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 719

District of Dunedin Quarter ending 31 March 1874 Registrar William 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

15 January 1874

Samuel Henry Goodall
Elizabeth Craig

Samuel Henry Goodall
Elizabeth Craig
💍 1874/13243

Bachelor
Spinster

Butcher

22
19

Caversham
Caversham

22 years
5 years

In First Church, Dunedin

74/2521

William Craig, father

15 January 1874

Rev. Jno Gow

No	19
Date of Notice	15 January 1874
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Samuel Henry Goodall	Elizabeth Craig
	💍 1874/13243
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Butcher
Age	22	19
Dwelling Place	Caversham	Caversham
Length of Residence	22 years	5 years
Marriage Place	In First Church, Dunedin
Folio	74/2521
Consent	William Craig, father
Date of Certificate	15 January 1874
Officiating Minister	Rev. Jno Gow

16 January 1874

Robert Anderson
Janet Parkhill

Robert Anderson
Janet Parkhill
💍 1874/7138

Bachelor
Spinster

Moulder

24
23

Dunedin
Dunedin

2 years
3 years

In the house of Mr William Nelson, York Place, Dunedin

74/426

16 January 1874

Rev. Dr Stuart

No	20
Date of Notice	16 January 1874
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Robert Anderson	Janet Parkhill
	💍 1874/7138
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Moulder
Age	24	23
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	2 years	3 years
Marriage Place	In the house of Mr William Nelson, York Place, Dunedin
Folio	74/426
Consent
Date of Certificate	16 January 1874
Officiating Minister	Rev. Dr Stuart

17 January 1874

Cornelius Fookes Corrigan
Deborah Blake

Cornelius Fookes Corrigan
Deborah Blake
💍 1874/13438

Bachelor
Spinster

Bank Teller

22
22

Dunedin
Dunedin

6 years
3 days

In the First Church, Dunedin

74/2587

17 January 1874

Rev. Jno Riley

No	21
Date of Notice	17 January 1874
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Cornelius Fookes Corrigan	Deborah Blake
BDM Match (98%)	Cornelius Fookes Corrigan	Deborah Blake
	💍 1874/13438
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Bank Teller
Age	22	22
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	6 years	3 days
Marriage Place	In the First Church, Dunedin
Folio	74/2587
Consent
Date of Certificate	17 January 1874
Officiating Minister	Rev. Jno Riley

17 January 1874

Edward Lawson
Caroline Hansen

Edward Lawson
Caroline Hansen
💍 1874/7126

Bachelor
Spinster

Mariner
Servant

37
37

Portobello
Dunedin

9 years
1 year

in Knox Church, Dunedin

74/422

17 January 1874

Rev. Dr Stuart

No	22
Date of Notice	17 January 1874
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edward Lawson	Caroline Hansen
	💍 1874/7126
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Mariner	Servant
Age	37	37
Dwelling Place	Portobello	Dunedin
Length of Residence	9 years	1 year
Marriage Place	in Knox Church, Dunedin
Folio	74/422
Consent
Date of Certificate	17 January 1874
Officiating Minister	Rev. Dr Stuart

19 January 1874

William Henderson
Annie Gunn

William Henderson
Annie Gunn
💍 1874/7132

Bachelor
Spinster

Solicitor

25
28

Dunedin
Dunedin

3 days
3 days

In the house of Mr Alexander Gunn, Russell Street, Dunedin

74/424

19 January 1874

Rev. Dr Stuart

No	23
Date of Notice	19 January 1874
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Henderson	Annie Gunn
	💍 1874/7132
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Solicitor
Age	25	28
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	In the house of Mr Alexander Gunn, Russell Street, Dunedin
Folio	74/424
Consent
Date of Certificate	19 January 1874
Officiating Minister	Rev. Dr Stuart

19 January 1874

Louis John Lucas
Eliza Smith

Louie John Lucas
Eliza Smith
💍 1874/7231

Bachelor
Spinster

Pianoforte Maker

24
23

Dunedin
Dunedin

5 years
5 years

In the House of the Rev. C.W. Rigg, Dowling St, Dunedin

74/460

19 January 1874

Rev. C.W. Rigg

No	24
Date of Notice	19 January 1874
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Louis John Lucas	Eliza Smith
BDM Match (97%)	Louie John Lucas	Eliza Smith
	💍 1874/7231
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Pianoforte Maker
Age	24	23
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	5 years	5 years
Marriage Place	In the House of the Rev. C.W. Rigg, Dowling St, Dunedin
Folio	74/460
Consent
Date of Certificate	19 January 1874
Officiating Minister	Rev. C.W. Rigg

19 January 1874

John Ballantyne
Jane McKay

John Ballantyne
Jane McKay
💍 1874/7303

Bachelor
Spinster

Miner

31
19

Mornington
Mornington

3 weeks
11 years

In the house of James Lambert, Mornington

74/485

John McKay, father

19 January 1874

Mr. J.H. Bates

No	25
Date of Notice	19 January 1874
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Ballantyne	Jane McKay
	💍 1874/7303
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Miner
Age	31	19
Dwelling Place	Mornington	Mornington
Length of Residence	3 weeks	11 years
Marriage Place	In the house of James Lambert, Mornington
Folio	74/485
Consent	John McKay, father
Date of Certificate	19 January 1874
Officiating Minister	Mr. J.H. Bates

19 January 1874

Henry Bloxham
Maryann Saunders

Henry Bloxham
Mary Ann Saunders
💍 1874/7135

Bachelor
Spinster

Painter

23
22

Dunedin
Dunedin

3 years
3 days

in the house of William Watkins, Forbury

74/425

19 January 1874

Rev. Dr Stuart

No	26
Date of Notice	19 January 1874
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Henry Bloxham	Maryann Saunders
BDM Match (94%)	Henry Bloxham	Mary Ann Saunders
	💍 1874/7135
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Painter
Age	23	22
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	3 years	3 days
Marriage Place	in the house of William Watkins, Forbury
Folio	74/425
Consent
Date of Certificate	19 January 1874
Officiating Minister	Rev. Dr Stuart

19 January 1874

Francis Driscoll
Frances Reid

Francis Driscoll
Frances Reid
💍 1874/14151

Widower
Widow

Tailor

43
35

Dunedin
Dunedin

9 years
4 years

In the house of Thomas Hancock, Princes Street, Dunedin

74/427

19 January 1874

Rev. Dr Stuart

No	27
Date of Notice	19 January 1874
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Francis Driscoll	Frances Reid
	💍 1874/14151
Condition	Widower	Widow
Profession	Tailor
Age	43	35
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	9 years	4 years
Marriage Place	In the house of Thomas Hancock, Princes Street, Dunedin
Folio	74/427
Consent
Date of Certificate	19 January 1874
Officiating Minister	Rev. Dr Stuart

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

100% Contrast

100% Brightness

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).