Intentions to Marry, 1869

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840381, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

Page 573

District of Dunedin Quarter ending Jul - Sep

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

150

17 July 1869

Murdoch Ross
Jane Balder Robertson

Murdoch Ross
Jane Calder Robertson
💍 1869/8454

Bachelor
Spinster

Ironmonger

24
22

Dunedin
Dunedin

3 yrs
3 yrs

In the house of Charles Robertson, Cairn hill

1432

17 July 1869

Rev. D. M. Stuart

No	150
Date of Notice	17 July 1869
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Murdoch Ross	Jane Balder Robertson
BDM Match (98%)	Murdoch Ross	Jane Calder Robertson
	💍 1869/8454
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Ironmonger
Age	24	22
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	3 yrs	3 yrs
Marriage Place	In the house of Charles Robertson, Cairn hill
Folio	1432
Consent
Date of Certificate	17 July 1869
Officiating Minister	Rev. D. M. Stuart

151

20 July 1869

Alexander Simpson
Jane Johnston

Alexander Simpson
Jean Johnstone
💍 1869/8778

Bachelor
Spinster

Blacksmith

26
26

Dunedin
Dunedin

3 days
8 months

In the Manse of the Rev. Thomas Burns

1544

20 July 1869

Rev. Thomas Burns

No	151
Date of Notice	20 July 1869
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Alexander Simpson	Jane Johnston
BDM Match (89%)	Alexander Simpson	Jean Johnstone
	💍 1869/8778
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Blacksmith
Age	26	26
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	3 days	8 months
Marriage Place	In the Manse of the Rev. Thomas Burns
Folio	1544
Consent
Date of Certificate	20 July 1869
Officiating Minister	Rev. Thomas Burns

152

20 July 1869

John M. Innes
Ann Waddell

John McInnes
Ann Waddell
💍 1869/8781

Bachelor
Spinster

Painter

35
34

Dunedin
Dunedin

8 yrs
5 yrs

Mr. David Sestis house, Blais Cottage, Elm Row, Dunedin

1545

20 July 1869

Rev. Thomas Burns

No	152
Date of Notice	20 July 1869
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John M. Innes	Ann Waddell
BDM Match (92%)	John McInnes	Ann Waddell
	💍 1869/8781
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Painter
Age	35	34
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	8 yrs	5 yrs
Marriage Place	Mr. David Sestis house, Blais Cottage, Elm Row, Dunedin
Folio	1545
Consent
Date of Certificate	20 July 1869
Officiating Minister	Rev. Thomas Burns

153

21 July 1869

Samuel Duncan
Margaret Clarke

Samuel Duncan
Margaret Clarke
💍 1869/8850

Bachelor
Spinster

Warder

30
24

Dunedin
Dunedin

7 yrs
9 months

In the Manse of the Rev. A. R. Fitchett, Dunedin

1561

21 July 1869

Rev. A. R. Fitchett

No	153
Date of Notice	21 July 1869
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Samuel Duncan	Margaret Clarke
	💍 1869/8850
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Warder
Age	30	24
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	7 yrs	9 months
Marriage Place	In the Manse of the Rev. A. R. Fitchett, Dunedin
Folio	1561
Consent
Date of Certificate	21 July 1869
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. R. Fitchett

154

21 July 1869

Abel Bent
Sarah Morrison

Abel Bent
Sarah Morrison
💍 1869/8280

Bachelor
Spinster

Seaman

22
21

Dunedin
Dunedin

3 yrs
6 yrs

In Manor Lodge, Cargill Street, Dunedin

1370

21 July 1869

Rev. George Sutherland

No	154
Date of Notice	21 July 1869
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Abel Bent	Sarah Morrison
	💍 1869/8280
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Seaman
Age	22	21
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	3 yrs	6 yrs
Marriage Place	In Manor Lodge, Cargill Street, Dunedin
Folio	1370
Consent
Date of Certificate	21 July 1869
Officiating Minister	Rev. George Sutherland

155

22 July 1869

Archibald Pagan
Jane Robertson

Archibald Pagan
Jane Robertson
💍 1869/8457

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer

38
20

Dunedin
Dunedin

3 days
3 days

In Knox Church, Dunedin

1433

22 July 1869

Rev. D. M. Stuart

No	155
Date of Notice	22 July 1869
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Archibald Pagan	Jane Robertson
	💍 1869/8457
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	38	20
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	In Knox Church, Dunedin
Folio	1433
Consent
Date of Certificate	22 July 1869
Officiating Minister	Rev. D. M. Stuart

156

22 July 1869

Edward Graham
Sarah Campbell

Edward Graham Scolon
Sarah Campbell
💍 1869/9039

Bachelor
Spinster

Station Manager

34
22

Dunedin
Popotunoa

1 month
8 days

In the house of Mr. Campbell, Merrie Creek, Popotunoa

1634

22 July 1869

Rev. Charles Connor

No	156
Date of Notice	22 July 1869
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edward Graham	Sarah Campbell
BDM Match (83%)	Edward Graham Scolon	Sarah Campbell
	💍 1869/9039
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Station Manager
Age	34	22
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Popotunoa
Length of Residence	1 month	8 days
Marriage Place	In the house of Mr. Campbell, Merrie Creek, Popotunoa
Folio	1634
Consent
Date of Certificate	22 July 1869
Officiating Minister	Rev. Charles Connor

157

23 July 1869

Archibald Farrar
Annie McKay

Archibald Garvan
Annie McKay
💍 1869/8466

Bachelor
Spinster

Ploughman

27
21

Dunedin
Dunedin

3 days
3 weeks

In Knox Church, Dunedin

1430

23 July 1869

Rev. D. M. Stuart

No	157
Date of Notice	23 July 1869
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Archibald Farrar	Annie McKay
BDM Match (91%)	Archibald Garvan	Annie McKay
	💍 1869/8466
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Ploughman
Age	27	21
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	3 days	3 weeks
Marriage Place	In Knox Church, Dunedin
Folio	1430
Consent
Date of Certificate	23 July 1869
Officiating Minister	Rev. D. M. Stuart

158

24 July 1869

Robert Hagan
Catherine Howitt

Robert Hagan
Catherine Hewitt
💍 1869/8463

Bachelor
Spinster

Carrier

28
24

Dunedin
Dunedin

3 weeks
6 yrs

In Knox Church, Dunedin

1435

24 July 1869

Rev. D. M. Stuart

No	158
Date of Notice	24 July 1869
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Robert Hagan	Catherine Howitt
BDM Match (97%)	Robert Hagan	Catherine Hewitt
	💍 1869/8463
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carrier
Age	28	24
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	3 weeks	6 yrs
Marriage Place	In Knox Church, Dunedin
Folio	1435
Consent
Date of Certificate	24 July 1869
Officiating Minister	Rev. D. M. Stuart

These records have been automatically transcribed and must be verified using the page image (below)

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Attribution: This image was digitised by Archives NZ Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga and is republished here under CC BY. It has been cropped and rotated for convenience.

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).