Intentions to Marry, 1888

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840400, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

Imaged by Alexandra at Archives NZ Wellington, May 14 2025

Page 685

District of Oamaru Quarter ending 30 June 1888 Registrar W. G. Keene

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

1399

21 May 1888

Bernard Whitburn
Nellie Marshall Smeal

Bernard Whitham
Nellie Marshall Smeal
💍 1888/1731

Widower
Spinster

Coal Merchant
Milliner

35
21

Oamaru
Oamaru

3 days
12 years

The house of Mr. William Smeal - Tweed Lane Oamaru

88/1686

21 May 1888

Rev. Alexr. B. Todd Presbyterian

No	1399
Date of Notice	21 May 1888
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Bernard Whitburn	Nellie Marshall Smeal
BDM Match (88%)	Bernard Whitham	Nellie Marshall Smeal
	💍 1888/1731
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Coal Merchant	Milliner
Age	35	21
Dwelling Place	Oamaru	Oamaru
Length of Residence	3 days	12 years
Marriage Place	The house of Mr. William Smeal - Tweed Lane Oamaru
Folio	88/1686
Consent
Date of Certificate	21 May 1888
Officiating Minister	Rev. Alexr. B. Todd Presbyterian

1400

23 May 1888

William Andrew Sprott
Bertha Emma Broad Mason

William Andrew Sprott
Bertha Emma Croad Mason
💍 1888/1718

Bachelor
Spinster

Ploughman
Servant

30
24

Weston
Weston

1 1/2 year
9 months

The office of the Registrar of Marriages Oamaru

88/1696

23 May 1888

The Registrar of Marriages Oamaru

No	1400
Date of Notice	23 May 1888
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Andrew Sprott	Bertha Emma Broad Mason
BDM Match (98%)	William Andrew Sprott	Bertha Emma Croad Mason
	💍 1888/1718
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Ploughman	Servant
Age	30	24
Dwelling Place	Weston	Weston
Length of Residence	1 1/2 year	9 months
Marriage Place	The office of the Registrar of Marriages Oamaru
Folio	88/1696
Consent
Date of Certificate	23 May 1888
Officiating Minister	The Registrar of Marriages Oamaru

1401

25 May 1888

James Meehan
Catherine Roonan

James Meehan
Catherine Roonan
💍 1888/1726

Bachelor
Spinster

Laborer
Servant

29
23

Oamaru
Oamaru

12 years
9 years

St. Patrick's Church Oamaru

88/1680

25 May 1888

Rev. Edward Donnelly Roman Catholic

No	1401
Date of Notice	25 May 1888
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Meehan	Catherine Roonan
	💍 1888/1726
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Laborer	Servant
Age	29	23
Dwelling Place	Oamaru	Oamaru
Length of Residence	12 years	9 years
Marriage Place	St. Patrick's Church Oamaru
Folio	88/1680
Consent
Date of Certificate	25 May 1888
Officiating Minister	Rev. Edward Donnelly Roman Catholic

1402

28 May 1888

William Henry Steenson
Ada Cumminghame

William Henry Steenson
Ada Cunninghame
💍 1888/1745

Bachelor
Spinster

Commercial Traveller

33
22

Oamaru
Oamaru

8 years
9 years

Wesley Church Oamaru

88/1673

28 May 1888

Rev. G. L. J. Spence Wesleyan

No	1402
Date of Notice	28 May 1888
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Henry Steenson	Ada Cumminghame
BDM Match (93%)	William Henry Steenson	Ada Cunninghame
	💍 1888/1745
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Commercial Traveller
Age	33	22
Dwelling Place	Oamaru	Oamaru
Length of Residence	8 years	9 years
Marriage Place	Wesley Church Oamaru
Folio	88/1673
Consent
Date of Certificate	28 May 1888
Officiating Minister	Rev. G. L. J. Spence Wesleyan

1403

1 June 1888

Thomas Lott
Clara Rive

Thomas Lobb
Clara Rive
💍 1888/1741

Bachelor
Spinster

Farm Labourer
Servant

23
18

Georgetown
Georgetown

2 years
4 years

The house of Mr. John Rive Georgetown

88/1670

No person in the Colony having authority to give consent

16 June 1888

Rev. John Steven Presbyterian

No	1403
Date of Notice	1 June 1888
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Lott	Clara Rive
BDM Match (91%)	Thomas Lobb	Clara Rive
	💍 1888/1741
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farm Labourer	Servant
Age	23	18
Dwelling Place	Georgetown	Georgetown
Length of Residence	2 years	4 years
Marriage Place	The house of Mr. John Rive Georgetown
Folio	88/1670
Consent	No person in the Colony having authority to give consent
Date of Certificate	16 June 1888
Officiating Minister	Rev. John Steven Presbyterian

1404

8 June 1888

John O'Neill
Bridget Keane

John ONeil
Bridget Keane
💍 1888/1727

Bachelor
Spinster

Storeman
Dressmaker

32
21

Oamaru
Oamaru

3 days
10 years

St. Patrick's Church Oamaru

88/1681

8 June 1888

Rev. Edward Donnelly Roman Catholic

No	1404
Date of Notice	8 June 1888
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John O'Neill	Bridget Keane
BDM Match (92%)	John ONeil	Bridget Keane
	💍 1888/1727
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Storeman	Dressmaker
Age	32	21
Dwelling Place	Oamaru	Oamaru
Length of Residence	3 days	10 years
Marriage Place	St. Patrick's Church Oamaru
Folio	88/1681
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 June 1888
Officiating Minister	Rev. Edward Donnelly Roman Catholic

1405

11 June 1888

Murrow Don
Margaret McDonald

Munrow Don
Margaret McDonald
💍 1888/1732

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer

32
27

Alma
Georgetown

2 years
26 years

St. Paul's Church Oamaru

88/1687

11 June 1888

Rev. Alexr. B. Todd Presbyterian

No	1405
Date of Notice	11 June 1888
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Murrow Don	Margaret McDonald
BDM Match (95%)	Munrow Don	Margaret McDonald
	💍 1888/1732
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	32	27
Dwelling Place	Alma	Georgetown
Length of Residence	2 years	26 years
Marriage Place	St. Paul's Church Oamaru
Folio	88/1687
Consent
Date of Certificate	11 June 1888
Officiating Minister	Rev. Alexr. B. Todd Presbyterian

1406

22 June 1888

David William Fraser
Margaret Newman

David William Fraser
Margaret Newman
💍 1888/1710

Bachelor
Spinster

Draper
Dressmaker

22
21

Oamaru
Oamaru

14 years
21 years

The house of Mr. Mark Newman - Sharp Street - Oamaru

88/1688

22 June 1888

Rev. Alexr. B. Todd Presbyterian

No	1406
Date of Notice	22 June 1888
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	David William Fraser	Margaret Newman
	💍 1888/1710
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Draper	Dressmaker
Age	22	21
Dwelling Place	Oamaru	Oamaru
Length of Residence	14 years	21 years
Marriage Place	The house of Mr. Mark Newman - Sharp Street - Oamaru
Folio	88/1688
Consent
Date of Certificate	22 June 1888
Officiating Minister	Rev. Alexr. B. Todd Presbyterian

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).