Intentions to Marry, 1873

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840385, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

Imaged by Luke Howison at Archives NZ Wellington, December 4 2024

Page 756

District of Dunedin Quarter ending 31 December 1874

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

234

23 October 1873

William Comrie
Elizabeth Chamberlain Long

William Comrie
Elizabeth Chamberlain Long
💍 1873/8677

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer

25
20

Dunedin
Dunedin

16 months
2 years

Private Residence of Mr William Long, High Street, Dunedin

73/1314

Ann Long, mother of Elizabeth Chamberlain Long

23 October 1873

Rev. John Gow

No	234
Date of Notice	23 October 1873
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Comrie	Elizabeth Chamberlain Long
	💍 1873/8677
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	25	20
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	16 months	2 years
Marriage Place	Private Residence of Mr William Long, High Street, Dunedin
Folio	73/1314
Consent	Ann Long, mother of Elizabeth Chamberlain Long
Date of Certificate	23 October 1873
Officiating Minister	Rev. John Gow

236

24 October 1873

John Maunder Neno
Rachel Mary Thompson

John Maunder Nero
Rachel Mary Thompson
💍 1873/7300

Bachelor
Spinster

Plumber

23
26

Dunedin
Dunedin

1 year
4 years

In home of Rev. Dr. Roseby, Moray Place, Dunedin

73/847

24 October 1873

Rev. Dr. Roseby

No	236
Date of Notice	24 October 1873
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Maunder Neno	Rachel Mary Thompson
BDM Match (97%)	John Maunder Nero	Rachel Mary Thompson
	💍 1873/7300
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Plumber
Age	23	26
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	1 year	4 years
Marriage Place	In home of Rev. Dr. Roseby, Moray Place, Dunedin
Folio	73/847
Consent
Date of Certificate	24 October 1873
Officiating Minister	Rev. Dr. Roseby

237

24 October 1873

James Durward
Mary Bain

James Durwood
Mary Bain
💍 1873/8617

Bachelor
Spinster

Shepherd

25
25

Dunedin
Dunedin

4 days
3 weeks

In house of Charles Strachan, St. David Street, Dunedin

73/1292

24 October 1873

Rev. James Copland

No	237
Date of Notice	24 October 1873
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Durward	Mary Bain
BDM Match (92%)	James Durwood	Mary Bain
	💍 1873/8617
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Shepherd
Age	25	25
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	4 days	3 weeks
Marriage Place	In house of Charles Strachan, St. David Street, Dunedin
Folio	73/1292
Consent
Date of Certificate	24 October 1873
Officiating Minister	Rev. James Copland

238

25 October 1873

Martin Brennan
Margaret Purcell

Martin Brennan
Margaret Purcell
💍 1873/7375

Bachelor
Spinster

Cab proprietor
Servant

25
25

Dunedin
Dunedin

1 year
1 year

In St Joseph's Church, Dunedin

73/872

25 October 1873

Rev. Dr. Moran

No	238
Date of Notice	25 October 1873
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Martin Brennan	Margaret Purcell
	💍 1873/7375
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Cab proprietor	Servant
Age	25	25
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	1 year	1 year
Marriage Place	In St Joseph's Church, Dunedin
Folio	73/872
Consent
Date of Certificate	25 October 1873
Officiating Minister	Rev. Dr. Moran

239

27 October 1873

Neil Reid
Anne Laverty

Neil Reid
Anne Laverty
💍 1873/8620

Bachelor
Spinster

Mariner
Servant

30
22

Dunedin
Dunedin

6 years
1 year

Allen's City Buffet, Princes Street, Dunedin

73/1293

27 October 1873

Rev. DM. Stuart

No	239
Date of Notice	27 October 1873
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Neil Reid	Anne Laverty
	💍 1873/8620
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Mariner	Servant
Age	30	22
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	6 years	1 year
Marriage Place	Allen's City Buffet, Princes Street, Dunedin
Folio	73/1293
Consent
Date of Certificate	27 October 1873
Officiating Minister	Rev. DM. Stuart

241

28 October 1873

Francis Martin Clark
Harriet Burrows

Francis Martin Clark
Harriet Burrowes
💍 1873/10948

Bachelor
Widow

Stock driver
Dressmaker

43
41

Dunedin
Dunedin

5 weeks
5 weeks

All Saints Church, Dunedin

73/2097

28 October 1873

Rev. R.L. Stanford

No	241
Date of Notice	28 October 1873
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Francis Martin Clark	Harriet Burrows
BDM Match (97%)	Francis Martin Clark	Harriet Burrowes
	💍 1873/10948
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Stock driver	Dressmaker
Age	43	41
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	5 weeks	5 weeks
Marriage Place	All Saints Church, Dunedin
Folio	73/2097
Consent
Date of Certificate	28 October 1873
Officiating Minister	Rev. R.L. Stanford

242

29 October 1873

Stephen Keedwell
Jane Chinnick

Stephen Reedwell
Jane Chinnick
💍 1873/10504

Bachelor
Spinster

Quarryman
Servant

35
33

Dunedin
Dunedin

14 days
14 days

In St. Paul's Church, Dunedin

73/1938

29 October 1873

Rev. E.G. Edwards

No	242
Date of Notice	29 October 1873
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Stephen Keedwell	Jane Chinnick
BDM Match (97%)	Stephen Reedwell	Jane Chinnick
	💍 1873/10504
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Quarryman	Servant
Age	35	33
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	14 days	14 days
Marriage Place	In St. Paul's Church, Dunedin
Folio	73/1938
Consent
Date of Certificate	29 October 1873
Officiating Minister	Rev. E.G. Edwards

243

31 October 1873

David Fyfe
Annie Clegg

David Fyfe
Annie Clegg
💍 1873/10483

Bachelor
Spinster

Miner

33
20

Dunedin
Dunedin

3 days
3 days

In St Paul's Church, Dunedin

73/1931

Joseph Clegg, father of Annie Clegg

31 October 1873

Rev. E.G. Edwards

No	243
Date of Notice	31 October 1873
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	David Fyfe	Annie Clegg
	💍 1873/10483
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Miner
Age	33	20
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	In St Paul's Church, Dunedin
Folio	73/1931
Consent	Joseph Clegg, father of Annie Clegg
Date of Certificate	31 October 1873
Officiating Minister	Rev. E.G. Edwards

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

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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).