Intentions to Marry, 1899 January-June

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840415, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

Imaged by Luke at Archives NZ Wellington (now located in the National Library reading room), September 5 2025

1899 is bound in two volumes, January-June and July-December.

Page 310

District of Christchurch Quarter ending 31 March 1899 Registrar J W Parkerson

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

1 February 1899

Alfred Rittson Thomas
Ellen Murray

Alfred Pittson Thomas
Ellen Murray
💍 1899/930

Bachelor
Spinster

Sheepfarmer

29
26

Christchurch
Christchurch

1 week
26 years

Episcopalian Church, Greenpark

99/818

1 February 1899

Rev H. Williams, Anglican

No	52
Date of Notice	1 February 1899
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Alfred Rittson Thomas	Ellen Murray
BDM Match (98%)	Alfred Pittson Thomas	Ellen Murray
	💍 1899/930
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Sheepfarmer
Age	29	26
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	1 week	26 years
Marriage Place	Episcopalian Church, Greenpark
Folio	99/818
Consent
Date of Certificate	1 February 1899
Officiating Minister	Rev H. Williams, Anglican

1 February 1899

William Henry Rinklett
Alice Hill

William Henry Gimblett
Alice Hill
💍 1899/1222

Bachelor
Spinster

Gardener
Domestic

23
22

Woolston
Christchurch

23 Years
20 Years

Home of Mr. Rinklett, Bamfords Rd, Woolston

99/1113

1 February 1899

Rev J. R. Newbold, Wesleyan

No	53
Date of Notice	1 February 1899
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Henry Rinklett	Alice Hill
BDM Match (93%)	William Henry Gimblett	Alice Hill
	💍 1899/1222
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Gardener	Domestic
Age	23	22
Dwelling Place	Woolston	Christchurch
Length of Residence	23 Years	20 Years
Marriage Place	Home of Mr. Rinklett, Bamfords Rd, Woolston
Folio	99/1113
Consent
Date of Certificate	1 February 1899
Officiating Minister	Rev J. R. Newbold, Wesleyan

2 February 1899

Francis Philip McGabrick
Georgina Florence Spencer St. John

Francis Philip McGolrick
Georgina Florence St John
💍 1899/5449

Widower
Spinster

Farmer
Teacher

60
30

Christchurch
Christchurch

30 years
4 years

St. Marys Church, Manchester St. Ch Ch

99/1205

2 February 1899

Rev W. J. Monnane, Roman Catholic

No	54
Date of Notice	2 February 1899
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Francis Philip McGabrick	Georgina Florence Spencer St. John
BDM Match (83%)	Francis Philip McGolrick	Georgina Florence St John
	💍 1899/5449
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Teacher
Age	60	30
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	30 years	4 years
Marriage Place	St. Marys Church, Manchester St. Ch Ch
Folio	99/1205
Consent
Date of Certificate	2 February 1899
Officiating Minister	Rev W. J. Monnane, Roman Catholic

4 February 1899

William Henry Ewings
Frances Mary Madeline

William Henry Ewings
Frances Mary Wakelin
💍 1899/655

Bachelor
Spinster

Tinsmith
Domestic

21
21

Spreydon
Papanui

3 weeks
3 weeks

House of Mr. Wadelie, Papanui

4 February 1899

Rev A. B. Chappell, Wesleyan

No	55
Date of Notice	4 February 1899
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Henry Ewings	Frances Mary Madeline
BDM Match (93%)	William Henry Ewings	Frances Mary Wakelin
	💍 1899/655
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Tinsmith	Domestic
Age	21	21
Dwelling Place	Spreydon	Papanui
Length of Residence	3 weeks	3 weeks
Marriage Place	House of Mr. Wadelie, Papanui
Folio
Consent
Date of Certificate	4 February 1899
Officiating Minister	Rev A. B. Chappell, Wesleyan

6 February 1899

Henry Greenfree Batton
Rachel Batton

Henry Grenfell
Rachel Batton
💍 1899/862

Widower
Spinster

Porter
Domestic

42
43

Christchurch
Christchurch

4 years
9 years

Salvation Army Barracks, Lichfield St Ch Ch

99/768

6 February 1899

Major C. J. Harris & Major Sal: Army

No	56
Date of Notice	6 February 1899
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Henry Greenfree Batton	Rachel Batton
BDM Match (77%)	Henry Grenfell	Rachel Batton
	💍 1899/862
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Porter	Domestic
Age	42	43
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	4 years	9 years
Marriage Place	Salvation Army Barracks, Lichfield St Ch Ch
Folio	99/768
Consent
Date of Certificate	6 February 1899
Officiating Minister	Major C. J. Harris & Major Sal: Army

7 February 1899

Charles O'Donnell
Sarah Elizabeth Greaves

Charles O'Donnell
Susan Elizabeth Greaves
💍 1899/841

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic

30
23

Christchurch
Christchurch

10 years
1 year

Roman Catholic Church, Barbadoes St. Ch Ch

99/795

7 February 1899

Rev R. Richards, Roman Catholic

No	57
Date of Notice	7 February 1899
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles O'Donnell	Sarah Elizabeth Greaves
BDM Match (94%)	Charles O'Donnell	Susan Elizabeth Greaves
	💍 1899/841
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic
Age	30	23
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	10 years	1 year
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Church, Barbadoes St. Ch Ch
Folio	99/795
Consent
Date of Certificate	7 February 1899
Officiating Minister	Rev R. Richards, Roman Catholic

7 February 1899

Oswald Peter Morrison Duncan
Elizabeth Mary Tallance

Oswald Peter Morrison Duncan
Elizabeth Mary Vanama
💍 1899/991

Bachelor
Spinster

Wool Classer

22
23

Belfast
Leithfield

10 Years
14 Years

Anglican Church, Leithfield

99/847

7 February 1899

Rev H. E. East, Anglican

No	58
Date of Notice	7 February 1899
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Oswald Peter Morrison Duncan	Elizabeth Mary Tallance
BDM Match (87%)	Oswald Peter Morrison Duncan	Elizabeth Mary Vanama
	💍 1899/991
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Wool Classer
Age	22	23
Dwelling Place	Belfast	Leithfield
Length of Residence	10 Years	14 Years
Marriage Place	Anglican Church, Leithfield
Folio	99/847
Consent
Date of Certificate	7 February 1899
Officiating Minister	Rev H. E. East, Anglican

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 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).