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 740

District of Dunedin Quarter ending 31 March 1875 Registrar W. H. Mansford

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

114

25 March 1875

Archibald Blair
Emily Ford

Archibald Blair
Emily Hood
💍 1875/630

Widower
Spinster

Mounted Constable

36 years
25 years

Dunedin
Dunedin

3 days
10 days

In the house of David Ford, Stafford Street, Dunedin

75/406

25 March 1875

Revd. John Allan Craig

No	114
Date of Notice	25 March 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Archibald Blair	Emily Ford
BDM Match (90%)	Archibald Blair	Emily Hood
	💍 1875/630
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Mounted Constable
Age	36 years	25 years
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	3 days	10 days
Marriage Place	In the house of David Ford, Stafford Street, Dunedin
Folio	75/406
Consent
Date of Certificate	25 March 1875
Officiating Minister	Revd. John Allan Craig

115

25 March 1875

Richard Coils
Eliza Cook

Richard Wills
Eliza Cook
💍 1875/2418

Bachelor
Widow

Blacksmith
Domestic Servant

47 years
34 years

Dunedin
Dunedin

4 days
4 days

In the office of the Registrar of Marriages, Dunedin

75/530

25 March 1875

Mr. H. Mansford, Registrar

No	115
Date of Notice	25 March 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Richard Coils	Eliza Cook
BDM Match (88%)	Richard Wills	Eliza Cook
	💍 1875/2418
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Blacksmith	Domestic Servant
Age	47 years	34 years
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	4 days	4 days
Marriage Place	In the office of the Registrar of Marriages, Dunedin
Folio	75/530
Consent
Date of Certificate	25 March 1875
Officiating Minister	Mr. H. Mansford, Registrar

116

25 March 1875

John Shephard
Mary Ann Gunn

John Sheppard
Mary Ann Gunn
💍 1875/1427

Widower
Spinster

Farmer

47 years
33 years

Portobello
Portobello

13 years
2 weeks

In the house of the said Mr John Shephard, Portobello

75/1525

25 March 1875

Revd. Alexr Greig

No	116
Date of Notice	25 March 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Shephard	Mary Ann Gunn
BDM Match (96%)	John Sheppard	Mary Ann Gunn
	💍 1875/1427
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	47 years	33 years
Dwelling Place	Portobello	Portobello
Length of Residence	13 years	2 weeks
Marriage Place	In the house of the said Mr John Shephard, Portobello
Folio	75/1525
Consent
Date of Certificate	25 March 1875
Officiating Minister	Revd. Alexr Greig

117

27 March 1875

Henry Joseph Pratt
Emma Mary Ralston

Henry Joseph Pratt
Emma Mary Raleston
💍 1875/602

Widower
Widow

Cabinet Maker

43 years
33 years

Port Chalmers
Dunedin

2 months
2 months

In St. Matthew's Church, Dunedin

75/409

27 March 1875

Revd. W. Coleman

No	117
Date of Notice	27 March 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Henry Joseph Pratt	Emma Mary Ralston
BDM Match (97%)	Henry Joseph Pratt	Emma Mary Raleston
	💍 1875/602
Condition	Widower	Widow
Profession	Cabinet Maker
Age	43 years	33 years
Dwelling Place	Port Chalmers	Dunedin
Length of Residence	2 months	2 months
Marriage Place	In St. Matthew's Church, Dunedin
Folio	75/409
Consent
Date of Certificate	27 March 1875
Officiating Minister	Revd. W. Coleman

118

29 March 1875

John Power
Mary Graham

John Power
Mary Graham
💍 1875/432

Louis Anderson
Mary Graham
💍 1875/57

Bachelor
Spinster

Painter
Machinist

27 years
25 years

Dunedin
Dunedin

8 months
7 months

In the house of the Revd. Robert Rattray, Street

75/475

29 March 1875

Revd. E. Edwards

No	118
Date of Notice	29 March 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Power	Mary Graham
	💍 1875/432
BDM Match (64%)	Louis Anderson	Mary Graham
	💍 1875/57
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Painter	Machinist
Age	27 years	25 years
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	8 months	7 months
Marriage Place	In the house of the Revd. Robert Rattray, Street
Folio	75/475
Consent
Date of Certificate	29 March 1875
Officiating Minister	Revd. E. Edwards

119

30 March 1875

Arthur Thomby
Sarah Mary Ann Knewstubb

Arthur Hornby
Sarah May Ann Kurnostubb
💍 1875/243

Bachelor
Spinster

Publican
Domestic Servant

23 years
19 years

Dunedin
Dunedin

6 years
3 years

In St. Paul's Church, Dunedin

75/248

Thomas Knewstubb, father

30 March 1875

Revd. E. Edwards

No	119
Date of Notice	30 March 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Arthur Thomby	Sarah Mary Ann Knewstubb
BDM Match (74%)	Arthur Hornby	Sarah May Ann Kurnostubb
	💍 1875/243
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Publican	Domestic Servant
Age	23 years	19 years
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	6 years	3 years
Marriage Place	In St. Paul's Church, Dunedin
Folio	75/248
Consent	Thomas Knewstubb, father
Date of Certificate	30 March 1875
Officiating Minister	Revd. E. Edwards

120

30 March 1875

James Bearden
Bridget Sullivan

James Spederi
Bridget Sullivan
💍 1875/433

Bachelor
Spinster

Miner
Servant

30 years
29 years

Dunedin
Dunedin

10 days
10 days

In St. Joseph's Church, Dunedin

75/476

30 March 1875

Revd. W. Coleman

No	120
Date of Notice	30 March 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Bearden	Bridget Sullivan
BDM Match (77%)	James Spederi	Bridget Sullivan
	💍 1875/433
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Miner	Servant
Age	30 years	29 years
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	10 days	10 days
Marriage Place	In St. Joseph's Church, Dunedin
Folio	75/476
Consent
Date of Certificate	30 March 1875
Officiating Minister	Revd. W. Coleman

121

30 March 1875

William Forsyth
Elizabeth Whitton

William Forsyth
Elizabeth Whitton
💍 1875/1378

Bachelor
Spinster

Sailor
Domestic Servant

24 years
19 years

Dunedin
Dunedin

2 years
9 months

In the house of Mrs. Elizabeth Chambers, Stafford Street, Dunedin

75/1150

Edward Whitton, father

30 March 1875

Revd. W. Coleman

No	121
Date of Notice	30 March 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Forsyth	Elizabeth Whitton
	💍 1875/1378
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Sailor	Domestic Servant
Age	24 years	19 years
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	2 years	9 months
Marriage Place	In the house of Mrs. Elizabeth Chambers, Stafford Street, Dunedin
Folio	75/1150
Consent	Edward Whitton, father
Date of Certificate	30 March 1875
Officiating Minister	Revd. W. Coleman

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).