Intentions to Marry, 1900 January-June

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840417, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

Imaged by Luke at Archives NZ Wellington, September 12 2025

1900 is bound in two volumes, January-June and July-December.

Page 339

District of Christchurch Quarter ending 31 March 1900 Registrar M. Parkerson

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

8 January 1900

John Henry Rollinson
Martha Louisa May Robbins

John Henry Rollinson
Martha Louisa May Watkins
💍 1900/798

Bachelor
Spinster

Butcher
Domestic

23
22

Christchurch
Christchurch

3 days
3 days

Registrar Office

00/781

8 January 1900

Registrar M. Parkerson

No	16
Date of Notice	8 January 1900
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Henry Rollinson	Martha Louisa May Robbins
BDM Match (92%)	John Henry Rollinson	Martha Louisa May Watkins
	💍 1900/798
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Butcher	Domestic
Age	23	22
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	Registrar Office
Folio	00/781
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 January 1900
Officiating Minister	Registrar M. Parkerson

8 January 1900

Charles Francis McCarthy
Polly Searle

Charles Francis McCarthy
Polly Tearle
💍 1900/2280

Bachelor
Spinster

News Vendor
Bookbinder

22
24

Sydenham
Christchurch

5 years
3 years

St. Mary's Church, Manchester Street

00/7856

8 January 1900

Rev. H. J. Mauana, Romanist

No	17
Date of Notice	8 January 1900
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Francis McCarthy	Polly Searle
BDM Match (96%)	Charles Francis McCarthy	Polly Tearle
	💍 1900/2280
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	News Vendor	Bookbinder
Age	22	24
Dwelling Place	Sydenham	Christchurch
Length of Residence	5 years	3 years
Marriage Place	St. Mary's Church, Manchester Street
Folio	00/7856
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 January 1900
Officiating Minister	Rev. H. J. Mauana, Romanist

8 January 1900

William Pritchard Spencer
Margaret McConnell

William Pritchard Spencer
Margaret McConnell
💍 1900/5256

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer

26
20

Belfast
Christchurch

2 years
3 years

St. Andrew's Church, Tuam Street

00/75139

William Spencer, father

8 January 1900

Rev. A. M. Wright, Presbyterian

No	18
Date of Notice	8 January 1900
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Pritchard Spencer	Margaret McConnell
	💍 1900/5256
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	26	20
Dwelling Place	Belfast	Christchurch
Length of Residence	2 years	3 years
Marriage Place	St. Andrew's Church, Tuam Street
Folio	00/75139
Consent	William Spencer, father
Date of Certificate	8 January 1900
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. M. Wright, Presbyterian

8 January 1900

Frank Shackleton
Lillian Isabel Moore

Frank Shackleton
Lillian Isabel Moore
💍 1900/845

Bachelor
Spinster

Clerk
Machinist

27
23

Sydenham
Sydenham

15 years
23 years

St. Mary's Church

00/7829

8 January 1900

Rev. W. S. Bean, Anglican

No	19
Date of Notice	8 January 1900
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Frank Shackleton	Lillian Isabel Moore
	💍 1900/845
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Clerk	Machinist
Age	27	23
Dwelling Place	Sydenham	Sydenham
Length of Residence	15 years	23 years
Marriage Place	St. Mary's Church
Folio	00/7829
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 January 1900
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. S. Bean, Anglican

8 January 1900

George Hiron
Mary Jane Tagg

George Nixon
Mary Jane Fogg
💍 1900/909

George Crichton
Mary Anne Nix
💍 1900/419

Bachelor
Spinster

Cook
Domestic

20
17

Christchurch
Christchurch

20 years
5 years

House of Mrs. Nixon, Tuam Street

00/7894

Margaret Nixon, mother

23 January 1900

Rev. R. J. Murray, Methodist

No	20
Date of Notice	8 January 1900
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Hiron	Mary Jane Tagg
BDM Match (85%)	George Nixon	Mary Jane Fogg
	💍 1900/909
BDM Match (62%)	George Crichton	Mary Anne Nix
	💍 1900/419
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Cook	Domestic
Age	20	17
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	20 years	5 years
Marriage Place	House of Mrs. Nixon, Tuam Street
Folio	00/7894
Consent	Margaret Nixon, mother
Date of Certificate	23 January 1900
Officiating Minister	Rev. R. J. Murray, Methodist

8 January 1900

Herbert Frederick Ridsdale
Esther Sarah Anderson

Herbert Frederick Bickenton
Esther Sarah Andersen
💍 1900/2087

Bachelor
Spinster

Manufacturer

24
21

Burnwood
Christchurch

24 years
11 years

House of Mrs. Anderson, Barbadoes Street

00/73588

8 January 1900

Rev. D. Elmslie, Presbyterian

No	21
Date of Notice	8 January 1900
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Herbert Frederick Ridsdale	Esther Sarah Anderson
BDM Match (83%)	Herbert Frederick Bickenton	Esther Sarah Andersen
	💍 1900/2087
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Manufacturer
Age	24	21
Dwelling Place	Burnwood	Christchurch
Length of Residence	24 years	11 years
Marriage Place	House of Mrs. Anderson, Barbadoes Street
Folio	00/73588
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 January 1900
Officiating Minister	Rev. D. Elmslie, Presbyterian

9 January 1900

Alfred Ernest Werry
Florence Beatrice Chenoweth

Alfred Ernest Werry
Florence Beatrice Chenowith
💍 1900/2294

Bachelor
Spinster

Teacher

26
23

Christchurch
Christchurch

3 days
3 days

St. John's Church

00/7846

9 January 1900

Rev. H. C. Watson, Anglican

No	22
Date of Notice	9 January 1900
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Alfred Ernest Werry	Florence Beatrice Chenoweth
BDM Match (98%)	Alfred Ernest Werry	Florence Beatrice Chenowith
	💍 1900/2294
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Teacher
Age	26	23
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	St. John's Church
Folio	00/7846
Consent
Date of Certificate	9 January 1900
Officiating Minister	Rev. H. C. Watson, Anglican

10 January 1900

George Iles
Julia Harris

George Iles
Julia Harris
💍 1900/2561

Bachelor
Widow

Hotelkeeper

28
28

Lyttelton
Christchurch

7 months
6 months

St. Luke's Church, Lyttelton

00/7857

10 January 1900

Ven. Archdeacon, Anglican

No	23
Date of Notice	10 January 1900
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Iles	Julia Harris
	💍 1900/2561
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Hotelkeeper
Age	28	28
Dwelling Place	Lyttelton	Christchurch
Length of Residence	7 months	6 months
Marriage Place	St. Luke's Church, Lyttelton
Folio	00/7857
Consent
Date of Certificate	10 January 1900
Officiating Minister	Ven. Archdeacon, Anglican

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).