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 772

District of Invercargill Quarter ending 30 June 1890 Registrar J. W. Wilkin

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

9 May 1890

Alexander Glennie
Mary Ramsay Weir

Alexander Glennie
Mary Ramsay Weir
💍 1890/2042

Bachelor
Spinster

Clicker

21
18

South Invercargill
South Invercargill

3 years
4 years

House of Rev. John Ferguson, Ettrick Street

90/1851

Jane Weir, Mother

9 May 1890

Rev. John Ferguson

No	31
Date of Notice	9 May 1890
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Alexander Glennie	Mary Ramsay Weir
	💍 1890/2042
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Clicker
Age	21	18
Dwelling Place	South Invercargill	South Invercargill
Length of Residence	3 years	4 years
Marriage Place	House of Rev. John Ferguson, Ettrick Street
Folio	90/1851
Consent	Jane Weir, Mother
Date of Certificate	9 May 1890
Officiating Minister	Rev. John Ferguson

10 May 1890

John Stewart Keenan
Annie Corbett Stoward

John Stewart Keenan
Annie Corbett Spowart
💍 1890/3753

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer

29
18

Forest Hill
Forest Hill

9 years
12 years

House of Rev. Geo. Lindsay, Invercargill

90/1845

John Stoward, Father

10 May 1890

Rev. Geo. Lindsay

No	32
Date of Notice	10 May 1890
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Stewart Keenan	Annie Corbett Stoward
BDM Match (95%)	John Stewart Keenan	Annie Corbett Spowart
	💍 1890/3753
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	29	18
Dwelling Place	Forest Hill	Forest Hill
Length of Residence	9 years	12 years
Marriage Place	House of Rev. Geo. Lindsay, Invercargill
Folio	90/1845
Consent	John Stoward, Father
Date of Certificate	10 May 1890
Officiating Minister	Rev. Geo. Lindsay

12 May 1890

Andrew Eddy
Elizabeth Brewton

Andrew Eddy
Elizabeth Newton
💍 1890/2046

Bachelor
Spinster

Laborer

39
42

Spar Bush
Ryal Bush

7 years
2 years

Office of the Registrar, Invercargill

90/1855

12 May 1890

J. W. Wilkin, Registrar

No	33
Date of Notice	12 May 1890
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Andrew Eddy	Elizabeth Brewton
BDM Match (94%)	Andrew Eddy	Elizabeth Newton
	💍 1890/2046
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Laborer
Age	39	42
Dwelling Place	Spar Bush	Ryal Bush
Length of Residence	7 years	2 years
Marriage Place	Office of the Registrar, Invercargill
Folio	90/1855
Consent
Date of Certificate	12 May 1890
Officiating Minister	J. W. Wilkin, Registrar

17 May 1890

William Stroud
Elizabeth Livingstone

William Stroud
Elizabeth Livingstone
💍 1890/2047

Widower
Widow

Painter

46
36

Invercargill
Ruakarewa

12 years
7 years

Office of the Registrar, Invercargill

90/1856

17 May 1890

J. W. Wilkin, Registrar

No	34
Date of Notice	17 May 1890
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Stroud	Elizabeth Livingstone
	💍 1890/2047
Condition	Widower	Widow
Profession	Painter
Age	46	36
Dwelling Place	Invercargill	Ruakarewa
Length of Residence	12 years	7 years
Marriage Place	Office of the Registrar, Invercargill
Folio	90/1856
Consent
Date of Certificate	17 May 1890
Officiating Minister	J. W. Wilkin, Registrar

19 May 1890

James Griffin
Winnifred Helen Graham

Bachelor
Spinster

Laborer

26
22

Hawthorn, Invercargill
Powelltown, Invercargill

7 years
7 years

Roman Catholic Church, Invercargill

90/1836

29 May 1890

Rev. J. Murphy

No	35
Date of Notice	19 May 1890
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Griffin	Winnifred Helen Graham
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Laborer
Age	26	22
Dwelling Place	Hawthorn, Invercargill	Powelltown, Invercargill
Length of Residence	7 years	7 years
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Church, Invercargill
Folio	90/1836
Consent
Date of Certificate	29 May 1890
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Murphy

24 May 1890

James Cruickshank
Mary Jane Weir

James Cruickshank
Mary Jane Weir Hamilton
💍 1890/2043

Bachelor
Spinster

Sawmiller

30
21

Rosedale, Waihopai, Invercargill
Hamilton, Avenal, Invercargill

15 years
21 years

House of Rev. John Ferguson, Hamilton, Avenal

90/1852

24 May 1890

Rev. John Ferguson

No	36
Date of Notice	24 May 1890
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Cruickshank	Mary Jane Weir
BDM Match (80%)	James Cruickshank	Mary Jane Weir Hamilton
	💍 1890/2043
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Sawmiller
Age	30	21
Dwelling Place	Rosedale, Waihopai, Invercargill	Hamilton, Avenal, Invercargill
Length of Residence	15 years	21 years
Marriage Place	House of Rev. John Ferguson, Hamilton, Avenal
Folio	90/1852
Consent
Date of Certificate	24 May 1890
Officiating Minister	Rev. John Ferguson

30 May 1890

William James Cooper
Hannah Dawson

William James Cooper
Hannah Dawson
💍 1890/2049

Bachelor
Spinster

Butcher

24
21

Invercargill
Invercargill

24 years
15 years

Office of the Registrar, Invercargill

90/1857

30 May 1890

J. W. Wilkin, Registrar

No	37
Date of Notice	30 May 1890
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William James Cooper	Hannah Dawson
	💍 1890/2049
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Butcher
Age	24	21
Dwelling Place	Invercargill	Invercargill
Length of Residence	24 years	15 years
Marriage Place	Office of the Registrar, Invercargill
Folio	90/1857
Consent
Date of Certificate	30 May 1890
Officiating Minister	J. W. Wilkin, Registrar

3 June 1890

Richard Butler
Mary Jane Johnston

Richard Butler
Mary Jane Johnston
💍 1890/2040

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer

32
20

Invercargill
Clifton

3 days
7 years

English Church, Invercargill

90/1848

James Johnston, Father

3 June 1890

Ven. Archdeacon Stocker

No	38
Date of Notice	3 June 1890
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Richard Butler	Mary Jane Johnston
	💍 1890/2040
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	32	20
Dwelling Place	Invercargill	Clifton
Length of Residence	3 days	7 years
Marriage Place	English Church, Invercargill
Folio	90/1848
Consent	James Johnston, Father
Date of Certificate	3 June 1890
Officiating Minister	Ven. Archdeacon Stocker

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).