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 722

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

4 February 1874

James Henry Clayton
Caroline Waymouth

James Henry Clayton
Caroline Waymouth
💍 1874/13120

Bachelor
Spinster

Publisher

23
21

Dunedin
Dunedin

4 years
8 years

In All Saints Church, Dunedin

74/2479

4 February 1874

Revd. R. L. Stanford

No	45
Date of Notice	4 February 1874
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Henry Clayton	Caroline Waymouth
	💍 1874/13120
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Publisher
Age	23	21
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	4 years	8 years
Marriage Place	In All Saints Church, Dunedin
Folio	74/2479
Consent
Date of Certificate	4 February 1874
Officiating Minister	Revd. R. L. Stanford

4 February 1874

George Frederick Mayhew
Agnes Richardson

George Frederick Mayhew
Agnes Richardson
💍 1874/7162

Bachelor
Spinster

Compositor

31
21

Dunedin
Dunedin

1 year
3 days

In the house of Geo Fred. Mayhew, Grant Street, Dunedin

74/435

4 February 1874

Rev. Dr. Stuart

No	46
Date of Notice	4 February 1874
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Frederick Mayhew	Agnes Richardson
	💍 1874/7162
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Compositor
Age	31	21
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	1 year	3 days
Marriage Place	In the house of Geo Fred. Mayhew, Grant Street, Dunedin
Folio	74/435
Consent
Date of Certificate	4 February 1874
Officiating Minister	Rev. Dr. Stuart

5 February 1874

Frederick Chambers
Elizabeth Skeats

Frederick Chambers
Elizabeth Skeats
💍 1874/7153

Widower
Widow

Coal Merchant

48
35

Dunedin
Dunedin

8 months
3 months

In Knox Church, Dunedin

74/432

5 February 1874

Rev. Dr. Stuart

No	47
Date of Notice	5 February 1874
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Frederick Chambers	Elizabeth Skeats
	💍 1874/7153
Condition	Widower	Widow
Profession	Coal Merchant
Age	48	35
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	8 months	3 months
Marriage Place	In Knox Church, Dunedin
Folio	74/432
Consent
Date of Certificate	5 February 1874
Officiating Minister	Rev. Dr. Stuart

7 February 1874

John Davis
Annie Arnold

John Davis
Annie Arnold
💍 1874/7156

Bachelor
Spinster

Printer

22
21

Dunedin
Dunedin

10 years
10 years

In Knox Church, Dunedin

74/433

7 February 1874

Rev. Dr. Stuart

No	48
Date of Notice	7 February 1874
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Davis	Annie Arnold
	💍 1874/7156
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Printer
Age	22	21
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	10 years	10 years
Marriage Place	In Knox Church, Dunedin
Folio	74/433
Consent
Date of Certificate	7 February 1874
Officiating Minister	Rev. Dr. Stuart

9 February 1874

Thomas John Bowden
Martha Knight

Thomas John Bowden
Martha Knight
💍 1874/7159

Bachelor
Spinster

Jockey

21
21

Dunedin
Dunedin

3 days
3 days

In the house of Robert Creighton, Hope Street, Dunedin

74/434

9 February 1874

Rev. Dr. Stuart

No	49
Date of Notice	9 February 1874
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas John Bowden	Martha Knight
	💍 1874/7159
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Jockey
Age	21	21
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	In the house of Robert Creighton, Hope Street, Dunedin
Folio	74/434
Consent
Date of Certificate	9 February 1874
Officiating Minister	Rev. Dr. Stuart

9 February 1874

John Fishenden
Jane Ferguson Anderson Reid

John Fishenden
Jane Fergusson Anderson Reid
💍 1874/7165

Bachelor
Spinster

Butcher

28
22

Dunedin
Dunedin

1 year
3 days

In the house of the Rev. Dr. Stuart, George Street, Dunedin

74/436

9 February 1874

Rev. Dr. Stuart

No	50
Date of Notice	9 February 1874
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Fishenden	Jane Ferguson Anderson Reid
BDM Match (98%)	John Fishenden	Jane Fergusson Anderson Reid
	💍 1874/7165
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Butcher
Age	28	22
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	1 year	3 days
Marriage Place	In the house of the Rev. Dr. Stuart, George Street, Dunedin
Folio	74/436
Consent
Date of Certificate	9 February 1874
Officiating Minister	Rev. Dr. Stuart

10 February 1874

William Noble
Sarah Baxter

William Nobel
Sarah Baxter
💍 1874/7171

Bachelor
Spinster

Draper

23
22

Dunedin
Dunedin

18 months
10 days

In the house of John McKechnie, Cargill Street, Dunedin

74/438

10 February 1874

Rev. D. M. Stuart. D.D.

No	51
Date of Notice	10 February 1874
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Noble	Sarah Baxter
BDM Match (92%)	William Nobel	Sarah Baxter
	💍 1874/7171
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Draper
Age	23	22
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	18 months	10 days
Marriage Place	In the house of John McKechnie, Cargill Street, Dunedin
Folio	74/438
Consent
Date of Certificate	10 February 1874
Officiating Minister	Rev. D. M. Stuart. D.D.

10 February 1874

John McLaren
Jane Mollison

John McLaren
Jane Mollison
💍 1874/13249

Bachelor
Spinster

Engineer

26
25

Dunedin
Dunedin

8 years
8 years

In the house of John Mollison, Maitland Street, Dunedin

74/2523

10 February 1874

Rev. Jno Gow

No	52
Date of Notice	10 February 1874
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John McLaren	Jane Mollison
	💍 1874/13249
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Engineer
Age	26	25
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	8 years	8 years
Marriage Place	In the house of John Mollison, Maitland Street, Dunedin
Folio	74/2523
Consent
Date of Certificate	10 February 1874
Officiating Minister	Rev. Jno Gow

11 February 1874

Charles Gillespie
Isabella Merrilees Neill

Charles Gillespie
Isabella Merrilees Neill
💍 1874/7240

Bachelor
Spinster

Bootmaker

25
18

Dunedin
Dunedin

3 days
3 days

In the house of Peter McAllister, York Place, Dunedin

74/463

James Neill, father

11 February 1874

Rev. Dr. Stuart

No	53
Date of Notice	11 February 1874
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Gillespie	Isabella Merrilees Neill
	💍 1874/7240
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Bootmaker
Age	25	18
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	In the house of Peter McAllister, York Place, Dunedin
Folio	74/463
Consent	James Neill, father
Date of Certificate	11 February 1874
Officiating Minister	Rev. Dr. Stuart

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).