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 614

District of Dunedin Quarter ending 30 September 1872 Registrar W Parker Street

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

125

18 July 1872

Richard Roberts
Mary Jane Woods

Richard Roberts
Mary Jane Woods
💍 1872/7232

Bachelor
Spinster

Cabinet Maker

24years
21 years

Dunedin
Dunedin

3 months
2 months

In the office of the Registrar of Marriages, Dunedin

72/1876

19 July 1872

William Parker Street Registrar of Marriages

No	125
Date of Notice	18 July 1872
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Richard Roberts	Mary Jane Woods
	💍 1872/7232
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Cabinet Maker
Age	24years	21 years
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	3 months	2 months
Marriage Place	In the office of the Registrar of Marriages, Dunedin
Folio	72/1876
Consent
Date of Certificate	19 July 1872
Officiating Minister	William Parker Street Registrar of Marriages

126

20 July 1872

Robert Hewitson
Eiizabeth Ann Simpson

Robert Hewitson
Elizabeth Ann Simpson
💍 1872/6752

Bachelor
Spinster

Laborer
Servant

29 years
26 years

Dunedin
North East Valley

3 days
3 months

In the House of Walter Simpson, North East Valley

72/1715

20 July 1872

Revd. James Copland

No	126
Date of Notice	20 July 1872
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Robert Hewitson	Eiizabeth Ann Simpson
BDM Match (98%)	Robert Hewitson	Elizabeth Ann Simpson
	💍 1872/6752
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Laborer	Servant
Age	29 years	26 years
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	North East Valley
Length of Residence	3 days	3 months
Marriage Place	In the House of Walter Simpson, North East Valley
Folio	72/1715
Consent
Date of Certificate	20 July 1872
Officiating Minister	Revd. James Copland

127

23 July 1872

John Cousins
Mary Wilson

John Cousins
Mary Wilson
💍 1872/7235

Widower
Widow

Miner

36 years
26 years

Dunedin
Dunedin

3 days
3 days

In the office of the Registrar of Marriages, Dunedin

72/1879

23 July 1872

William Parker Street, Registrar of Marriages,

No	127
Date of Notice	23 July 1872
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Cousins	Mary Wilson
	💍 1872/7235
Condition	Widower	Widow
Profession	Miner
Age	36 years	26 years
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	In the office of the Registrar of Marriages, Dunedin
Folio	72/1879
Consent
Date of Certificate	23 July 1872
Officiating Minister	William Parker Street, Registrar of Marriages,

128

24 July 1872

Henry Hawker
Margaret Aitkenhead

Henry Hawker
Margaret Aitkenhead
💍 1872/7238

Bachelor
Widow

Dairyman

42 years
41 years

Dunedin
Dunedin

7 years
10 years

In the office of the Registrar of Marriages, Dunedin

72/1878

24 July 1872

William Parker Street, Registrar of Marriages

No	128
Date of Notice	24 July 1872
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Henry Hawker	Margaret Aitkenhead
	💍 1872/7238
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Dairyman
Age	42 years	41 years
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	7 years	10 years
Marriage Place	In the office of the Registrar of Marriages, Dunedin
Folio	72/1878
Consent
Date of Certificate	24 July 1872
Officiating Minister	William Parker Street, Registrar of Marriages

129

27 July 1872

Matthew Davison Clydesdale
Isabella Aitken

Matthew Darison Clydesdale
Isabella Aitken
💍 1872/7103

Widower
Widow

Carter

33 years
35 years

Dunedin
Dunedin

4 weeks
4 years

In the House of M D Clydesdale, Brown Street, Dunedin

72/1833

27 July 1872

Revd. D M Stuart

No	129
Date of Notice	27 July 1872
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Matthew Davison Clydesdale	Isabella Aitken
BDM Match (98%)	Matthew Darison Clydesdale	Isabella Aitken
	💍 1872/7103
Condition	Widower	Widow
Profession	Carter
Age	33 years	35 years
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	4 weeks	4 years
Marriage Place	In the House of M D Clydesdale, Brown Street, Dunedin
Folio	72/1833
Consent
Date of Certificate	27 July 1872
Officiating Minister	Revd. D M Stuart

130

29 July 1872

John Barty
Margaret Turnbull

John Barty
Margaret Turnbull
💍 1872/7100

Bachelor
Widow

Carpenter

31 years
28 years

Dunedin
Dunedin

3 days
3 days

In the Ayrshire Hotel, Gt King Street, Dunedin

72/1832

29 July 1872

Revd. D. M. Stuart

No	130
Date of Notice	29 July 1872
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Barty	Margaret Turnbull
	💍 1872/7100
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Carpenter
Age	31 years	28 years
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	In the Ayrshire Hotel, Gt King Street, Dunedin
Folio	72/1832
Consent
Date of Certificate	29 July 1872
Officiating Minister	Revd. D. M. Stuart

131

31 July 1872

Michael Butler
Mary Fitzpatrick

Michael Butler
Mary Fitzpatrick
💍 1872/6722

Bachelor
Spinster

Laborer
Servant

30 years
32 years

Dunedin
Dunedin

9 years
9 years

In St Josephs Church, Dunedin

72/1703

31 July 1872

Revd. Patrick Moran

No	131
Date of Notice	31 July 1872
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Michael Butler	Mary Fitzpatrick
	💍 1872/6722
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Laborer	Servant
Age	30 years	32 years
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	9 years	9 years
Marriage Place	In St Josephs Church, Dunedin
Folio	72/1703
Consent
Date of Certificate	31 July 1872
Officiating Minister	Revd. Patrick Moran

132

2 August 1872

Charles Goodall
Margaret Cane

Charles Goodall
Margaret Cane
💍 1872/6791

Widower
Spinster

Dairyman
Servant

33 years
22 years

North East Valley
North East Valley

9 weeks
7 weeks

In St Pauls Church, Dunedin

72/1729

2 August 1872

Revd. E. G. Edwards

No	132
Date of Notice	2 August 1872
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Goodall	Margaret Cane
	💍 1872/6791
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Dairyman	Servant
Age	33 years	22 years
Dwelling Place	North East Valley	North East Valley
Length of Residence	9 weeks	7 weeks
Marriage Place	In St Pauls Church, Dunedin
Folio	72/1729
Consent
Date of Certificate	2 August 1872
Officiating Minister	Revd. E. G. Edwards

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 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).