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 667

District of Oamaru Quarter ending 31 March 1875 Registrar W. G. Filleul

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

389

14 January 1875

William Collins
Cecilia White

William Collins
Cecilia White
💍 1875/339

Bachelor
Spinster

Laborer
Dairywoman

35
35

Oamaru
Oamaru

6 years
8 years

St Patrick's Church, Oamaru

75/3024

14 January 1875

Rev Jeremiah Donovan

No	389
Date of Notice	14 January 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Collins	Cecilia White
	💍 1875/339
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Laborer	Dairywoman
Age	35	35
Dwelling Place	Oamaru	Oamaru
Length of Residence	6 years	8 years
Marriage Place	St Patrick's Church, Oamaru
Folio	75/3024
Consent
Date of Certificate	14 January 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev Jeremiah Donovan

390

22 January 1875

Alfred Arthur Young
Annie Furlong

Alfred Aurthur Young
Annie Furlong
💍 1875/338

Bachelor
Spinster

Painter
Domestic Servant

21
20

Oamaru
Oamaru

2 years
1 year

St Patrick's Church, Oamaru

75/353

Declaration made that no one in Colony has authority to give consent

22 January 1875

Rev Jeremiah Donovan

No	390
Date of Notice	22 January 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Alfred Arthur Young	Annie Furlong
BDM Match (98%)	Alfred Aurthur Young	Annie Furlong
	💍 1875/338
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Painter	Domestic Servant
Age	21	20
Dwelling Place	Oamaru	Oamaru
Length of Residence	2 years	1 year
Marriage Place	St Patrick's Church, Oamaru
Folio	75/353
Consent	Declaration made that no one in Colony has authority to give consent
Date of Certificate	22 January 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev Jeremiah Donovan

391

27 January 1875

George Bates
Sarah Ann Gerrard Hunter

George Cates
Sarah Ann Jerrard Hunter
💍 1875/653

Bachelor
Spinster

Laborer
Domestic Servant

29
22

Oamaru
Oamaru

6 years
3 months

St Luke's Church, Oamaru

75/455

27 January 1875

Rev Algernon Gifford

No	391
Date of Notice	27 January 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Bates	Sarah Ann Gerrard Hunter
BDM Match (94%)	George Cates	Sarah Ann Jerrard Hunter
	💍 1875/653
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Laborer	Domestic Servant
Age	29	22
Dwelling Place	Oamaru	Oamaru
Length of Residence	6 years	3 months
Marriage Place	St Luke's Church, Oamaru
Folio	75/455
Consent
Date of Certificate	27 January 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev Algernon Gifford

392

28 January 1875

William Sinclair
Elizabeth Henderson

William Sinclair
Elizabeth Henderson
💍 1875/539

William Smith
Elizabeth Henderson
💍 1876/593

Bachelor
Spinster

Carpenter
Domestic Servant

23
22

Oamaru
Oamaru

2 months
4 weeks

The Residence of Mr John Sinclair at Oamaru

75/640

28 January 1875

Rev Frederick Dewsbury

No	392
Date of Notice	28 January 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Sinclair	Elizabeth Henderson
	💍 1875/539
BDM Match (78%)	William Smith	Elizabeth Henderson
	💍 1876/593
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carpenter	Domestic Servant
Age	23	22
Dwelling Place	Oamaru	Oamaru
Length of Residence	2 months	4 weeks
Marriage Place	The Residence of Mr John Sinclair at Oamaru
Folio	75/640
Consent
Date of Certificate	28 January 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev Frederick Dewsbury

393

29 January 1875

Thomas Walker
Anne Bethell

Thomas Walker
Anne Bethell
💍 1875/654

Bachelor
Spinster

Fellmonger

34
33

Reidston
Oamaru

2 years
1 year

St Luke's Church, Oamaru

75/756

29 January 1875

Rev Algernon Gifford

No	393
Date of Notice	29 January 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Walker	Anne Bethell
	💍 1875/654
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Fellmonger
Age	34	33
Dwelling Place	Reidston	Oamaru
Length of Residence	2 years	1 year
Marriage Place	St Luke's Church, Oamaru
Folio	75/756
Consent
Date of Certificate	29 January 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev Algernon Gifford

