Intentions to Marry, 1901 North Island

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840419, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

Imaged by Luke at Archives NZ Wellington, September 22 2025

1901 is bound in two volumes, North Island districts and South Island districts.

Page 713

District of Dannevirke Quarter ending 31 March 1901 Registrar William James Walsh

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

2 January 1901

John Alfred Anderson
Edith Eleanor Hughes

Joseph Alfred Anderson
Edith Eleanor Hughes
💍 1901/5804

Bachelor
Spinster

Settler

26
18

Dannevirke
Dannevirke

3 days
2 years

Wesleyan Methodist Church

01/363

Henry Hughes, Father

2 January 1901

Rev. W. A. Gilmour, Wesleyan Methodist

No	1
Date of Notice	2 January 1901
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Alfred Anderson	Edith Eleanor Hughes
BDM Match (91%)	Joseph Alfred Anderson	Edith Eleanor Hughes
	💍 1901/5804
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Settler
Age	26	18
Dwelling Place	Dannevirke	Dannevirke
Length of Residence	3 days	2 years
Marriage Place	Wesleyan Methodist Church
Folio	01/363
Consent	Henry Hughes, Father
Date of Certificate	2 January 1901
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. A. Gilmour, Wesleyan Methodist

2 January 1901

John Cattanach Davidson
Flora McLeod

John Catternach Davidson
Flora McLeod
💍 1901/5857

Bachelor
Spinster

Blacksmith

25
26

Dannevirke
Ongaonga, Waipawa

4 years
26 years

Dwelling house of D. McLeod, Ongaonga

01/404

2 January 1901

Rev. H. W. Johnston, Presbyterian

No	2
Date of Notice	2 January 1901
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Cattanach Davidson	Flora McLeod
BDM Match (96%)	John Catternach Davidson	Flora McLeod
	💍 1901/5857
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Blacksmith
Age	25	26
Dwelling Place	Dannevirke	Ongaonga, Waipawa
Length of Residence	4 years	26 years
Marriage Place	Dwelling house of D. McLeod, Ongaonga
Folio	01/404
Consent
Date of Certificate	2 January 1901
Officiating Minister	Rev. H. W. Johnston, Presbyterian

2 February 1901

Walter Peck
Margaret Dance

Walter Peck
Margaret Jane Morris
💍 1901/5819

Bachelor
Spinster

Sawmill employee

26
21

Dannevirke
Umutaoroa

5 years
9 years

Mrs. W. Dance's dwelling house

01/365

2 February 1901

Rev. E. Robertshaw, Anglican

No	3
Date of Notice	2 February 1901
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Walter Peck	Margaret Dance
BDM Match (78%)	Walter Peck	Margaret Jane Morris
	💍 1901/5819
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Sawmill employee
Age	26	21
Dwelling Place	Dannevirke	Umutaoroa
Length of Residence	5 years	9 years
Marriage Place	Mrs. W. Dance's dwelling house
Folio	01/365
Consent
Date of Certificate	2 February 1901
Officiating Minister	Rev. E. Robertshaw, Anglican

5 March 1901

Ernest Edwin Evernden
Ann Gordon

Ernest Edwin Evernden
Ann Gordon
💍 1901/5821

Bachelor
Spinster

Grocer

24
24

Dannevirke
Dannevirke

3 days
14 days

A. H. Gordon's dwelling house

01/367

5 March 1901

Rev. A. Grant, Presbyterian

No	4
Date of Notice	5 March 1901
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Ernest Edwin Evernden	Ann Gordon
	💍 1901/5821
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Grocer
Age	24	24
Dwelling Place	Dannevirke	Dannevirke
Length of Residence	3 days	14 days
Marriage Place	A. H. Gordon's dwelling house
Folio	01/367
Consent
Date of Certificate	5 March 1901
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. Grant, Presbyterian

7 March 1901

William Hanson
Eliza Leander White

William Hanson
Eliza Leander White
💍 1901/5815

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic duties

38
32

Dannevirke
Dannevirke

1 week
3 months

C. White's dwelling house

01/364

7 March 1901

Rev. W. A. Gilmour, Wesleyan Methodist

No	5
Date of Notice	7 March 1901
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Hanson	Eliza Leander White
	💍 1901/5815
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic duties
Age	38	32
Dwelling Place	Dannevirke	Dannevirke
Length of Residence	1 week	3 months
Marriage Place	C. White's dwelling house
Folio	01/364
Consent
Date of Certificate	7 March 1901
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. A. Gilmour, Wesleyan Methodist

21 March 1901

Alfred Eagle
Fidelia King

Alfred Eagle
Fidelia King
💍 1901/5820

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer

26
21

Dannevirke
Dannevirke

3 years
6 months

Church of England

01/366

21 March 1901

Rev. E. Robertshaw, Anglican

No	6
Date of Notice	21 March 1901
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Alfred Eagle	Fidelia King
	💍 1901/5820
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer
Age	26	21
Dwelling Place	Dannevirke	Dannevirke
Length of Residence	3 years	6 months
Marriage Place	Church of England
Folio	01/366
Consent
Date of Certificate	21 March 1901
Officiating Minister	Rev. E. Robertshaw, Anglican

23 March 1901

Francis William Conway
Ellen Fraser

Francis William Conway
Ellen Fraser
💍 1901/5858

Bachelor
Spinster

Contractor

23
18

Dannevirke
Dannevirke

4 years
18 years

Rev. A. Grant's dwelling house

01/405

Christina Munro, Mother

23 March 1901

Rev. A. Grant, Presbyterian

No	7
Date of Notice	23 March 1901
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Francis William Conway	Ellen Fraser
	💍 1901/5858
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Contractor
Age	23	18
Dwelling Place	Dannevirke	Dannevirke
Length of Residence	4 years	18 years
Marriage Place	Rev. A. Grant's dwelling house
Folio	01/405
Consent	Christina Munro, Mother
Date of Certificate	23 March 1901
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. Grant, Presbyterian

23 March 1901

Mako Steffensen
Agnes Stephen Morrison

Mads Steffenson
Agnes Stephen Morrison
💍 1901/1469

Widower
Spinster

Labourer
Housekeeper

47
38

Dannevirke
Dannevirke

8 weeks
8 weeks

Rev. A. Grant's dwelling house

01/1811

23 March 1901

Rev. A. Grant, Presbyterian

No	8
Date of Notice	23 March 1901
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Mako Steffensen	Agnes Stephen Morrison
BDM Match (90%)	Mads Steffenson	Agnes Stephen Morrison
	💍 1901/1469
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Housekeeper
Age	47	38
Dwelling Place	Dannevirke	Dannevirke
Length of Residence	8 weeks	8 weeks
Marriage Place	Rev. A. Grant's dwelling house
Folio	01/1811
Consent
Date of Certificate	23 March 1901
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. Grant, 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).