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 1496

District of Dunedin Quarter ending 31 December 1880 Registrar William Joseph Hall

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

313

27 October 1890

Edwin Chetwin
Isabella McFarlane

Edwin Chetwin
Isabella McFarlane
💍 1890/3330

Bachelor
Spinster

Painter

22 years
18 years

South Dunedin
Dunedin

13 years
2 years

In the house of Andrew Simpson McFarlane Walker Street

90/3586

Andrew Simpson McFarlane father of minor

27 October 1890

Revd W Ready Bible Christian Minister

No	313
Date of Notice	27 October 1890
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edwin Chetwin	Isabella McFarlane
	💍 1890/3330
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Painter
Age	22 years	18 years
Dwelling Place	South Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	13 years	2 years
Marriage Place	In the house of Andrew Simpson McFarlane Walker Street
Folio	90/3586
Consent	Andrew Simpson McFarlane father of minor
Date of Certificate	27 October 1890
Officiating Minister	Revd W Ready Bible Christian Minister

314

29 October 1890

Charles Frederick Edgar
Mary Ann Christie

Charles Frederick Edgar
Mary Ann Christie
💍 1890/3343

Widower
Spinster

Warehouseman

30 years
24 years

Dunedin
Dunedin

26 years
23 years

In the Trinity Church Dunedin

90/3598

29 October 1890

Revd W Baumber Wesleyan Minister

No	314
Date of Notice	29 October 1890
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Frederick Edgar	Mary Ann Christie
	💍 1890/3343
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Warehouseman
Age	30 years	24 years
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	26 years	23 years
Marriage Place	In the Trinity Church Dunedin
Folio	90/3598
Consent
Date of Certificate	29 October 1890
Officiating Minister	Revd W Baumber Wesleyan Minister

315

29 October 1890

John Todd Smith
Elizabeth Erskine Cooke

John Todd Smitt
Elizabeth Erskine Corke
💍 1890/1768

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer

50 years
37 years

Dunedin
Dunedin

3 days
2 months

In the house of John Cooke Maitland Street

90/3630

29 October 1890

Revd Dr Stuart Presbyterian Minister

No	315
Date of Notice	29 October 1890
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Todd Smith	Elizabeth Erskine Cooke
BDM Match (95%)	John Todd Smitt	Elizabeth Erskine Corke
	💍 1890/1768
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	50 years	37 years
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	3 days	2 months
Marriage Place	In the house of John Cooke Maitland Street
Folio	90/3630
Consent
Date of Certificate	29 October 1890
Officiating Minister	Revd Dr Stuart Presbyterian Minister

316

31 October 1890

Duncan Cameron
Elizabeth Robertshaw

Duncan Cameron
Elizabeth Robertshaw
💍 1890/3363

Bachelor
Spinster

Compositor

30 years
23 years

Dunedin
Dunedin

19 years
23 years

In the house of Matthew Robertshaw Elm Row

90/3601

31 October 1890

Revd W Saunders Congregational Minister

No	316
Date of Notice	31 October 1890
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Duncan Cameron	Elizabeth Robertshaw
	💍 1890/3363
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Compositor
Age	30 years	23 years
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	19 years	23 years
Marriage Place	In the house of Matthew Robertshaw Elm Row
Folio	90/3601
Consent
Date of Certificate	31 October 1890
Officiating Minister	Revd W Saunders Congregational Minister

317

1 November 1890

William Blackwood Junr
Julia Ann Elizabeth Edmonds

William Blackwood Junr
Julia Ann Elizabeth Edmonds
💍 1890/3311

Bachelor
Spinster

Grocer

22 years
20 years

Caversham
South Dunedin

22 years
6 years

In the house of William Blackwood

90/3566

Fanny Edmonds mother of minor

1 November 1890

Revd J Y Hinton Baptist Minister

No	317
Date of Notice	1 November 1890
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Blackwood Junr	Julia Ann Elizabeth Edmonds
	💍 1890/3311
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Grocer
Age	22 years	20 years
Dwelling Place	Caversham	South Dunedin
Length of Residence	22 years	6 years
Marriage Place	In the house of William Blackwood
Folio	90/3566
Consent	Fanny Edmonds mother of minor
Date of Certificate	1 November 1890
Officiating Minister	Revd J Y Hinton Baptist Minister

318

3 November 1890

Edward William Merry
Ellen Bird Harkness Russell

Edward William Merry
Ellen Aird Harking Russell
💍 1890/3338

Bachelor
Spinster

Glazier

27 years
22 years

Dunedin
Dunedin

27 years
22 years

In All Saints Church Dunedin

90/3575

3 November 1890

Revd A R Fitchett Church of England Minister

No	318
Date of Notice	3 November 1890
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edward William Merry	Ellen Bird Harkness Russell
BDM Match (91%)	Edward William Merry	Ellen Aird Harking Russell
	💍 1890/3338
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Glazier
Age	27 years	22 years
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	27 years	22 years
Marriage Place	In All Saints Church Dunedin
Folio	90/3575
Consent
Date of Certificate	3 November 1890
Officiating Minister	Revd A R Fitchett Church of England Minister

319

4 November 1890

Thomas Fitzpatrick
Sarah Martha Grengrove

Thomas Fitzpatrick
Sarah Martha Trengrove
💍 1890/1711

Bachelor
Spinster

Artilleryman

36 years
19 years

South Dunedin
Dunedin

6 years
17 years

In Knox Church Dunedin

90/3651

Sarah Fletcher mother of minor

4 November 1890

Revd Dr Stuart Presbyterian Minister

No	319
Date of Notice	4 November 1890
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Fitzpatrick	Sarah Martha Grengrove
BDM Match (98%)	Thomas Fitzpatrick	Sarah Martha Trengrove
	💍 1890/1711
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Artilleryman
Age	36 years	19 years
Dwelling Place	South Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	6 years	17 years
Marriage Place	In Knox Church Dunedin
Folio	90/3651
Consent	Sarah Fletcher mother of minor
Date of Certificate	4 November 1890
Officiating Minister	Revd Dr Stuart Presbyterian Minister

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 1908. 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).