Intentions to Marry, 1874

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840386, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

Page 718

District of Dunedin Quarter ending 31 March 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

9 January 1874

Edward McCluggage
Mary Ellen Woodside

Edward McCluggage
Mary Ellen Woodside
💍 1874/7111

Bachelor
Spinster

Express Proprietor

32
27

Dunedin
Dunedin

3 days
2 years

In the house of Mrs. Mary Ellen Woodside, St. Andrews St, Dunedin

74/417

9 January 1874

Rev. D.M. Stuart

No	10
Date of Notice	9 January 1874
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edward McCluggage	Mary Ellen Woodside
	💍 1874/7111
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Express Proprietor
Age	32	27
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	3 days	2 years
Marriage Place	In the house of Mrs. Mary Ellen Woodside, St. Andrews St, Dunedin
Folio	74/417
Consent
Date of Certificate	9 January 1874
Officiating Minister	Rev. D.M. Stuart

9 January 1874

Ben Hindle
Maria Slater

Ben Hindle
Maria Sclater
💍 1874/7105

Bachelor
Widow

Laborer

33
35

Dunedin
Dunedin

3 days
3 days

Knox Church, Dunedin

74/415

10 January 1874

Rev. D. M. Stuart

No	11
Date of Notice	9 January 1874
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Ben Hindle	Maria Slater
BDM Match (96%)	Ben Hindle	Maria Sclater
	💍 1874/7105
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Laborer
Age	33	35
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	Knox Church, Dunedin
Folio	74/415
Consent
Date of Certificate	10 January 1874
Officiating Minister	Rev. D. M. Stuart

10 January 1874

Thomas Page
Mary Flinn

Thomas Page
Mary Flinn
💍 1874/7123

Bachelor
Spinster

Mason

36
24

Dunedin
Dunedin

4 years
3 years

In the House of Mr. Jno McMillan, Leith St, Dunedin

74/421

10 January 1874

Rev Dr Stuart

No	12
Date of Notice	10 January 1874
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Page	Mary Flinn
	💍 1874/7123
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Mason
Age	36	24
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	4 years	3 years
Marriage Place	In the House of Mr. Jno McMillan, Leith St, Dunedin
Folio	74/421
Consent
Date of Certificate	10 January 1874
Officiating Minister	Rev Dr Stuart

10 January 1874

Robert Sloan
Margaret Patterson

Robert Sloane
Margaret Paterson
💍 1874/7108

Bachelor
Spinster

Draper

21
22

Dunedin
Dunedin

3 days
3 days

In Knox Church, Dunedin

74/416

10 January 1874

Rev Dr Stuart

No	13
Date of Notice	10 January 1874
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Robert Sloan	Margaret Patterson
BDM Match (93%)	Robert Sloane	Margaret Paterson
	💍 1874/7108
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Draper
Age	21	22
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	In Knox Church, Dunedin
Folio	74/416
Consent
Date of Certificate	10 January 1874
Officiating Minister	Rev Dr Stuart

12 January 1874

Hugh MacDonald
Mary Helen Hislop

Hugh Macdonald
Mary Helen Hislop
💍 1874/7117

Bachelor
Spinster

Dr of Medicine

31
21

Lyttleton
Dunedin

2 years
10 years

In the house of Mr John Hislop, Forth Street, Dunedin

74/419

12 January 1874

Rev Dr Stuart

No	14
Date of Notice	12 January 1874
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Hugh MacDonald	Mary Helen Hislop
BDM Match (96%)	Hugh Macdonald	Mary Helen Hislop
	💍 1874/7117
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Dr of Medicine
Age	31	21
Dwelling Place	Lyttleton	Dunedin
Length of Residence	2 years	10 years
Marriage Place	In the house of Mr John Hislop, Forth Street, Dunedin
Folio	74/419
Consent
Date of Certificate	12 January 1874
Officiating Minister	Rev Dr Stuart

12 January 1874

Robert Clelland
Ann McAlpine

Robert Clelland
Ann McAlpine
💍 1874/7114

Bachelor
Widow

Gardener

37
30

Dunedin
Dunedin

1 year
12 years

Knox Church, Dunedin

74/418

12 January 1874

Rev Dr Stuart

No	15
Date of Notice	12 January 1874
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Robert Clelland	Ann McAlpine
	💍 1874/7114
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Gardener
Age	37	30
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	1 year	12 years
Marriage Place	Knox Church, Dunedin
Folio	74/418
Consent
Date of Certificate	12 January 1874
Officiating Minister	Rev Dr Stuart

13 January 1874

Sydney Leeman Ward
Alice Clarissa Carey

Sydney Leeman Ward
Alice Clarissa Carey
💍 1874/7291

Bachelor
Spinster

Beamsman
Servant

28
19

Dunedin
Dunedin

15 months
3 years

In St Josephs Church, Dunedin

74/481

Patrick Carey, father

13 January 1874

Rt Rev Bishop Moran

No	16
Date of Notice	13 January 1874
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Sydney Leeman Ward	Alice Clarissa Carey
	💍 1874/7291
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Beamsman	Servant
Age	28	19
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	15 months	3 years
Marriage Place	In St Josephs Church, Dunedin
Folio	74/481
Consent	Patrick Carey, father
Date of Certificate	13 January 1874
Officiating Minister	Rt Rev Bishop Moran

14 January 1874

Alfred Kingston Smith
Margaret Glaister

Alfred Kingston Smith
Margaret Glaister
💍 1874/7129

Widower
Spinster

Accountant

29
21

Dunedin
Dunedin

2 years
1 year

In Knox Church, Dunedin

74/423

14 January 1874

Rev Dr Stuart

No	17
Date of Notice	14 January 1874
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Alfred Kingston Smith	Margaret Glaister
	💍 1874/7129
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Accountant
Age	29	21
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	2 years	1 year
Marriage Place	In Knox Church, Dunedin
Folio	74/423
Consent
Date of Certificate	14 January 1874
Officiating Minister	Rev Dr Stuart

15 January 1874

John Leslie
Jane Harkness

John Leslie
Jane Harkness
💍 1874/7285

Bachelor
Spinster

Engine Driver
Servant

38
21

Dunedin
Dunedin

3 days
3 days

In the house of John Chisholm, York Place, Dunedin

74/478

15 January 1874

Rev Jas Chisholm

No	18
Date of Notice	15 January 1874
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Leslie	Jane Harkness
	💍 1874/7285
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Engine Driver	Servant
Age	38	21
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	In the house of John Chisholm, York Place, Dunedin
Folio	74/478
Consent
Date of Certificate	15 January 1874
Officiating Minister	Rev Jas Chisholm

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).