Intentions to Marry, 1880

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840392, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

Page 924

District of Port Chalmers Quarter ending Jan - Mar

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

3 January 1880

John Prodie
Elizabeth McPherson

John Purdie
Elizabeth McPherson
💍 1880/1049

Bachelor
Spinster

Engineer
Dressmaker

43
31

S.S. Hawea Port Chalmers
Sunnyside Lemedin

5 days
1 year

House of Mr Barse Roslington Lemedin

756

15 January 1880

Rev. John J. Savis

No	1
Date of Notice	3 January 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Prodie	Elizabeth McPherson
BDM Match (91%)	John Purdie	Elizabeth McPherson
	💍 1880/1049
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Engineer	Dressmaker
Age	43	31
Dwelling Place	S.S. Hawea Port Chalmers	Sunnyside Lemedin
Length of Residence	5 days	1 year
Marriage Place	House of Mr Barse Roslington Lemedin
Folio	756
Consent
Date of Certificate	15 January 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev. John J. Savis

22 January 1880

George McDonald
Elizabeth Killiamberg

George McDonald
Elizabeth Dougherty
💍 1880/1132

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
General Servant

30
19

George Street Port Chalmers
do

3 days
do

At the Registrar Office

801 759

William Bu [UNCLEAR]

22 January 1880

John Tronson Registrar

No	2
Date of Notice	22 January 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George McDonald	Elizabeth Killiamberg
BDM Match (74%)	George McDonald	Elizabeth Dougherty
	💍 1880/1132
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	General Servant
Age	30	19
Dwelling Place	George Street Port Chalmers	do
Length of Residence	3 days	do
Marriage Place	At the Registrar Office
Folio	801 759
Consent	William Bu [UNCLEAR]
Date of Certificate	22 January 1880
Officiating Minister	John Tronson Registrar

27 January 1880

William Love
Elizabeth Jane German

William Love
Elizabeth Jane Yeoman
💍 1880/1135

Bachelor
Spinster

Miner

21
19

Dunbakin
do

4 days
do

At Holy Trinity Church

801 760

James George [UNCLEAR]

29 January 1880

Rev. J. Sotham

No	3
Date of Notice	27 January 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Love	Elizabeth Jane German
BDM Match (95%)	William Love	Elizabeth Jane Yeoman
	💍 1880/1135
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Miner
Age	21	19
Dwelling Place	Dunbakin	do
Length of Residence	4 days	do
Marriage Place	At Holy Trinity Church
Folio	801 760
Consent	James George [UNCLEAR]
Date of Certificate	29 January 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Sotham

19 February 1880

Peter Sutherland
Annie Thomson

Peter Sutherland
Annie Thomson
💍 1880/1101

Widower
Widow

Shipwright

43
28

Transfords Bay Port Chalmers
South Dunedin

13 years
8 do

At First Church Dunedin

801 792

19 February 1880

Rev. Lindsay Mackie

No	4
Date of Notice	19 February 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Peter Sutherland	Annie Thomson
	💍 1880/1101
Condition	Widower	Widow
Profession	Shipwright
Age	43	28
Dwelling Place	Transfords Bay Port Chalmers	South Dunedin
Length of Residence	13 years	8 do
Marriage Place	At First Church Dunedin
Folio	801 792
Consent
Date of Certificate	19 February 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev. Lindsay Mackie

28 February 1880

Julius Johnson
Annie Stevens

Julius Johnson
Annie Stevens
💍 1880/1133

Bachelor
Spinster

Engineer
Domestic Servant

22
21

London Hotel Port Chalmers
Maclaggan Street Port Chalmers

3 days
4 days

At the Registrars Office

801 760

28 February 1880

John Tronson Registrar

No	5
Date of Notice	28 February 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Julius Johnson	Annie Stevens
	💍 1880/1133
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Engineer	Domestic Servant
Age	22	21
Dwelling Place	London Hotel Port Chalmers	Maclaggan Street Port Chalmers
Length of Residence	3 days	4 days
Marriage Place	At the Registrars Office
Folio	801 760
Consent
Date of Certificate	28 February 1880
Officiating Minister	John Tronson Registrar

11 March 1880

Charles Brothers
Rebecca Hone

Charles Matthews
Rebecca Stone
💍 1880/1136

Bachelor
Spinster

Boiler Maker

24
19

The New Dock Port Chalmers
do

6 months
3 years

At the House of [UNCLEAR] near the Docks

801 7602

Thomas Ho [UNCLEAR]

11 March 1880

Rev. Wm. Findley

No	6
Date of Notice	11 March 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Brothers	Rebecca Hone
BDM Match (80%)	Charles Matthews	Rebecca Stone
	💍 1880/1136
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Boiler Maker
Age	24	19
Dwelling Place	The New Dock Port Chalmers	do
Length of Residence	6 months	3 years
Marriage Place	At the House of [UNCLEAR] near the Docks
Folio	801 7602
Consent	Thomas Ho [UNCLEAR]
Date of Certificate	11 March 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev. Wm. Findley

18 March 1880

George Charles Fox
Margaret Gilmor

George Charles Fox
Margaret Gilmor
💍 1880/1675

Bachelor
Spinster

Coal Merchant

22
20

At Ring Street Dunedin
Sawyers Bay Port Chalmers

2 years
3 do

At the House of Mr Wm Gilmor Sawyers Bay

801 730

William Gil her Fath

18 March 1880

Rev. Wm Johnstone

No	7
Date of Notice	18 March 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Charles Fox	Margaret Gilmor
	💍 1880/1675
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Coal Merchant
Age	22	20
Dwelling Place	At Ring Street Dunedin	Sawyers Bay Port Chalmers
Length of Residence	2 years	3 do
Marriage Place	At the House of Mr Wm Gilmor Sawyers Bay
Folio	801 730
Consent	William Gil her Fath
Date of Certificate	18 March 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev. Wm Johnstone

24 March 1880

Joseph James Ronald
Ann Pateman

Joseph James Wormald
Ann Pateman
💍 1880/1137

Bachelor
Spinster

Blacksmith

29
28

Transfords Bay Port Chalmers
do

1 year
4 days

At the Wesleyan Church Port Chalmers

801 803

24 March 1880

Rev. Wm Tinsley

No	8
Date of Notice	24 March 1880
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Joseph James Ronald	Ann Pateman
BDM Match (93%)	Joseph James Wormald	Ann Pateman
	💍 1880/1137
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Blacksmith
Age	29	28
Dwelling Place	Transfords Bay Port Chalmers	do
Length of Residence	1 year	4 days
Marriage Place	At the Wesleyan Church Port Chalmers
Folio	801 803
Consent
Date of Certificate	24 March 1880
Officiating Minister	Rev. Wm Tinsley

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).