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 731

District of Dunedin Quarter ending 31 March 1875 Registrar William Parkhurst

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 1875

Robert Park McGoun
Marion Allen Steele

Robert Park MacGoun
Marion Ellen Steel MacGoun
💍 1875/155

Bachelor
Spinster

Clerk and Draughtsman
Woman

40 years
28 years

Dunedin
Dunedin

4 days
16 years

Knox Church, Dunedin

75/211

4 February 1875

Rev. R. L. Stuart

No	48
Date of Notice	4 February 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Robert Park McGoun	Marion Allen Steele
BDM Match (80%)	Robert Park MacGoun	Marion Ellen Steel MacGoun
	💍 1875/155
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Clerk and Draughtsman	Woman
Age	40 years	28 years
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	4 days	16 years
Marriage Place	Knox Church, Dunedin
Folio	75/211
Consent
Date of Certificate	4 February 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev. R. L. Stuart

5 February 1875

Richard Lambert
Mary O'Brien

Richard Lombard
Mary Kelichi OBrien
💍 1876/3226

James Milburn
Mary O'Brien
💍 1875/839

Bachelor
Spinster

Foreman
Washer Woman

36 years
30 years

Dunedin
Dunedin

7 months
7 months

St. Joseph's Church, Dunedin

75/215

5 February 1875

R. C.

No	49
Date of Notice	5 February 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Richard Lambert	Mary O'Brien
BDM Match (66%)	Richard Lombard	Mary Kelichi OBrien
	💍 1876/3226
BDM Match (60%)	James Milburn	Mary O'Brien
	💍 1875/839
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Foreman	Washer Woman
Age	36 years	30 years
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	7 months	7 months
Marriage Place	St. Joseph's Church, Dunedin
Folio	75/215
Consent
Date of Certificate	5 February 1875
Officiating Minister	R. C.

6 February 1875

James Patrick Oswald
Mary Doody

James Patrick Walsh
Mary Doody
💍 1875/3211

Bachelor
Spinster

Cab Proprietor

30 years
25 years

Dunedin
Dunedin

14 years
12 months

St. Joseph's Church, Dunedin

75/216

6 February 1875

Rev. Bishop Moran

No	50
Date of Notice	6 February 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Patrick Oswald	Mary Doody
BDM Match (88%)	James Patrick Walsh	Mary Doody
	💍 1875/3211
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Cab Proprietor
Age	30 years	25 years
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	14 years	12 months
Marriage Place	St. Joseph's Church, Dunedin
Folio	75/216
Consent
Date of Certificate	6 February 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev. Bishop Moran

6 February 1875

James Broadfoot
Elizabeth McLean

James Broadfoot
Elizabeth McLean
💍 1875/160

Bachelor
Spinster

Storeman

30 years
21 years

Dunedin
Dunedin

3 months
3 years

In the house of Mr. Same

75/216

6 February 1875

O. R.

No	51
Date of Notice	6 February 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Broadfoot	Elizabeth McLean
	💍 1875/160
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Storeman
Age	30 years	21 years
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	3 months	3 years
Marriage Place	In the house of Mr. Same
Folio	75/216
Consent
Date of Certificate	6 February 1875
Officiating Minister	O. R.

6 February 1875

Henry Fletcher
Martha Carson

Henry Fletcher
Martha Carson
💍 1875/156

Widower
Spinster

Engine Driver

32 years
22 years

Dunedin
Dunedin

1 week
12 months

In Robert Long's house, Albany Street, Dunedin

75/212

6 February 1875

Rev. R. L. Stuart

No	52
Date of Notice	6 February 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Henry Fletcher	Martha Carson
	💍 1875/156
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Engine Driver
Age	32 years	22 years
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	1 week	12 months
Marriage Place	In Robert Long's house, Albany Street, Dunedin
Folio	75/212
Consent
Date of Certificate	6 February 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev. R. L. Stuart

8 February 1875

Charles Stewart
Ellen Graham

Charles Stewart
Ellen Graham
💍 1875/3222

Bachelor
Spinster

Boilermaker
Milliner

22 years
22 years

Dunedin
Dunedin

7 months
5 months

St. Joseph's Church, Dunedin

75/24

8 February 1875

Rev. Bishop Moran

No	53
Date of Notice	8 February 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Stewart	Ellen Graham
	💍 1875/3222
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Boilermaker	Milliner
Age	22 years	22 years
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	7 months	5 months
Marriage Place	St. Joseph's Church, Dunedin
Folio	75/24
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 February 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev. Bishop Moran

8 February 1875

John Miller
Annie James

John McMaster
Annie Dyer
💍 1875/1514

John Prenter
Annie Bole
💍 1876/332

Widower
Spinster

Sailor

42 years
36 years

Dunedin
Dunedin

3 months
8 months

St. Paul's Church, Dunedin

75/216

8 February 1875

Rev. B. T. Edward

No	54
Date of Notice	8 February 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Miller	Annie James
BDM Match (63%)	John McMaster	Annie Dyer
	💍 1875/1514
BDM Match (61%)	John Prenter	Annie Bole
	💍 1876/332
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Sailor
Age	42 years	36 years
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	3 months	8 months
Marriage Place	St. Paul's Church, Dunedin
Folio	75/216
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 February 1875
Officiating Minister	Rev. B. T. Edward

8 February 1875

Patrick Coyne
Alice Mockler

Patrick Wynn
Alice Mokler
💍 1875/429

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Housemaid

35 years
28 years

Dunedin
Dunedin

3 days
6 weeks

St. Joseph's Church, Dunedin

75/492

8 February 1875

R. C.

No	55
Date of Notice	8 February 1875
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Patrick Coyne	Alice Mockler
BDM Match (85%)	Patrick Wynn	Alice Mokler
	💍 1875/429
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Housemaid
Age	35 years	28 years
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	3 days	6 weeks
Marriage Place	St. Joseph's Church, Dunedin
Folio	75/492
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 February 1875
Officiating Minister	R. C.

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).