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 601

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

12 February 1872

James McElwee
Margaret Mahon

James McElvee
Margaret Mahon
💍 1872/6692

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Servant

31
24

Dunedin
Dunedin

3 days
3 days

St Josephs Church

72/1693

12 February 1872

Rev. Jeremiah O'Donovan

No	33
Date of Notice	12 February 1872
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James McElwee	Margaret Mahon
BDM Match (96%)	James McElvee	Margaret Mahon
	💍 1872/6692
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Servant
Age	31	24
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	St Josephs Church
Folio	72/1693
Consent
Date of Certificate	12 February 1872
Officiating Minister	Rev. Jeremiah O'Donovan

14 February 1872

Alexander Liveston Wilson
Mary Sellers

Alexander Livingston Wilson
Mary Sellars
💍 1873/6181

Alexander Livingston Wilson
Mary Sellars
💍 1873/11101

Bachelor
Spinster

Fellmonger
Domestic Servant

26
22

Kaikorai
Green Island

2 years
7 years

Little House of Archibal Sellers Green Island

71/463

14 February 1872

Rev. Michael Wall

No	34
Date of Notice	14 February 1872
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Alexander Liveston Wilson	Mary Sellers
BDM Match (90%)	Alexander Livingston Wilson	Mary Sellars
	💍 1873/6181
BDM Match (90%)	Alexander Livingston Wilson	Mary Sellars
	💍 1873/11101
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Fellmonger	Domestic Servant
Age	26	22
Dwelling Place	Kaikorai	Green Island
Length of Residence	2 years	7 years
Marriage Place	Little House of Archibal Sellers Green Island
Folio	71/463
Consent
Date of Certificate	14 February 1872
Officiating Minister	Rev. Michael Wall

16 February 1872

William Johnston
Mary Cannon

William Johnston
Mary Cameron
💍 1872/7055

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Servant

40
25

Hillside
Caversham

6 weeks
3 months

In the House of Christopher Boddy Hillside

72/1798

16 February 1872

Rev. D. M. Stuart

No	35
Date of Notice	16 February 1872
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Johnston	Mary Cannon
BDM Match (88%)	William Johnston	Mary Cameron
	💍 1872/7055
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Servant
Age	40	25
Dwelling Place	Hillside	Caversham
Length of Residence	6 weeks	3 months
Marriage Place	In the House of Christopher Boddy Hillside
Folio	72/1798
Consent
Date of Certificate	16 February 1872
Officiating Minister	Rev. D. M. Stuart

21 February 1872

Clinton Lyons
Eliza Ellenour Stockwood

Clinton Lyons
Eliza Eleanor Stockwood
💍 1872/6941

Bachelor
Spinster

Engineer

42
32

Dunedin
Dunedin

4 years
6 years

In the House of Rev. John Williams Dunedin

72/1778

21 February 1872

Rev. John Williams

No	36
Date of Notice	21 February 1872
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Clinton Lyons	Eliza Ellenour Stockwood
BDM Match (94%)	Clinton Lyons	Eliza Eleanor Stockwood
	💍 1872/6941
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Engineer
Age	42	32
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	4 years	6 years
Marriage Place	In the House of Rev. John Williams Dunedin
Folio	72/1778
Consent
Date of Certificate	21 February 1872
Officiating Minister	Rev. John Williams

21 February 1872

Emanuel Francis
Eliza McIntyre

Emmanuel Francis
Eliza McIntyre
💍 1872/6998

Bachelor
Spinster

Shepherd
Domestic Servant

33
24

Dunedin
Dunedin

3 days
3 days

In the House of John Hodge Dunedin

72/1799

21 February 1872

Rev. D.M. Stuart

No	37
Date of Notice	21 February 1872
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Emanuel Francis	Eliza McIntyre
BDM Match (97%)	Emmanuel Francis	Eliza McIntyre
	💍 1872/6998
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Shepherd	Domestic Servant
Age	33	24
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	In the House of John Hodge Dunedin
Folio	72/1799
Consent
Date of Certificate	21 February 1872
Officiating Minister	Rev. D.M. Stuart

23 February 1872

William Geary
Mary Cowan

William Geary
Mary Cowan
💍 1872/3608

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer

18
20

Portobello
Sandymount

18 years
6 years

In the House of Robert Cowan Sandymount

72/2471

Elizabeth Geary, Mother Robert Cowan, Father

23 February 1872

Rev. Alexr. Greig

No	38
Date of Notice	23 February 1872
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Geary	Mary Cowan
	💍 1872/3608
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	18	20
Dwelling Place	Portobello	Sandymount
Length of Residence	18 years	6 years
Marriage Place	In the House of Robert Cowan Sandymount
Folio	72/2471
Consent	Elizabeth Geary, Mother Robert Cowan, Father
Date of Certificate	23 February 1872
Officiating Minister	Rev. Alexr. Greig

24 February 1872

George Cruickshank
Margaret Jaggar

George Cruickshank
Margaret Taggart
💍 1872/7001

Bachelor
Spinster

Mason

34
32

Dunedin
Dunedin

3 days
3 days

Knox Church Dunedin

72/1800

24 February 1872

Rev. D.M. Stuart

No	39
Date of Notice	24 February 1872
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Cruickshank	Margaret Jaggar
BDM Match (94%)	George Cruickshank	Margaret Taggart
	💍 1872/7001
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Mason
Age	34	32
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	Knox Church Dunedin
Folio	72/1800
Consent
Date of Certificate	24 February 1872
Officiating Minister	Rev. D.M. Stuart

28 February 1872

Alexander Hill
Mary Crombie

Alexander Hill
Mary Crombie
💍 1872/7004

Bachelor
Spinster

Seaman

23
23

Dunedin
Dunedin

3 days
3 days

In Pains Family Hotel, Manse St. Dunedin

72/1801

28 February 1872

Rev. D.M. Stuart

No	40
Date of Notice	28 February 1872
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Alexander Hill	Mary Crombie
	💍 1872/7004
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Seaman
Age	23	23
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	In Pains Family Hotel, Manse St. Dunedin
Folio	72/1801
Consent
Date of Certificate	28 February 1872
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).