Intentions to Marry, 1902 South Island

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840422, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

Imaged by Luke and Carole at Archives NZ Wellington, October 3 and October 8, 2025.

1902 is bound in two volumes, North Island districts and South Island districts.

Page 791

District of Invercargill Quarter ending 31 December 1902 Registrar J. G. Peat

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

128

24 October 1902

George Holloway
Jean Tanged Youngsmith

George Holloway
Jean Fargie Young Smith
💍 1902/5949

Bachelor
Spinster

Miner
Domestic

37
35

Clifton, Invercargill
Mataura, Southland

6 years
2 months

Residence of Isabella

02/6106

24 October 1902

Rev. James Davidson

No	128
Date of Notice	24 October 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Holloway	Jean Tanged Youngsmith
BDM Match (87%)	George Holloway	Jean Fargie Young Smith
	💍 1902/5949
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Miner	Domestic
Age	37	35
Dwelling Place	Clifton, Invercargill	Mataura, Southland
Length of Residence	6 years	2 months
Marriage Place	Residence of Isabella
Folio	02/6106
Consent
Date of Certificate	24 October 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. James Davidson

129

3 November 1902

James Brown
Martha Jane Taylor

James Brown
Pearl May Stubbs
💍 1902/2507

James Brown
Mary Twolften
💍 1902/5793

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Housekeeper

54
20

Mataura, Invercargill
Mataura, Invercargill

41 years
16 months

Office of Registrar of Marriages, Invercargill

02/6067

Adam Ure

3 November 1902

Registrar of Marriages, Invercargill

No	129
Date of Notice	3 November 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Brown	Martha Jane Taylor
BDM Match (61%)	James Brown	Pearl May Stubbs
	💍 1902/2507
BDM Match (61%)	James Brown	Mary Twolften
	💍 1902/5793
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Housekeeper
Age	54	20
Dwelling Place	Mataura, Invercargill	Mataura, Invercargill
Length of Residence	41 years	16 months
Marriage Place	Office of Registrar of Marriages, Invercargill
Folio	02/6067
Consent	Adam Ure
Date of Certificate	3 November 1902
Officiating Minister	Registrar of Marriages, Invercargill

130

4 November 1902

Archibald William Anderson
Annie Eibon

Archibald William Anderson
Annie Gibson
💍 1902/6294

Bachelor
Spinster

Baker
Shopkeeper

34
33

Avenal, Invercargill
North Invercargill

20 years
23 years

Residence of Mrs. Eibon, North Invercargill

02/6087

4 November 1902

Rev. Geo. Lindsay

No	130
Date of Notice	4 November 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Archibald William Anderson	Annie Eibon
BDM Match (92%)	Archibald William Anderson	Annie Gibson
	💍 1902/6294
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Baker	Shopkeeper
Age	34	33
Dwelling Place	Avenal, Invercargill	North Invercargill
Length of Residence	20 years	23 years
Marriage Place	Residence of Mrs. Eibon, North Invercargill
Folio	02/6087
Consent
Date of Certificate	4 November 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. Geo. Lindsay

131

6 November 1902

James Augustus Beattie
Catherine Beattie

James Augustine Burke
Catherine Butler
💍 1902/6399

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic

29
22

Pace, Southland
Pace, Southland

29 years
7 years

St. George's R.C. Church, Clyde Street, Invercargill

02/6220

6 November 1902

Very Rev. Dean Burke

No	131
Date of Notice	6 November 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Augustus Beattie	Catherine Beattie
BDM Match (67%)	James Augustine Burke	Catherine Butler
	💍 1902/6399
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic
Age	29	22
Dwelling Place	Pace, Southland	Pace, Southland
Length of Residence	29 years	7 years
Marriage Place	St. George's R.C. Church, Clyde Street, Invercargill
Folio	02/6220
Consent
Date of Certificate	6 November 1902
Officiating Minister	Very Rev. Dean Burke

132

7 November 1902

Arthur Valentine Poole
Ella Maude Sheppard

Arthur Valentine Poole
Ella Maud Sheppard
💍 1902/6304

Bachelor
Spinster

Carpenter
Dressmaker

24
21

Teviot Street, Invercargill
Earn Street, Invercargill

9 years
15 years

Church of England, Tay Street, Invercargill

02/6074

7 November 1902

Ven. Archdn. Stocker

No	132
Date of Notice	7 November 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Arthur Valentine Poole	Ella Maude Sheppard
BDM Match (97%)	Arthur Valentine Poole	Ella Maud Sheppard
	💍 1902/6304
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carpenter	Dressmaker
Age	24	21
Dwelling Place	Teviot Street, Invercargill	Earn Street, Invercargill
Length of Residence	9 years	15 years
Marriage Place	Church of England, Tay Street, Invercargill
Folio	02/6074
Consent
Date of Certificate	7 November 1902
Officiating Minister	Ven. Archdn. Stocker

133

8 November 1902

Wallace Sycamore
Ada Lanchbury

Wallace Sycamore
Ada Lainchbury
💍 1902/5965

Widower
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic

33
24

Earn Street, Invercargill
Clifton, Invercargill

3 days
24 years

Residence of Mr. Lanchbury, Clifton, Southland

02/6098

8 November 1902

Rev. T. H. Lynn

No	133
Date of Notice	8 November 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Wallace Sycamore	Ada Lanchbury
BDM Match (96%)	Wallace Sycamore	Ada Lainchbury
	💍 1902/5965
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic
Age	33	24
Dwelling Place	Earn Street, Invercargill	Clifton, Invercargill
Length of Residence	3 days	24 years
Marriage Place	Residence of Mr. Lanchbury, Clifton, Southland
Folio	02/6098
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 November 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. T. H. Lynn

134

8 November 1902

Walter Day
Arabella Beattie Stevenson

Walter Oag
Arabella Beatrice Stevenson
💍 1902/6298

Bachelor
Spinster

Traveller
Shop Assistant

36
27

Don Street, Invercargill
Ritchie Street, East Invercargill

3 days
3 days

Residence of Fred Stevenson, Ritchie Street, East Invercargill

02/6073

8 November 1902

Rev. A. Stocker

No	134
Date of Notice	8 November 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Walter Day	Arabella Beattie Stevenson
BDM Match (86%)	Walter Oag	Arabella Beatrice Stevenson
	💍 1902/6298
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Traveller	Shop Assistant
Age	36	27
Dwelling Place	Don Street, Invercargill	Ritchie Street, East Invercargill
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	Residence of Fred Stevenson, Ritchie Street, East Invercargill
Folio	02/6073
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 November 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. Stocker

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).