Intentions to Marry, 1901 South Island

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840420, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

Imaged by Carole at Archives NZ Wellington, September 22 2025

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

Page 245

District of Ashburton Quarter ending 30 September 1901

No	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
1240	1 July 1901	Thomas James Sarah Agnes Ellen Keeley	Thomas James Lamb Agnes Lilian Keeley 💍 1901/3378	Bachelor Spinster	Labourer	24 20	Ashburton Ashburton	24 years 20 years at Ashburton	Baptist Church	01/3740	George Keeley, Father	15 July 1901	Revd. R. A. Woodthorpe, William Lamb
1241	15 July 1901	Nathan Brog Butler Sarah Stevens	Nathan Perry Butler Sarah Stephens 💍 1901/3379	Bachelor Spinster	Shepherd Domestic Servant	25 21	Ashburton Ashburton	3 days 3 months Ashburton	St. Stephen's Church	01/3741		15 July 1901	Revd. R. A. Woodthorpe
1242	19 July 1901	John Williamson Margaret Kennedy	John Williamson Margaret Kennedy 💍 1901/3383 Ernest Evans Margaret Kennedy 💍 1901/1995	Bachelor Spinster	Hair-dresser	30 30	Ashburton Elgin	25 years 12 years	Private Dwelling of Hugh Kennedy at Elgin	01/3744		19 July 1901	Revd. R. B. Ingles
1243	20 July 1901	Arthur Samuel Hayman Ruth Eleanor Harding	Albert Samuel Hayman Ruth Frances Harding 💍 1901/3270	Bachelor Spinster	Farmer Dressmaker	26 22	Willowby Willowby	25 years 12 years at Willowby	Wesleyan Church	01/3747		20 July 1901	Revd. J. N. Buttle
1244	29 July 1901	Robert Alexander Gillespie Agnes Crawford McKay	Robert Alexander Gillespie Agnes Crawford McKay 💍 1901/4265	Bachelor Spinster	Labourer	23 19	Wheatston Ashburton	13 years 11 years from Ashburton	Private Dwelling of James Ross McKay	01/4450	James Ross McKay, Father	29 July 1901	Revd. Robert Raine
1245	30 July 1901	William James Shields Kate Ethel Hill	William James Shields Kate Ethel Hill 💍 1901/3281	Bachelor Spinster	Blacksmith Domestic Servant	25 21	Ruapuna Ashburton	3 days 3 days at Ruapuna	Private Dwelling of James Shields at Ruapuna	01/3748		30 July 1901	Mr. William Haine
1246	15 August 1901	Richard Thomas Morris Elizabeth Barbara Burton	Richard Thomas Morris Elizabeth Barbara Turton 💍 1901/3382	Bachelor Spinster	Farmer Saleswoman	32 31	Ashburton Ashburton	9 days 31 years, Havelock St. Ashburton	Private Dwelling of William Burton	01/3743		15 August 1901	Revd. Thomas Lee
1247	9 September 1901	Robert Burns Doyle Edith Shaw	Robert Burns Doyle Edith Shaw 💍 1901/3288	Bachelor Spinster	Farmer Domestic Servant	20 18	Ruapuna Ruapuna	about 20 years 2 years at Ruapuna	Private Dwelling of William Eliza Doyle	01/3749	John Doyle, Father; H. J. Shaw, Father	9 September 1901	William Haine
1248	9 September 1901	Percy George Phillips Emily Catherine Griffin	Percy George Phillips Emily Catherine Griffin 💍 1901/3380	Bachelor Spinster	Cycle Agent	25 19	Ashburton Ashburton	11 months 19 years, Trevorton	Private Dwelling of Mr. Griffin at Trevorton	01/3742	Mary Griffin, Mother	9 September 1901	Revd. Robert Raine
1249	19 September 1901	William Cheverley Simpson Edith Mary Millichamp	William Cleverly Simpson Edith Mary Millichamp 💍 1901/3804	Bachelor Spinster	Blacksmith	25 24	Ashburton Tinwald	4 years 9 years, Tinwald	Church of England	01/4339		19 September 1901	Revd. S. N. Blakiston
1250	20 September 1901	Isaac William Ingle Baxter Caroline Ellen Freeby	Isaac William Tyrrell Baxter Caroline Ellen Treeby 💍 1901/6053	Widower Spinster	Journalist Domestic duties	36 34	Ashburton Ashburton	11 years 12 months, Ashburton	Private Dwelling of Isaac William Ingle Baxter	01/3746		20 September 1901	Revd. J. D. Jory

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 1901. 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).