Intentions to Marry, 1898 July-December

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840414, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

Imaged by Carole at Archives NZ Wellington, June 27 2025

1898 is bound in two volumes, January-June and July-December.

Page 873

District of Dunedin Quarter ending 31 December 1898 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

384

16 December 1898

John Brown
Margaret Rose Currowes

John Brown
Margaret Rosa Burrows
💍 1898/4743

John Brown
Marion Williscroft
💍 1898/1762

John Brown
Florence May Powrie
💍 1898/1587

Bachelor
Spinster

Gilder

31 years
24 years

Dunedin
Dunedin

31 years
20 years

In the house of H. Haddell, Dunedin

98/4692

16 December 1898

Rev. H. Haddell, Presbyterian Minister

No	384
Date of Notice	16 December 1898
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Brown	Margaret Rose Currowes
BDM Match (93%)	John Brown	Margaret Rosa Burrows
	💍 1898/4743
BDM Match (64%)	John Brown	Marion Williscroft
	💍 1898/1762
BDM Match (61%)	John Brown	Florence May Powrie
	💍 1898/1587
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Gilder
Age	31 years	24 years
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	31 years	20 years
Marriage Place	In the house of H. Haddell, Dunedin
Folio	98/4692
Consent
Date of Certificate	16 December 1898
Officiating Minister	Rev. H. Haddell, Presbyterian Minister

385

16 December 1898

John Hessey
Alice Maria Alexander

John Hessey
Alice Maria Alexander
💍 1898/4951

Bachelor
Spinster

Ironmoulder

25 years
19 years

South Dunedin
South Dunedin

6 months
19 years

In the house of Edward Alexander, South Dunedin

98/4728

Edward Alexander, father of minor

16 December 1898

Rev. John Muirhead, Baptist Minister

No	385
Date of Notice	16 December 1898
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Hessey	Alice Maria Alexander
	💍 1898/4951
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Ironmoulder
Age	25 years	19 years
Dwelling Place	South Dunedin	South Dunedin
Length of Residence	6 months	19 years
Marriage Place	In the house of Edward Alexander, South Dunedin
Folio	98/4728
Consent	Edward Alexander, father of minor
Date of Certificate	16 December 1898
Officiating Minister	Rev. John Muirhead, Baptist Minister

386

7 December 1898

Robert Symington Brown
Edith Isabella Caroline Buntings

Robert Symington Brown
Edith Caroline Isabella Buntine
💍 1898/5064

Bachelor
Spinster

Draper

27 years
26 years

Dunedin
Roslyn

3 months
26 years

In St. John's Church, Roslyn

98/5030

17 December 1898

Rev. Frank Mayne, Church of England Minister

No	386
Date of Notice	7 December 1898
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Robert Symington Brown	Edith Isabella Caroline Buntings
BDM Match (75%)	Robert Symington Brown	Edith Caroline Isabella Buntine
	💍 1898/5064
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Draper
Age	27 years	26 years
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Roslyn
Length of Residence	3 months	26 years
Marriage Place	In St. John's Church, Roslyn
Folio	98/5030
Consent
Date of Certificate	17 December 1898
Officiating Minister	Rev. Frank Mayne, Church of England Minister

387

19 December 1898

Thomas Alexander
Keitch Junies Charlotte Ann Neilson

Bachelor
Spinster

Blacksmith

24 years
22 years

South Dunedin
Dunedin

14 years
22 years

In the house of the Presbyterian Church, South Dunedin

98/5031

19 December 1898

Rev. A. Sutton, Presbyterian Minister

No	387
Date of Notice	19 December 1898
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Alexander	Keitch Junies Charlotte Ann Neilson
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Blacksmith
Age	24 years	22 years
Dwelling Place	South Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	14 years	22 years
Marriage Place	In the house of the Presbyterian Church, South Dunedin
Folio	98/5031
Consent
Date of Certificate	19 December 1898
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. Sutton, Presbyterian Minister

388

19 December 1898

William Mercer
Mary Kavanagh

William Mercer
Mary Kavanagh
💍 1898/5066

Bachelor
Spinster

Miner

29 years
27 years

Dunedin
Dunedin

3 days
3 days

In the house of Edward Hatcher, Caversham

98/5032

19 December 1898

Rev. A. Sutton, Presbyterian Minister

No	388
Date of Notice	19 December 1898
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Mercer	Mary Kavanagh
	💍 1898/5066
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Miner
Age	29 years	27 years
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	In the house of Edward Hatcher, Caversham
Folio	98/5032
Consent
Date of Certificate	19 December 1898
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. Sutton, Presbyterian Minister

389

19 December 1898

Cyril Reichen
Margaret Johnson

Carl Ruhen
Margaret Johnson
💍 1898/4744

George Henry Doel
Margaret Johnson
💍 1898/245

Bachelor
Spinster

Clerk

20 years
28 years

Dunedin
South Dunedin

8 years
18 years

In the house of John Johnson, South Dunedin

98/4693

19 December 1898

Rev. H. Haddell, Presbyterian Minister

No	389
Date of Notice	19 December 1898
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Cyril Reichen	Margaret Johnson
BDM Match (81%)	Carl Ruhen	Margaret Johnson
	💍 1898/4744
BDM Match (62%)	George Henry Doel	Margaret Johnson
	💍 1898/245
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Clerk
Age	20 years	28 years
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	South Dunedin
Length of Residence	8 years	18 years
Marriage Place	In the house of John Johnson, South Dunedin
Folio	98/4693
Consent
Date of Certificate	19 December 1898
Officiating Minister	Rev. H. Haddell, Presbyterian Minister

390

20 December 1898

Herbert George Grant
Julianna Townsend

Herbert George Grant
Julieanna Townsend
💍 1898/3556

Bachelor
Spinster

Engineer

24 years
26 years

Dunedin
Dunedin

9 years
20 years

In All Saints Church, Dunedin

98/4750

20 December 1898

Very Rev. A. R. Fitchett, Church of England

No	390
Date of Notice	20 December 1898
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Herbert George Grant	Julianna Townsend
BDM Match (97%)	Herbert George Grant	Julieanna Townsend
	💍 1898/3556
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Engineer
Age	24 years	26 years
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	9 years	20 years
Marriage Place	In All Saints Church, Dunedin
Folio	98/4750
Consent
Date of Certificate	20 December 1898
Officiating Minister	Very Rev. A. R. Fitchett, Church of England

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).