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 261

District of Christchurch Quarter ending 31 March 1902 Registrar L. C. Williams

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

31 January 1902

Alfred Ernest Milne
Margaret Fitzpatrick

Alfred Ernest Milne
Margaret Fitzpatrick
💍 1902/4311

Bachelor
Spinster

Storeman
Upholsteress

24
24

Christchurch
Christchurch

24 years
21 years

Residence of James Fitzpatrick, 5 George St, Christchurch

02/119

31 January 1902

Rev. H. McEwan

No	56
Date of Notice	31 January 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Alfred Ernest Milne	Margaret Fitzpatrick
	💍 1902/4311
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Storeman	Upholsteress
Age	24	24
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	24 years	21 years
Marriage Place	Residence of James Fitzpatrick, 5 George St, Christchurch
Folio	02/119
Consent
Date of Certificate	31 January 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. H. McEwan

1 February 1902

William Henry Betteridge
Emily Jackson

William Henry Betteridge
Emily Jackson
💍 1902/822

Bachelor
Spinster

Blacksmith
Dressmaker

26
22

Christchurch
Christchurch

26 years
22 years

St. Mary's Church

02/1085

1 February 1902

Rev. H. Williams

No	57
Date of Notice	1 February 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Henry Betteridge	Emily Jackson
	💍 1902/822
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Blacksmith	Dressmaker
Age	26	22
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	26 years	22 years
Marriage Place	St. Mary's Church
Folio	02/1085
Consent
Date of Certificate	1 February 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. H. Williams

3 February 1902

Henry Killner
Agnes Jacobsen

Harry Killner
Agnes Jacobsen
💍 1902/2790

Bachelor
Spinster

Bookkeeper

27
26

Christchurch
Christchurch

21 years
21 years

St. Saviour's Church, Sydenham

02/2585

1 February 1902

Rev. R. A. Scott

No	58
Date of Notice	3 February 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Henry Killner	Agnes Jacobsen
BDM Match (92%)	Harry Killner	Agnes Jacobsen
	💍 1902/2790
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Bookkeeper
Age	27	26
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	21 years	21 years
Marriage Place	St. Saviour's Church, Sydenham
Folio	02/2585
Consent
Date of Certificate	1 February 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. R. A. Scott

3 February 1902

Henry William Kendler
Jessie Barclay Robertson

Henry William Gurdler
Jessie Barclay Robertson
💍 1902/874

Widower
Spinster

Bricklayer
Bootfitter

25
23

Christchurch
Christchurch

5 months
23 years

Residence of Mr. J. B. Robertson, 78 Montreal St, Christchurch

02/1083

3 February 1902

Rev. C. H. Laws

No	59
Date of Notice	3 February 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Henry William Kendler	Jessie Barclay Robertson
BDM Match (93%)	Henry William Gurdler	Jessie Barclay Robertson
	💍 1902/874
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Bricklayer	Bootfitter
Age	25	23
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	5 months	23 years
Marriage Place	Residence of Mr. J. B. Robertson, 78 Montreal St, Christchurch
Folio	02/1083
Consent
Date of Certificate	3 February 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. H. Laws

3 February 1902

William Benson Hooper
Sarah Wilson McDowell

William Benson Hooper
Sarah Wilson McDowell
💍 1902/823

Bachelor
Spinster

Railway Porter

29
23

Christchurch
Christchurch

7 years
23 years

St. Paul's Church

02/1076

3 February 1902

Rev. J. Elmslie

No	60
Date of Notice	3 February 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Benson Hooper	Sarah Wilson McDowell
	💍 1902/823
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Railway Porter
Age	29	23
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	7 years	23 years
Marriage Place	St. Paul's Church
Folio	02/1076
Consent
Date of Certificate	3 February 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Elmslie

3 February 1902

John Austin
Mary Letitia McTaffart

John Austin
Mary Letitia McTaggart
💍 1902/4312

Bachelor
Spinster

Ironmonger
Tailoress

31
29

Christchurch
Christchurch

14 years
29 years

Roman Catholic Presbytery, Barbados St

02/1120

3 February 1902

Rev. P. Q. Salerue

No	61
Date of Notice	3 February 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Austin	Mary Letitia McTaffart
BDM Match (95%)	John Austin	Mary Letitia McTaggart
	💍 1902/4312
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Ironmonger	Tailoress
Age	31	29
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	14 years	29 years
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Presbytery, Barbados St
Folio	02/1120
Consent
Date of Certificate	3 February 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. P. Q. Salerue

4 February 1902

John Robertson Renton
Mary Matthews Wallace

John Robertson Renton
Mary Matthews Wallace
💍 1902/855

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Saleswoman

36
32

Christchurch
Christchurch

3 days
10 years

Residence of James Outlerby, 190 Southbelt

02/1046

4 February 1902

Rev. J. Mackenzie

No	62
Date of Notice	4 February 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Robertson Renton	Mary Matthews Wallace
	💍 1902/855
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Saleswoman
Age	36	32
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	3 days	10 years
Marriage Place	Residence of James Outlerby, 190 Southbelt
Folio	02/1046
Consent
Date of Certificate	4 February 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Mackenzie

4 February 1902

Thomas Charles Rivers
Ellen Marsh

Thomas Charles Eivers
Ellen Marsh
💍 1902/857

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Dressmaker

33
29

Papanui
Papanui

4 years
29 years

Roman Catholic Church, Manchester St

02/1048

4 February 1902

Rev. M. Marnane

No	63
Date of Notice	4 February 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Charles Rivers	Ellen Marsh
BDM Match (98%)	Thomas Charles Eivers	Ellen Marsh
	💍 1902/857
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Dressmaker
Age	33	29
Dwelling Place	Papanui	Papanui
Length of Residence	4 years	29 years
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Church, Manchester St
Folio	02/1048
Consent
Date of Certificate	4 February 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. M. Marnane

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).