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 259

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

22 January 1902

James Robertson Clark
Katherine Elizabeth Robertson

James Robertson Clark
Katherine Elizabeth Robertson
💍 1902/510

Bachelor
Spinster

Letter

31
25

Christchurch
Christchurch

9 years
5 years

St. Andrews Church

02/150

22 January 1902

Rev. J. Macfarlane

No	40
Date of Notice	22 January 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Robertson Clark	Katherine Elizabeth Robertson
	💍 1902/510
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Letter
Age	31	25
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	9 years	5 years
Marriage Place	St. Andrews Church
Folio	02/150
Consent
Date of Certificate	22 January 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Macfarlane

23 January 1902

Edwin Solon Pimm
Mary Ann Florence Prattley

Edwin John Pimm
Mary Ann Florence Prattley
💍 1902/1080

Bachelor
Spinster

Carpenter

24
24

St. Albans
St. Albans

19 years
6 years

St. Matthews Church

02/992

23 January 1902

Rev. H. Williams

No	41
Date of Notice	23 January 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edwin Solon Pimm	Mary Ann Florence Prattley
BDM Match (91%)	Edwin John Pimm	Mary Ann Florence Prattley
	💍 1902/1080
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carpenter
Age	24	24
Dwelling Place	St. Albans	St. Albans
Length of Residence	19 years	6 years
Marriage Place	St. Matthews Church
Folio	02/992
Consent
Date of Certificate	23 January 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. H. Williams

24 January 1902

Robert Keir Henderson
Elizabeth Glass Henderson

Robert Keir Henderson
Elizabeth Glass
💍 1902/884

Bachelor
Spinster

Tailor
Tailoress

20
22

Christchurch
St. Albans

9 years
22 years

Residence of James J. Glass, St. Albans

02/1069

George Glass, father

24 January 1902

Rev. J. Richard

No	42
Date of Notice	24 January 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Robert Keir Henderson	Elizabeth Glass Henderson
BDM Match (80%)	Robert Keir Henderson	Elizabeth Glass
	💍 1902/884
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Tailor	Tailoress
Age	20	22
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	St. Albans
Length of Residence	9 years	22 years
Marriage Place	Residence of James J. Glass, St. Albans
Folio	02/1069
Consent	George Glass, father
Date of Certificate	24 January 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Richard

25 January 1902

Ernest Hellaw Henderson
Charlotte Alberta Meikleham

Ernest Hallam Henderson
Charlotte Alberta Meikleham
💍 1902/2097

Bachelor
Spinster

Draper
Shop Assistant

24
24

Christchurch
Christchurch

2 years
3 years

Presbyterian Church

02/1038

25 January 1902

Rev. J. H. Simpson

No	43
Date of Notice	25 January 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Ernest Hellaw Henderson	Charlotte Alberta Meikleham
BDM Match (96%)	Ernest Hallam Henderson	Charlotte Alberta Meikleham
	💍 1902/2097
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Draper	Shop Assistant
Age	24	24
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	2 years	3 years
Marriage Place	Presbyterian Church
Folio	02/1038
Consent
Date of Certificate	25 January 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. H. Simpson

25 January 1902

William Lesley Britt
Minnie Anna Doble Lock

William Lesley Britt
Minnie Anna Doble Lok
💍 1902/1066

Bachelor
Spinster

Latheman
Dressmaker

25
26

Christchurch
Christchurch

5 years
12 years

St. Mary's Church, Addington

02/979

25 January 1902

Rev. W. S. Bean

No	44
Date of Notice	25 January 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Lesley Britt	Minnie Anna Doble Lock
BDM Match (98%)	William Lesley Britt	Minnie Anna Doble Lok
	💍 1902/1066
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Latheman	Dressmaker
Age	25	26
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	5 years	12 years
Marriage Place	St. Mary's Church, Addington
Folio	02/979
Consent
Date of Certificate	25 January 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. S. Bean

27 January 1902

William James Rae
Maria Reese

William James Rae
Maria Reese
💍 1902/862

Bachelor
Spinster

Coachdriver

23
30

Christchurch
Sydenham

3 days
30 years

Residence of William Reese, 12 Goldsmith St.

02/1072

27 January 1902

Rev. W. Lee

No	45
Date of Notice	27 January 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William James Rae	Maria Reese
	💍 1902/862
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Coachdriver
Age	23	30
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Sydenham
Length of Residence	3 days	30 years
Marriage Place	Residence of William Reese, 12 Goldsmith St.
Folio	02/1072
Consent
Date of Certificate	27 January 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. Lee

27 January 1902

James Robert Johnston
Ethel Winifred Sweet

James Robert Johnston
Ethel Winifred Sweet
💍 1902/1081

Bachelor
Spinster

Merchant

38
25

Christchurch
St. Albans

4 days
25 years

St. Matthews Church

02/993

27 January 1902

Rev. H. Williams

No	46
Date of Notice	27 January 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Robert Johnston	Ethel Winifred Sweet
	💍 1902/1081
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Merchant
Age	38	25
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	St. Albans
Length of Residence	4 days	25 years
Marriage Place	St. Matthews Church
Folio	02/993
Consent
Date of Certificate	27 January 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. H. Williams

27 January 1902

William Henry Price
Mary Swanston

William Henry Price
Mary Swanston
💍 1902/963

Bachelor
Spinster

Salesman
Dressmaker

23
21

Christchurch
Christchurch

23 years
21 years

Registrar's Office

02/954

27 January 1902

Registrar, Christchurch

No	47
Date of Notice	27 January 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Henry Price	Mary Swanston
	💍 1902/963
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Salesman	Dressmaker
Age	23	21
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	23 years	21 years
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office
Folio	02/954
Consent
Date of Certificate	27 January 1902
Officiating Minister	Registrar, Christchurch

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).