission Agent	Domestic
Age	30	23
Dwelling Place	Hokitika	Hokitika
Length of Residence	5 years	23 years
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Church, Hokitika
Folio	98/3537
Consent
Date of Certificate	16 August 1898
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. C. Martin

16 September 1898

Joseph Lynch
Grace Applegard

Joseph Lynch
Grace Appleyard
💍 1898/3009

Bachelor
Spinster

Carpenter
Domestic

43
28

Jackson's
Jackson's

1 year
6 years

Residence of Mr. Alpine, Jackson's

98/3144

16 September 1898

Rev. Job Penning

No	29
Date of Notice	16 September 1898
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Joseph Lynch	Grace Applegard
BDM Match (97%)	Joseph Lynch	Grace Appleyard
	💍 1898/3009
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carpenter	Domestic
Age	43	28
Dwelling Place	Jackson's	Jackson's
Length of Residence	1 year	6 years
Marriage Place	Residence of Mr. Alpine, Jackson's
Folio	98/3144
Consent
Date of Certificate	16 September 1898
Officiating Minister	Rev. Job Penning

16 September 1898

Henry Cromby Staines
Isabella Cunningham

Henry Bromby Stains
Isabella Cunningham
💍 1898/3007

Bachelor
Spinster

Miner
Domestic

27
23

Kanieri
Taipo

3 days
23 years

Dwelling of Isabella Cunningham, Taipo

98/3142

16 September 1898

Rev. H. Douglas

No	30
Date of Notice	16 September 1898
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Henry Cromby Staines	Isabella Cunningham
BDM Match (95%)	Henry Bromby Stains	Isabella Cunningham
	💍 1898/3007
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Miner	Domestic
Age	27	23
Dwelling Place	Kanieri	Taipo
Length of Residence	3 days	23 years
Marriage Place	Dwelling of Isabella Cunningham, Taipo
Folio	98/3142
Consent
Date of Certificate	16 September 1898
Officiating Minister	Rev. H. Douglas

21 September 1898

Alfred Michael Henry Keller
Isabella Mary Mitchell

Alfred Michael Henry Keller
Isabella Mary Mitchell
💍 1898/3008

Bachelor
Spinster

Tailor
Domestic

30
23

Hokitika
Hokitika

30 years
5 years

Anglican Church, Hokitika

98/3143

21 September 1898

Rev. Staples Hamilton

No	31
Date of Notice	21 September 1898
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Alfred Michael Henry Keller	Isabella Mary Mitchell
	💍 1898/3008
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Tailor	Domestic
Age	30	23
Dwelling Place	Hokitika	Hokitika
Length of Residence	30 years	5 years
Marriage Place	Anglican Church, Hokitika
Folio	98/3143
Consent
Date of Certificate	21 September 1898
Officiating Minister	Rev. Staples Hamilton

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 1908. 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).