Intentions to Marry, 1872

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840384, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

Page 599

District of Dunedin Quarter ending Jan - Mar

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

17 January 1872

Archibald Lamb
Jane Guickshank

Archibald Lamb
Jane Cruickshank
💍 1872/6815

Widower
Spinster

Carpenter
Servant

45
25

Dunedin
Dunedin

11 years
4 years

In the Manse of Rev. John Gow Dunedin

72/1737

7 February 1872

Rev. John Gow

No	17
Date of Notice	17 January 1872
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Archibald Lamb	Jane Guickshank
BDM Match (94%)	Archibald Lamb	Jane Cruickshank
	💍 1872/6815
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Carpenter	Servant
Age	45	25
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	11 years	4 years
Marriage Place	In the Manse of Rev. John Gow Dunedin
Folio	72/1737
Consent
Date of Certificate	7 February 1872
Officiating Minister	Rev. John Gow

18 January 1872

Charles Robert Brunton
Marion Willis

Charles Robert Brunton
Marian Willis
💍 1872/6851

Bachelor
Spinster

Station Manager

25
31

Dunedin
Dunedin

3 weeks
8 years

In All Saints Church Dunedin

72/1748

22 January 1872

Rev. E.H. Granger

No	18
Date of Notice	18 January 1872
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Robert Brunton	Marion Willis
BDM Match (96%)	Charles Robert Brunton	Marian Willis
	💍 1872/6851
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Station Manager
Age	25	31
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	3 weeks	8 years
Marriage Place	In All Saints Church Dunedin
Folio	72/1748
Consent
Date of Certificate	22 January 1872
Officiating Minister	Rev. E.H. Granger

19 January 1872

James Hill
Mary Henry Davidson

James Hill
Mary Harry Davidson
💍 1872/6812

Bachelor
Spinster

Watchmaker

21
21

Dunedin
Dunedin

3 days
7 years

In the House of Capt. Henry Canongate, Street Dunedin

72/1736

24 January 1872

Rev. John Gow

No	19
Date of Notice	19 January 1872
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Hill	Mary Henry Davidson
BDM Match (95%)	James Hill	Mary Harry Davidson
	💍 1872/6812
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Watchmaker
Age	21	21
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	3 days	7 years
Marriage Place	In the House of Capt. Henry Canongate, Street Dunedin
Folio	72/1736
Consent
Date of Certificate	24 January 1872
Officiating Minister	Rev. John Gow

20 January 1872

Hugh Armour
Elizabeth Allan

Hugh Armour
Elizabeth Allan
💍 1872/9436

Bachelor
Spinster

Shipwright
Domestic Servant

37
27

Dunedin
Dunedin

8 years
8 years

In the House of James Taylor, Esq. Herras York Place, Dunedin

72/1792

26 January 1872

Rev. A.M. Stuart

No	20
Date of Notice	20 January 1872
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Hugh Armour	Elizabeth Allan
	💍 1872/9436
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Shipwright	Domestic Servant
Age	37	27
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	8 years	8 years
Marriage Place	In the House of James Taylor, Esq. Herras York Place, Dunedin
Folio	72/1792
Consent
Date of Certificate	26 January 1872
Officiating Minister	Rev. A.M. Stuart

21 January 1872

Henry James Bacon
Helen Wynnes

Henry James Bacon
Helen Wymes
💍 1872/6938

Widower
Spinster

Upholsterer

36
31

Portobello
Portobello

12 months
12 months

In the House of Henry James Bacon Portobello

72/1778

30 January 1872

Rev. John Williams

No	21
Date of Notice	21 January 1872
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Henry James Bacon	Helen Wynnes
BDM Match (92%)	Henry James Bacon	Helen Wymes
	💍 1872/6938
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Upholsterer
Age	36	31
Dwelling Place	Portobello	Portobello
Length of Residence	12 months	12 months
Marriage Place	In the House of Henry James Bacon Portobello
Folio	72/1778
Consent
Date of Certificate	30 January 1872
Officiating Minister	Rev. John Williams

22 January 1872

James Calcraft
Margaret Isabella Ishkins

James Calcraft
Margaret Isabella Jenkins
💍 1872/6770

Bachelor
Spinster

Hotelkeeper

26
21

Dunedin
Dunedin

4 years
4 days

In St Paul's Church Dunedin

72/1721

30 January 1872

Rev. E.G. Edwards

No	22
Date of Notice	22 January 1872
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Calcraft	Margaret Isabella Ishkins
BDM Match (94%)	James Calcraft	Margaret Isabella Jenkins
	💍 1872/6770
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Hotelkeeper
Age	26	21
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	4 years	4 days
Marriage Place	In St Paul's Church Dunedin
Folio	72/1721
Consent
Date of Certificate	30 January 1872
Officiating Minister	Rev. E.G. Edwards

23 January 1872

Frederick Augustus Reeves
Barbara McLean

Frederick Augustus Reeves
Barbara McLean
💍 1872/4899

Bachelor
Spinster

Storeman

36
23

Dunedin
Dunedin

9 years
5 years

In the House of Samuel Ishkins Maitland Street Dunedin

72/1889

30 January 1872

Rev. George Sutherland

No	23
Date of Notice	23 January 1872
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Frederick Augustus Reeves	Barbara McLean
	💍 1872/4899
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Storeman
Age	36	23
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	9 years	5 years
Marriage Place	In the House of Samuel Ishkins Maitland Street Dunedin
Folio	72/1889
Consent
Date of Certificate	30 January 1872
Officiating Minister	Rev. George Sutherland

14 February 1872

James Johnston
Sarah Thompson

James Johnston
Sarah Thompson
💍 1872/4800

Bachelor
Spinster

Butcher
Domestic Servant

26
27

Dunedin
Dunedin

3 days
3 days

In the Manse of Rev. George Sutherland Dunedin

72/1869

1 February 1872

Rev. George Sutherland

No	24
Date of Notice	14 February 1872
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Johnston	Sarah Thompson
	💍 1872/4800
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Butcher	Domestic Servant
Age	26	27
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	In the Manse of Rev. George Sutherland Dunedin
Folio	72/1869
Consent
Date of Certificate	1 February 1872
Officiating Minister	Rev. George Sutherland

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).