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 471

District of Auckland Quarter ending 31 December 1898 Registrar Thomas Culpan

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

559

13 October 1898

William Whyte
Agnes McConnell

William Whyte
Agnes McConnell
💍 1898/4994

Bachelor
Spinster

Carter

23
22

Auckland
Auckland

2 years
22 years

Primitive Methodist Church, Alexandra Street, Auckland

98/5058

13 October 1898

Rev. G. E. Ward, Primitive Methodist; L. Culpan, Deputy Registrar

No	559
Date of Notice	13 October 1898
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Whyte	Agnes McConnell
	💍 1898/4994
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carter
Age	23	22
Dwelling Place	Auckland	Auckland
Length of Residence	2 years	22 years
Marriage Place	Primitive Methodist Church, Alexandra Street, Auckland
Folio	98/5058
Consent
Date of Certificate	13 October 1898
Officiating Minister	Rev. G. E. Ward, Primitive Methodist; L. Culpan, Deputy Registrar

560

14 October 1898

Enoch Knight
Mabel Mary Agnes Webb

Enock Knight
Mabel Mary Agnes Webb
💍 1898/4297

Bachelor
Spinster

Fruiterer

23
23

Auckland
Auckland

15 years
23 years

House of Mr. J. Webb, George Street, Ponsonby

98/3828

14 October 1898

Rev. A. Peters, Wesleyan

No	560
Date of Notice	14 October 1898
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Enoch Knight	Mabel Mary Agnes Webb
BDM Match (96%)	Enock Knight	Mabel Mary Agnes Webb
	💍 1898/4297
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Fruiterer
Age	23	23
Dwelling Place	Auckland	Auckland
Length of Residence	15 years	23 years
Marriage Place	House of Mr. J. Webb, George Street, Ponsonby
Folio	98/3828
Consent
Date of Certificate	14 October 1898
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. Peters, Wesleyan

561

14 October 1898

John Finlayson
Harriett Daisy Thorpe

John Finlayson
Harriett Daisy Thorpe
💍 1898/5022

Bachelor
Spinster

Marine Engineer

28
22

Auckland
Auckland

3 days
22 years

Church of England, Ellerslie

98/5078

14 October 1898

Rev. W. E. Gillam, Church of England

No	561
Date of Notice	14 October 1898
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Finlayson	Harriett Daisy Thorpe
	💍 1898/5022
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Marine Engineer
Age	28	22
Dwelling Place	Auckland	Auckland
Length of Residence	3 days	22 years
Marriage Place	Church of England, Ellerslie
Folio	98/5078
Consent
Date of Certificate	14 October 1898
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. E. Gillam, Church of England

562

17 October 1898

John Matthews
Mary Chadwick Morgan

John Matthews
Mary Chadwick Morgan
💍 1898/4450

Widower
Spinster

Farmer

61
38

Northern Wairoa
Northern Wairoa

30 years
7 years

House of Rev. R. L. Macnicol, Upper Union Street

98/4017

17 October 1898

Rev. R. L. Macnicol, Presbyterian

No	562
Date of Notice	17 October 1898
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Matthews	Mary Chadwick Morgan
	💍 1898/4450
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	61	38
Dwelling Place	Northern Wairoa	Northern Wairoa
Length of Residence	30 years	7 years
Marriage Place	House of Rev. R. L. Macnicol, Upper Union Street
Folio	98/4017
Consent
Date of Certificate	17 October 1898
Officiating Minister	Rev. R. L. Macnicol, Presbyterian

563

17 October 1898

William Wasley
Julia Ann Rolfe

William Wasley
Julia Ann Rolfe
💍 1898/4995

Widower
Spinster

Settler
Certificated Nurse

78
56

Auckland
Auckland

38 years
4 years

House of Mr. F. R. Gruszning, Gundry Street, Auckland

98/5059

17 October 1898

Rev. G. E. Ward, Primitive Methodist

No	563
Date of Notice	17 October 1898
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Wasley	Julia Ann Rolfe
	💍 1898/4995
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Settler	Certificated Nurse
Age	78	56
Dwelling Place	Auckland	Auckland
Length of Residence	38 years	4 years
Marriage Place	House of Mr. F. R. Gruszning, Gundry Street, Auckland
Folio	98/5059
Consent
Date of Certificate	17 October 1898
Officiating Minister	Rev. G. E. Ward, Primitive Methodist

564

17 October 1898

Alfred John Willcocks
Henrietta Halmsley Reed

Alfred John Willcocks
Henrietta Walmsley Reed
💍 1898/3182

Bachelor
Spinster

Steward

25
22

Auckland
Auckland

15 years
8 years

Registrar's Office, Auckland

98/3748

17 October 1898

L. Culpan, Deputy Registrar

No	564
Date of Notice	17 October 1898
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Alfred John Willcocks	Henrietta Halmsley Reed
BDM Match (98%)	Alfred John Willcocks	Henrietta Walmsley Reed
	💍 1898/3182
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Steward
Age	25	22
Dwelling Place	Auckland	Auckland
Length of Residence	15 years	8 years
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office, Auckland
Folio	98/3748
Consent
Date of Certificate	17 October 1898
Officiating Minister	L. Culpan, Deputy Registrar

565

17 October 1898

Frank Hayes
Mary Coppell

Frank Hayes
Mary Coppell
💍 1898/3220

Bachelor
Spinster

Baker

28
22

Auckland
Auckland

14 years
22 years

House of Father of Bride, Cobden St., Auckland

98/3860

17 October 1898

Rev. W. J. Williams, Wesleyan

No	565
Date of Notice	17 October 1898
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Frank Hayes	Mary Coppell
	💍 1898/3220
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Baker
Age	28	22
Dwelling Place	Auckland	Auckland
Length of Residence	14 years	22 years
Marriage Place	House of Father of Bride, Cobden St., Auckland
Folio	98/3860
Consent
Date of Certificate	17 October 1898
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. J. Williams, Wesleyan

566

18 October 1898

John McMinnie
Agnes Wakefield

John McWhinnie
Agnes Eva Wakefield
💍 1898/4304

Bachelor
Spinster

Ploughman

32
22

Hastings, N.Z.
Auckland

6 years
22 years

House of Mr. J. Wakefield, St. George's Bay, Parnell

98/3834

18 October 1898

Mr. T. J. Bull, Church of Christ

No	566
Date of Notice	18 October 1898
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John McMinnie	Agnes Wakefield
BDM Match (82%)	John McWhinnie	Agnes Eva Wakefield
	💍 1898/4304
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Ploughman
Age	32	22
Dwelling Place	Hastings, N.Z.	Auckland
Length of Residence	6 years	22 years
Marriage Place	House of Mr. J. Wakefield, St. George's Bay, Parnell
Folio	98/3834
Consent
Date of Certificate	18 October 1898
Officiating Minister	Mr. T. J. Bull, Church of Christ

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).