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 729

District of Dunedin Quarter ending 31 March 1873

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

5 March 1873

John Campbell
Mary Ann Lewis

John Campbell
Mary Ann Lewis
💍 1873/6226

Bachelor
Spinster

Carpenter

25 years
21 years

Dunedin
Dunedin

3 years
12 years

In Knox Church Dunedin

73/147

5 March 1873

Rev. D. M. Stuart D.D.

No	55
Date of Notice	5 March 1873
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Campbell	Mary Ann Lewis
	💍 1873/6226
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carpenter
Age	25 years	21 years
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	3 years	12 years
Marriage Place	In Knox Church Dunedin
Folio	73/147
Consent
Date of Certificate	5 March 1873
Officiating Minister	Rev. D. M. Stuart D.D.

6 March 1873

James McAnergney
Catherine Minnan

James McAnergney
Catherine Minnan
💍 1873/5180

Bachelor
Spinster

Barter
Servant

37 years
25 years

East Taieri
Dunedin

7 years
5 years

St Pauls Church East Taieri

73/121

6 March 1873

Rev. E. Edwards

No	56
Date of Notice	6 March 1873
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James McAnergney	Catherine Minnan
	💍 1873/5180
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Barter	Servant
Age	37 years	25 years
Dwelling Place	East Taieri	Dunedin
Length of Residence	7 years	5 years
Marriage Place	St Pauls Church East Taieri
Folio	73/121
Consent
Date of Certificate	6 March 1873
Officiating Minister	Rev. E. Edwards

6 March 1873

Robert Miller
Margaret Simpson

Robert Miller
Margaret Simpson
💍 1873/6172

Widower
Widow

Settler

56 years
44 years

Dunedin
Dunedin

15 years
12 years

In the north Dunedin Presbyterian Church

73/460

6 March 1873

Rev. J. Copeland

No	57
Date of Notice	6 March 1873
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Robert Miller	Margaret Simpson
	💍 1873/6172
Condition	Widower	Widow
Profession	Settler
Age	56 years	44 years
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	15 years	12 years
Marriage Place	In the north Dunedin Presbyterian Church
Folio	73/460
Consent
Date of Certificate	6 March 1873
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Copeland

11 March 1873

Murdoch Murray
Margaret Fletcher

Murdoch Murray
Margaret Fletcher
💍 1873/6229

Bachelor
Spinster

Ploughman

27 years
26 years

Dunedin
Dunedin

3 days
2 months

In the house of Thomas Blane Victoria Street Dunedin

73/479

11 March 1873

Rev. D. M. Stuart D.D.

No	58
Date of Notice	11 March 1873
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Murdoch Murray	Margaret Fletcher
	💍 1873/6229
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Ploughman
Age	27 years	26 years
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	3 days	2 months
Marriage Place	In the house of Thomas Blane Victoria Street Dunedin
Folio	73/479
Consent
Date of Certificate	11 March 1873
Officiating Minister	Rev. D. M. Stuart D.D.

12 March 1873

Alexander Lindsay
Susannah Francis

Alexander Imlay
Susannah Francis
💍 1873/5162

Bachelor
Widow

Boot & Shoe Maker

48 years
40 years

Dunedin
Dunedin

16 months
5 years

In the house of Alexander Lindsay, Filluel Street Dunedin

73/115

12 March 1873

Rev. A. Reid

No	59
Date of Notice	12 March 1873
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Alexander Lindsay	Susannah Francis
BDM Match (85%)	Alexander Imlay	Susannah Francis
	💍 1873/5162
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Boot & Shoe Maker
Age	48 years	40 years
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	16 months	5 years
Marriage Place	In the house of Alexander Lindsay, Filluel Street Dunedin
Folio	73/115
Consent
Date of Certificate	12 March 1873
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. Reid

15 March 1873

Rudolph Platour
Emily Emmet

Rudolph Platow
Emily Ernst
💍 1873/6160

Bachelor
Widow

Miner

45 years
32 years

Dunedin
Dunedin

3 days
9 days

Office of the Registrar of Marriages Dunedin

73/456

15 March 1873

Registrar of Marriages Dunedin

No	60
Date of Notice	15 March 1873
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Rudolph Platour	Emily Emmet
BDM Match (80%)	Rudolph Platow	Emily Ernst
	💍 1873/6160
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Miner
Age	45 years	32 years
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	3 days	9 days
Marriage Place	Office of the Registrar of Marriages Dunedin
Folio	73/456
Consent
Date of Certificate	15 March 1873
Officiating Minister	Registrar of Marriages Dunedin

15 March 1873

John Adkins
Ann Wood

John Adkins
Ann Wood
💍 1873/6232

Bachelor
Widow

Hotel Manager

39 years
24 years

Dunedin
Dunedin

6 years
12 years

In the house of Mr William Preston High Street Dunedin

73/450

15 March 1873

Rev. D. M. Stuart D.D.

No	61
Date of Notice	15 March 1873
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Adkins	Ann Wood
	💍 1873/6232
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Hotel Manager
Age	39 years	24 years
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	6 years	12 years
Marriage Place	In the house of Mr William Preston High Street Dunedin
Folio	73/450
Consent
Date of Certificate	15 March 1873
Officiating Minister	Rev. D. M. Stuart D.D.

18 March 1873

William Halford
Grace Scott

William Halford
Grace Scott
💍 1873/6163

Bachelor
Spinster

Mariner

27 years
17 years

Dunedin
Dunedin

3 days
3 days

In the office of the Registrar of marriages Dunedin

73/457

Her father

18 March 1873

Registrar of Marriages Dunedin

No	63
Date of Notice	18 March 1873
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Halford	Grace Scott
	💍 1873/6163
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Mariner
Age	27 years	17 years
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	In the office of the Registrar of marriages Dunedin
Folio	73/457
Consent	Her father
Date of Certificate	18 March 1873
Officiating Minister	Registrar of Marriages Dunedin

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 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).