Intentions to Marry, 1890

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840402, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

Imaged by Luke at Archives NZ Wellington, May 23 2025

Page 680

District of Oamaru Quarter ending 30 June 1890 Registrar W. G. Fillul

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

1502

12 April 1890

John Rooney
Margaret Cunningham

John Rooney
Maggie Cunningham
💍 1890/1320

Bachelor
Spinster

Labour

35
25

Oamaru
Oamaru

14 years
9 years

St Patrick's Church, Oamaru

90/674

12 April 1890

Rev. John Mackay, Roman Catholic

No	1502
Date of Notice	12 April 1890
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Rooney	Margaret Cunningham
BDM Match (89%)	John Rooney	Maggie Cunningham
	💍 1890/1320
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labour
Age	35	25
Dwelling Place	Oamaru	Oamaru
Length of Residence	14 years	9 years
Marriage Place	St Patrick's Church, Oamaru
Folio	90/674
Consent
Date of Certificate	12 April 1890
Officiating Minister	Rev. John Mackay, Roman Catholic

1503

11 April 1890

David Herald
Jane McAuley

David Herald
Jane McArley
💍 1890/2212

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer

26
19

Hilderthorpe
Richmond

18 years
5 years

The office of the Registrar of Marriages, Oamaru

90/684

James McAuley, Father

11 April 1890

The Registrar of Marriages, Oamaru

No	1503
Date of Notice	11 April 1890
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	David Herald	Jane McAuley
BDM Match (96%)	David Herald	Jane McArley
	💍 1890/2212
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	26	19
Dwelling Place	Hilderthorpe	Richmond
Length of Residence	18 years	5 years
Marriage Place	The office of the Registrar of Marriages, Oamaru
Folio	90/684
Consent	James McAuley, Father
Date of Certificate	11 April 1890
Officiating Minister	The Registrar of Marriages, Oamaru

1504

14 April 1890

William Smith
Matilda Hill

William Smith
Matilda Hill
💍 1890/3739

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Cook

25
23

Oamaru
Oamaru

3 days
7 years

The house of Mr William James Hill, Esk Street, Oamaru

90/1673

14 April 1890

Rev. James Macpherson D.D., Presbyterian

No	1504
Date of Notice	14 April 1890
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Smith	Matilda Hill
	💍 1890/3739
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Cook
Age	25	23
Dwelling Place	Oamaru	Oamaru
Length of Residence	3 days	7 years
Marriage Place	The house of Mr William James Hill, Esk Street, Oamaru
Folio	90/1673
Consent
Date of Certificate	14 April 1890
Officiating Minister	Rev. James Macpherson D.D., Presbyterian

1505

17 April 1890

Neil Owens
Sarah Ann Healy

Neil Owen
Sarah Ann Healy
💍 1890/1321

Bachelor
Spinster

Ploughman
Servant

38 years
22 years

Windsor Park
Oamaru

3 years
3 days

St Patrick's Church, Oamaru

90/1675

17 April 1890

Rev. John Mackay, Roman Catholic

No	1505
Date of Notice	17 April 1890
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Neil Owens	Sarah Ann Healy
BDM Match (95%)	Neil Owen	Sarah Ann Healy
	💍 1890/1321
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Ploughman	Servant
Age	38 years	22 years
Dwelling Place	Windsor Park	Oamaru
Length of Residence	3 years	3 days
Marriage Place	St Patrick's Church, Oamaru
Folio	90/1675
Consent
Date of Certificate	17 April 1890
Officiating Minister	Rev. John Mackay, Roman Catholic

1506

12 May 1890

Henry McAuley
Catherine Sage

Henry McAuley
Catherine Saye
💍 1890/1322

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Servant

26
20

Georgetown
Papakaio

26 years
17 years

St Patrick's Church, Oamaru

90/1676

Jane Parker, Mother

14 May 1890

Rev. John Mackay, Roman Catholic

No	1506
Date of Notice	12 May 1890
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Henry McAuley	Catherine Sage
BDM Match (96%)	Henry McAuley	Catherine Saye
	💍 1890/1322
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Servant
Age	26	20
Dwelling Place	Georgetown	Papakaio
Length of Residence	26 years	17 years
Marriage Place	St Patrick's Church, Oamaru
Folio	90/1676
Consent	Jane Parker, Mother
Date of Certificate	14 May 1890
Officiating Minister	Rev. John Mackay, Roman Catholic

1507

15 May 1890

Dan Sweeney
Sophia Parsons

Bachelor
Spinster

Laborer

30
21

Pukeuri
Pukeuri

12 months
21 years

The house of Mrs Parsons, Pukeuri

90/1677

15 May 1890

Rev. John Steven, Presbyterian

No	1507
Date of Notice	15 May 1890
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Dan Sweeney	Sophia Parsons
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Laborer
Age	30	21
Dwelling Place	Pukeuri	Pukeuri
Length of Residence	12 months	21 years
Marriage Place	The house of Mrs Parsons, Pukeuri
Folio	90/1677
Consent
Date of Certificate	15 May 1890
Officiating Minister	Rev. John Steven, Presbyterian

1508

23 May 1890

James Grant
Elizabeth Macdonald

James Grant
Elizabeth Macdonald
💍 1890/1324

Bachelor
Spinster

Draper's assistant

26
26

Oamaru
Kakanui North

17 years
18 months

The house of Mr Robert Macdonald, Kakanui North

90/1680

23 May 1890

Rev. Alexr B. Todd, Presbyterian

No	1508
Date of Notice	23 May 1890
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Grant	Elizabeth Macdonald
	💍 1890/1324
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Draper's assistant
Age	26	26
Dwelling Place	Oamaru	Kakanui North
Length of Residence	17 years	18 months
Marriage Place	The house of Mr Robert Macdonald, Kakanui North
Folio	90/1680
Consent
Date of Certificate	23 May 1890
Officiating Minister	Rev. Alexr B. Todd, Presbyterian

1509

27 May 1890

John Forrester
Jane Neason

John Forrester
Jane Neason
💍 1890/3740

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Servant

26
21

Weston
Weston

9 years
4 months

The house of Mr William Forrester senior, Weston

90/1678

27 May 1890

Rev. James A. Will, Presbyterian

No	1509
Date of Notice	27 May 1890
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Forrester	Jane Neason
	💍 1890/3740
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Servant
Age	26	21
Dwelling Place	Weston	Weston
Length of Residence	9 years	4 months
Marriage Place	The house of Mr William Forrester senior, Weston
Folio	90/1678
Consent
Date of Certificate	27 May 1890
Officiating Minister	Rev. James A. Will, 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).