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 783

District of Christchurch Quarter ending 31 December 1898 Registrar J. W. Aikman

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

491

8 November 1898

William Craig
Annie Disher

William Craig
Annie Disher
💍 1898/3396

Bachelor
Spinster

Clerk
Teacher

28
24

Christchurch
Sydenham

3 days
5 weeks

Registrar's Office, Christchurch

98/4453

8 November 1898

Registrar of Marriages

No	491
Date of Notice	8 November 1898
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Craig	Annie Disher
	💍 1898/3396
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Clerk	Teacher
Age	28	24
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Sydenham
Length of Residence	3 days	5 weeks
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office, Christchurch
Folio	98/4453
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 November 1898
Officiating Minister	Registrar of Marriages

492

8 November 1898

John Ernest Andrews
Alexia Keir Blair

Bachelor
Spinster

Storeman
Domestic

28
19

Christchurch
Christchurch

28 years
19 years

Rev. G. Webster, Manse, Presbyterian

98/4480

Father

8 November 1898

Rev. G. Webster, Presbyterian

No	492
Date of Notice	8 November 1898
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Ernest Andrews	Alexia Keir Blair
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Storeman	Domestic
Age	28	19
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	28 years	19 years
Marriage Place	Rev. G. Webster, Manse, Presbyterian
Folio	98/4480
Consent	Father
Date of Certificate	8 November 1898
Officiating Minister	Rev. G. Webster, Presbyterian

493

10 November 1898

Frank Eustace Beggins
Edith Grace Cambridge

Frank Eustace Coverdale
Edith Grace Biggins
💍 1898/4841

Bachelor
Spinster

Conductor

22
21

Christchurch
Christchurch

19 months
2 years

House of Mr. Beggins, Cambridge Terrace, Wesleyan

98/4568

10 November 1898

Rev. T. R. Newbold, Wesleyan

No	493
Date of Notice	10 November 1898
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Frank Eustace Beggins	Edith Grace Cambridge
BDM Match (64%)	Frank Eustace Coverdale	Edith Grace Biggins
	💍 1898/4841
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Conductor
Age	22	21
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	19 months	2 years
Marriage Place	House of Mr. Beggins, Cambridge Terrace, Wesleyan
Folio	98/4568
Consent
Date of Certificate	10 November 1898
Officiating Minister	Rev. T. R. Newbold, Wesleyan

494

10 November 1898

John Kilroy
Mary Eliza Nicholson

John Kilroy
Mary Eliza Nicholson
💍 1898/3397

John Kerse
Isabella Nicholson
💍 1898/1928

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Servant

27
25

Christchurch
Christchurch

3 years
4 years

Registrar's Office, Christchurch

98/4454

10 November 1898

Registrar of Marriages

No	494
Date of Notice	10 November 1898
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Kilroy	Mary Eliza Nicholson
	💍 1898/3397
BDM Match (62%)	John Kerse	Isabella Nicholson
	💍 1898/1928
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Servant
Age	27	25
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	3 years	4 years
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office, Christchurch
Folio	98/4454
Consent
Date of Certificate	10 November 1898
Officiating Minister	Registrar of Marriages

495

10 November 1898

Charles Edward Hobbs
Martha Elizabeth Petty

Charles Edward Hobbs
Martha Elizabeth Petty
💍 1898/3385

Bachelor
Spinster

Painter
Dressmaker

24
27

North Belt, Christchurch
North Belt, Christchurch

24 years
12 years

Rev. Dr. Erwin, Presbyterian

98/4466

10 November 1898

Rev. Dr. Erwin, Presbyterian

No	495
Date of Notice	10 November 1898
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Edward Hobbs	Martha Elizabeth Petty
	💍 1898/3385
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Painter	Dressmaker
Age	24	27
Dwelling Place	North Belt, Christchurch	North Belt, Christchurch
Length of Residence	24 years	12 years
Marriage Place	Rev. Dr. Erwin, Presbyterian
Folio	98/4466
Consent
Date of Certificate	10 November 1898
Officiating Minister	Rev. Dr. Erwin, Presbyterian

496

12 November 1898

William John French
Maud Elizabeth McKay

William John French
Maud Elizabeth McKay
💍 1898/4692

Bachelor
Spinster

Moneder

26
21

Christchurch
Christchurch

10 years
22 years

Rev. H. Bull, Wesleyan

98/4513

12 November 1898

Rev. H. Bull, Wesleyan

No	496
Date of Notice	12 November 1898
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William John French	Maud Elizabeth McKay
	💍 1898/4692
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Moneder
Age	26	21
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	10 years	22 years
Marriage Place	Rev. H. Bull, Wesleyan
Folio	98/4513
Consent
Date of Certificate	12 November 1898
Officiating Minister	Rev. H. Bull, Wesleyan

497

14 November 1898

Joseph Hird
Margaret Stewart

Joseph Hird Duff
Margaret Stewart
💍 1898/3448

Bachelor
Spinster

Watchmaker
Domestic

32
24

Christchurch
Christchurch

3 days
3 days

Manse, Presbyterian

98/4481

14 November 1898

Rev. B. Webster, Presbyterian

No	497
Date of Notice	14 November 1898
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Joseph Hird	Margaret Stewart
BDM Match (84%)	Joseph Hird Duff	Margaret Stewart
	💍 1898/3448
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Watchmaker	Domestic
Age	32	24
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	Manse, Presbyterian
Folio	98/4481
Consent
Date of Certificate	14 November 1898
Officiating Minister	Rev. B. Webster, Presbyterian

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).