394

4 February 1875

William Jamieson
Ellen Munro

William Jamieson
Hellen Munro
💍 1875/508

Bachelor
Spinster

Storekeeper
Dressmaker

21
19

Oamaru
Oamaru

11 months
11 months

The Residence of Mr James Munro in New Street Oamaru

75/557

Isabella Munro, Mother

4 February 1875

Rev J. M. Davidson

No	394
Date of Notice	4 February 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Jamieson	Ellen Munro
BDM Match (92%)	William Jamieson	Hellen Munro
	💍 1875/508
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Storekeeper	Dressmaker
Age	21	19
Dwelling Place	Oamaru	Oamaru
Length of Residence	11 months	11 months
Marriage Place	The Residence of Mr James Munro in New Street Oamaru
Folio	75/557
Consent	Isabella Munro, Mother
Date of Certificate	4 February 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev J. M. Davidson

395

10 February 1875

David Rop
Fanny Phair

David Ross
Fanny Phair
💍 1875/509

Bachelor
Spinster

Boatman
Domestic Servant

23
23

Oamaru
Oamaru

3 years
1 year

The Manse, Oamaru

75/552

10 February 1875

Rev J. M. Davidson

No	395
Date of Notice	10 February 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	David Rop	Fanny Phair
BDM Match (90%)	David Ross	Fanny Phair
	💍 1875/509
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Boatman	Domestic Servant
Age	23	23
Dwelling Place	Oamaru	Oamaru
Length of Residence	3 years	1 year
Marriage Place	The Manse, Oamaru
Folio	75/552
Consent
Date of Certificate	10 February 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev J. M. Davidson

396

20 February 1875

John Brasell
Mary Smith

John Brassell
Mary Smith
💍 1875/3143

John Bryce
Catherine Smith
💍 1875/1669

Bachelor
Spinster

Laborer
Domestic Servant

26
18

Oamaru
Oamaru

12 days
12 days

The Residence of Mr George Barton in Torridge Street Oamaru

75/553

Declaration made that no one in Colony has authority to give consent

20 February 1875

Rev A. B. Todd

No	396
Date of Notice	20 February 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Brasell	Mary Smith
BDM Match (96%)	John Brassell	Mary Smith
	💍 1875/3143
BDM Match (60%)	John Bryce	Catherine Smith
	💍 1875/1669
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Laborer	Domestic Servant
Age	26	18
Dwelling Place	Oamaru	Oamaru
Length of Residence	12 days	12 days
Marriage Place	The Residence of Mr George Barton in Torridge Street Oamaru
Folio	75/553
Consent	Declaration made that no one in Colony has authority to give consent
Date of Certificate	20 February 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev A. B. Todd

397

24 February 1875

George Gaudin
Clara Vining

George Gaudin
Clara Vining
💍 1875/540

Bachelor
Spinster

Coach Proprietor

33
21

Oamaru
Oamaru

15 months
6 years

Wesley Church, Oamaru

75/641

24 February 1875

Rev Frederick Dewsbury

No	397
Date of Notice	24 February 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Gaudin	Clara Vining
	💍 1875/540
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Coach Proprietor
Age	33	21
Dwelling Place	Oamaru	Oamaru
Length of Residence	15 months	6 years
Marriage Place	Wesley Church, Oamaru
Folio	75/641
Consent
Date of Certificate	24 February 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev Frederick Dewsbury

398

26 February 1875

John Smith
Julia Josephine Collins

John Smith
Julia Josephine Collins
💍 1875/3154

Widower
Spinster

Laborer

33
25

Oamaru
Oamaru

6 weeks
1 day

The Residence of Mr Henry Broadhurst in Ribble Street Oamaru

75/554

26 February 1875

Rev A. B. Todd

No	398
Date of Notice	26 February 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Smith	Julia Josephine Collins
	💍 1875/3154
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Laborer
Age	33	25
Dwelling Place	Oamaru	Oamaru
Length of Residence	6 weeks	1 day
Marriage Place	The Residence of Mr Henry Broadhurst in Ribble Street Oamaru
Folio	75/554
Consent
Date of Certificate	26 February 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev A. B. Todd

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).