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 256

District of Christchurch Quarter ending 31 March 1901 Registrar J. M. Wanklyn

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

17 January 1901

Charles Gill
Celia Elizabeth Hobbs

Charles Gill
Celia Elizabeth Hobbs
💍 1901/398

Widower
Spinster

Contractor
Teacher

60
42

Christchurch
Christchurch

21 years
20 years

St. Michaels Church, Christchurch

01/867

17 January 1901

Rev. A. W. Lawrence, Anglican

No	37
Date of Notice	17 January 1901
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Gill	Celia Elizabeth Hobbs
	💍 1901/398
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Contractor	Teacher
Age	60	42
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	21 years	20 years
Marriage Place	St. Michaels Church, Christchurch
Folio	01/867
Consent
Date of Certificate	17 January 1901
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. W. Lawrence, Anglican

18 January 1901

James Aikman Black
Margaret McDonnell

James Aikman
Margaret McDonald
💍 1901/544

Bachelor
Spinster

Attendant
Attendant

31
27

Christchurch
Christchurch

3 years
3 years

House of Mr. J. A. Black, Southampton St.

01/975

18 January 1901

Rev. H. Bull, Wesleyan

No	38
Date of Notice	18 January 1901
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Aikman Black	Margaret McDonnell
BDM Match (75%)	James Aikman	Margaret McDonald
	💍 1901/544
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Attendant	Attendant
Age	31	27
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	3 years	3 years
Marriage Place	House of Mr. J. A. Black, Southampton St.
Folio	01/975
Consent
Date of Certificate	18 January 1901
Officiating Minister	Rev. H. Bull, Wesleyan

19 January 1901

James Maxwell
Edith Frances Goodwin

James Maxwell
Edith Frances Goodwin
💍 1901/466

Widower
Spinster

Carrier
Domestic

46
23

Christchurch
Christchurch

24 years
6 months

St. Matthews Church, St Albans

01/893

19 January 1901

Rev. H. Williams, Anglican

No	39
Date of Notice	19 January 1901
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Maxwell	Edith Frances Goodwin
	💍 1901/466
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Carrier	Domestic
Age	46	23
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	24 years	6 months
Marriage Place	St. Matthews Church, St Albans
Folio	01/893
Consent
Date of Certificate	19 January 1901
Officiating Minister	Rev. H. Williams, Anglican

19 January 1901

Edward Thomas Prisk
Annie Kilburn

Edward Thomas Prisk
Anne Kilburn
💍 1901/1022

Bachelor
Spinster

Laborer
Laborer

24
23

Christchurch
Opawa

24 years
9 years

House of Mr. W. Kilburn

01/936

19 January 1901

Rev. C. Ward, Methodist

No	40
Date of Notice	19 January 1901
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edward Thomas Prisk	Annie Kilburn
BDM Match (96%)	Edward Thomas Prisk	Anne Kilburn
	💍 1901/1022
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Laborer	Laborer
Age	24	23
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Opawa
Length of Residence	24 years	9 years
Marriage Place	House of Mr. W. Kilburn
Folio	01/936
Consent
Date of Certificate	19 January 1901
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Ward, Methodist

21 January 1901

Thomas McAvinue
Rose Drum

Thomas McAvinue
Rose Drum
💍 1901/999

Bachelor
Spinster

Laborer
Domestic

35
27

Christchurch
Christchurch

3 years
1 month

Pro Cathedral, Ferry Road

01/929

21 January 1901

Very Rev. Dean Foley, Romanist

No	41
Date of Notice	21 January 1901
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas McAvinue	Rose Drum
	💍 1901/999
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Laborer	Domestic
Age	35	27
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	3 years	1 month
Marriage Place	Pro Cathedral, Ferry Road
Folio	01/929
Consent
Date of Certificate	21 January 1901
Officiating Minister	Very Rev. Dean Foley, Romanist

21 January 1901

John Cleary Kemp
Agnes Eugene Agnes Hooper

John Cleary Kemp
Edith Eugene Agnes Hooper
💍 1901/819

Bachelor
Spinster

Porter

21
23

Christchurch
Christchurch

23 years
23 years

Registrar's Office

01/828

21 January 1901

Registrar of Marriages

No	42
Date of Notice	21 January 1901
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Cleary Kemp	Agnes Eugene Agnes Hooper
BDM Match (90%)	John Cleary Kemp	Edith Eugene Agnes Hooper
	💍 1901/819
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Porter
Age	21	23
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	23 years	23 years
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office
Folio	01/828
Consent
Date of Certificate	21 January 1901
Officiating Minister	Registrar of Marriages

21 January 1901

James Henry Tompkins
Nellie Edith Warr

James Henry Tompkins
Nelly Edith Marr
💍 1901/480

Bachelor
Spinster

Salesman

25
24

Christchurch
Christchurch

25 years
19 years

St. Johns Church

01/886

21 January 1901

Rev. N. C. M. Watson, Anglican

No	43
Date of Notice	21 January 1901
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Henry Tompkins	Nellie Edith Warr
BDM Match (91%)	James Henry Tompkins	Nelly Edith Marr
	💍 1901/480
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Salesman
Age	25	24
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	25 years	19 years
Marriage Place	St. Johns Church
Folio	01/886
Consent
Date of Certificate	21 January 1901
Officiating Minister	Rev. N. C. M. Watson, Anglican

22 January 1901

Thomas Mason Abbott
Vera Miriam Love

Thomas Mason Abbott
Violet Miram Loose
💍 1901/814

Bachelor
Spinster

Joiner

20
16

Christchurch
Christchurch

20 years
16 years

Registrar's Office

01/827

Thomas Abbott, father

22 January 1901

Registrar of Marriages

No	44
Date of Notice	22 January 1901
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Mason Abbott	Vera Miriam Love
BDM Match (78%)	Thomas Mason Abbott	Violet Miram Loose
	💍 1901/814
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Joiner
Age	20	16
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	20 years	16 years
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office
Folio	01/827
Consent	Thomas Abbott, father
Date of Certificate	22 January 1901
Officiating Minister	Registrar of Marriages

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 1908. 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).