Intentions to Marry, 1875

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840387, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

Imaged by Luke at Archives NZ Wellington, May 16 2025.

This register is quite fragile and some of the pages are damaged or even missing.

Page 784

District of Dunedin Quarter ending 31 December 1875

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

376

October 11 1875

Thomas Hymans
Mary Ann Mahoney

Thomas Hymans
Mary Ann Mahoney
💍 1875/2401

Bachelor
Spinster

Foreman on board Steamer

48 years
30 years

Dunedin
Dunedin

3 years
12 years

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

75/2536

October 11 1875

Rev. Dr. Stuart

No	376
Date of Notice	October 11 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Hymans	Mary Ann Mahoney
	💍 1875/2401
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Foreman on board Steamer
Age	48 years	30 years
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	3 years	12 years
Marriage Place	In the house of the Rev. Dr. Stuart, Stuart Street, Dunedin
Folio	75/2536
Consent
Date of Certificate	October 11 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev. Dr. Stuart

377

October 11 1875

James Neilson
Margaret Prentice

James Neilson
Margaret Prentice
💍 1875/2406

Bachelor
Spinster

Cabinet maker

25 years
21 years

Dunedin
Dunedin

14 months
1 week

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

75/2541

October 11 1875

Rev. Dr. Stuart

No	377
Date of Notice	October 11 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Neilson	Margaret Prentice
	💍 1875/2406
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Cabinet maker
Age	25 years	21 years
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	14 months	1 week
Marriage Place	In the house of the Rev. Dr. Stuart, George Street, Dunedin
Folio	75/2541
Consent
Date of Certificate	October 11 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev. Dr. Stuart

378

October 11 1875

William Lindsay
Maria Shaw

William Lindsay
Maria Shaw
💍 1875/3089

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Dressmaker

28 years
20 years

East Taieri
Dunedin

7 years
1 year

In the house of James Thomas, Tesdale, East Taieri

75/2569

October 11 1875

Rev. William Will, East Taieri

No	378
Date of Notice	October 11 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Lindsay	Maria Shaw
	💍 1875/3089
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Dressmaker
Age	28 years	20 years
Dwelling Place	East Taieri	Dunedin
Length of Residence	7 years	1 year
Marriage Place	In the house of James Thomas, Tesdale, East Taieri
Folio	75/2569
Consent
Date of Certificate	October 11 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev. William Will, East Taieri

379

October 11 1875

James Broadley
Mary Hustler

James Bradley
Mary Hastten
💍 1875/2536

James Farley
Mary Byley
💍 1875/280

James Colby
Mary Curtis
💍 1875/2629

Bachelor
Spinster

Shoemaker

20 years
18 years

Nailorai Valley
Nailorai Valley

2 years
2 years

In St. Paul's Church, Dunedin

75/2547

George Broadley, father; Dorothy Nicholson, mother

October 11 1875

Rev. C. G. Edwards

No	379
Date of Notice	October 11 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Broadley	Mary Hustler
BDM Match (84%)	James Bradley	Mary Hastten
	💍 1875/2536
BDM Match (65%)	James Farley	Mary Byley
	💍 1875/280
BDM Match (61%)	James Colby	Mary Curtis
	💍 1875/2629
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Shoemaker
Age	20 years	18 years
Dwelling Place	Nailorai Valley	Nailorai Valley
Length of Residence	2 years	2 years
Marriage Place	In St. Paul's Church, Dunedin
Folio	75/2547
Consent	George Broadley, father; Dorothy Nicholson, mother
Date of Certificate	October 11 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. G. Edwards

380

October 12 1875

Daniel Walsh
Elizabeth Cleary

Daniel Walsh
Elizabeth Cleary
💍 1875/2718

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer

28 years
24 years

Dunedin
Dunedin

3 days
3 days

In St. Joseph's Church, Dunedin

75/2920

October 12 1875

Rev. J. Crowley, Rev. Mr. Coleman

No	380
Date of Notice	October 12 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Daniel Walsh	Elizabeth Cleary
	💍 1875/2718
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer
Age	28 years	24 years
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	In St. Joseph's Church, Dunedin
Folio	75/2920
Consent
Date of Certificate	October 12 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Crowley, Rev. Mr. Coleman

381

October 13 1875

Charles William Ferdinand Meyer
Agnes Adamson

Charles William Ferdinant Meyer
Agnes Adamson
💍 1875/2403

Bachelor
Spinster

Manufacturer & Jeweller

25 years
22 years

Dunedin
Dunedin

2 years
16 years

In Knox Church, Dunedin

75/2538

October 13 1875

Rev. Dr. Stuart

No	381
Date of Notice	October 13 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles William Ferdinand Meyer	Agnes Adamson
BDM Match (98%)	Charles William Ferdinant Meyer	Agnes Adamson
	💍 1875/2403
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Manufacturer & Jeweller
Age	25 years	22 years
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	2 years	16 years
Marriage Place	In Knox Church, Dunedin
Folio	75/2538
Consent
Date of Certificate	October 13 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev. Dr. Stuart

382

October 13 1875

Robert Rule Laurence
Jane Ellen Maclachlan

Bachelor
Spinster

Newspaper proprietor

24 years
20 years

Dunedin
Dunedin

3 days
3 days

In the house of R. K. Ellevery, Katteay St, Dunedin

75/2537

Jane MacKechnie, mother

October 13 1875

Rev. Dr. Stuart

No	382
Date of Notice	October 13 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Robert Rule Laurence	Jane Ellen Maclachlan
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Newspaper proprietor
Age	24 years	20 years
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	In the house of R. K. Ellevery, Katteay St, Dunedin
Folio	75/2537
Consent	Jane MacKechnie, mother
Date of Certificate	October 13 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev. Dr. Stuart

383

October 14 1875

Robert Lord Button
Agnes Boyle

Robert Lord Button
Agnes Boyle
💍 1875/2315

Bachelor
Spinster

Miner

34 years
21 years

Dunedin
Dunedin

2 years
9 years

In the office of the Registrar of Marriages, Dunedin

75/2498

October 14 1875

The Registrar of Marriages, Dunedin

No	383
Date of Notice	October 14 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Robert Lord Button	Agnes Boyle
	💍 1875/2315
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Miner
Age	34 years	21 years
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	2 years	9 years
Marriage Place	In the office of the Registrar of Marriages, Dunedin
Folio	75/2498
Consent
Date of Certificate	October 14 1875
Officiating Minister	The Registrar of Marriages, Dunedin

384

October 15 1875

John William Slipworth
Mary Chalmers

John William Skipworth
Mary Chalmers
💍 1875/2405

Bachelor
Spinster

Clerk

22 years
21 years

Dunedin
Dunedin

1 year
1 year

In Knox Church, Dunedin

75/2540

October 15 1875

Rev. Dr. Stuart

No	384
Date of Notice	October 15 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John William Slipworth	Mary Chalmers
BDM Match (98%)	John William Skipworth	Mary Chalmers
	💍 1875/2405
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Clerk
Age	22 years	21 years
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	1 year	1 year
Marriage Place	In Knox Church, Dunedin
Folio	75/2540
Consent
Date of Certificate	October 15 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev. Dr. Stuart

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).