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 260

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

28 January 1902

Samuel Evans
Elizabeth Edinborough Cockayne

Samuel Evans
Elizabeth Edinburgh Cockayne
💍 1902/511

Bachelor
Spinster

Coachman

32
26

Christchurch
Christchurch

4 days
9 Years

Residence of J. Cockayne, 192 Hereford St, Christchurch

02/1507

28 January 1902

Rev. J. Mackenzie

No	48
Date of Notice	28 January 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Samuel Evans	Elizabeth Edinborough Cockayne
BDM Match (95%)	Samuel Evans	Elizabeth Edinburgh Cockayne
	💍 1902/511
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Coachman
Age	32	26
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	4 days	9 Years
Marriage Place	Residence of J. Cockayne, 192 Hereford St, Christchurch
Folio	02/1507
Consent
Date of Certificate	28 January 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Mackenzie

28 January 1902

Alexander McMillan
Jane Shukers

Alexander McMillan
Jane Slunker
💍 1902/1067

Bachelor
Spinster

Commercial Traveller
Lady Help

28
25

Christchurch
Addington

3 days
2 years

St. Mary's Church, Christchurch

02/980

28 January 1902

Rev. W. S. Reau

No	49
Date of Notice	28 January 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Alexander McMillan	Jane Shukers
BDM Match (88%)	Alexander McMillan	Jane Slunker
	💍 1902/1067
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Commercial Traveller	Lady Help
Age	28	25
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Addington
Length of Residence	3 days	2 years
Marriage Place	St. Mary's Church, Christchurch
Folio	02/980
Consent
Date of Certificate	28 January 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. S. Reau

28 January 1902

James Bearpark
Lucy Goodwine

James Bearpark
Lucy Goodwin
💍 1902/2787

Bachelor
Spinster

Gardener
Dressmaker

28
31

Christchurch
Riccarton

14 years
6 years

St. Peter's Church, Christchurch

02/2605

28 January 1902

Rev. J. P. Miller

No	50
Date of Notice	28 January 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Bearpark	Lucy Goodwine
BDM Match (96%)	James Bearpark	Lucy Goodwin
	💍 1902/2787
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Gardener	Dressmaker
Age	28	31
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Riccarton
Length of Residence	14 years	6 years
Marriage Place	St. Peter's Church, Christchurch
Folio	02/2605
Consent
Date of Certificate	28 January 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. P. Miller

28 January 1902

Peter Chalmers
Isabella Anne Frude

Peter Chalmers
Isabella Anne Frude
💍 1902/964

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer

32
24

Christchurch
Christchurch

5 years
5 years

Registrar's Office, Christchurch

02/955

28 January 1902

Registrar of Marriages

No	51
Date of Notice	28 January 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Peter Chalmers	Isabella Anne Frude
	💍 1902/964
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer
Age	32	24
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	5 years	5 years
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office, Christchurch
Folio	02/955
Consent
Date of Certificate	28 January 1902
Officiating Minister	Registrar of Marriages

29 January 1902

Patrick Callan
Mary Sargisson

Patrick Callace
Mary Sargisson
💍 1902/943

Bachelor
Widow

Labourer

36
46

Christchurch
Christchurch

3 days
3 days

Registrar's Office, Christchurch

02/956

29 January 1902

Registrar of Marriages

No	52
Date of Notice	29 January 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Patrick Callan	Mary Sargisson
BDM Match (93%)	Patrick Callace	Mary Sargisson
	💍 1902/943
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Labourer
Age	36	46
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office, Christchurch
Folio	02/956
Consent
Date of Certificate	29 January 1902
Officiating Minister	Registrar of Marriages

29 January 1902

Thomas Boyd
Elizabeth Bruere

Thomas Boyd
Elizabeth Bruere
💍 1902/933

Widower
Widow

Bicycle Maker
Farmer

53
44

Christchurch
Balcairn

9 years
9 years

Church of England, Balcairn, Ashley

02/1142

29 January 1902

Rev. H. E. East

No	53
Date of Notice	29 January 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Boyd	Elizabeth Bruere
	💍 1902/933
Condition	Widower	Widow
Profession	Bicycle Maker	Farmer
Age	53	44
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Balcairn
Length of Residence	9 years	9 years
Marriage Place	Church of England, Balcairn, Ashley
Folio	02/1142
Consent
Date of Certificate	29 January 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. H. E. East

30 January 1902

Edward Ernest Barber
Alice Ada Gray

Edward Ernest Barber
Alice Ada Gray
💍 1902/860

Bachelor
Spinster

Bookseller

22
24

Christchurch
Christchurch

22 years
24 years

Wesleyan Church, Durham St, Christchurch

02/1061

30 January 1902

Rev. W. Baumber

No	54
Date of Notice	30 January 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edward Ernest Barber	Alice Ada Gray
	💍 1902/860
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Bookseller
Age	22	24
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	22 years	24 years
Marriage Place	Wesleyan Church, Durham St, Christchurch
Folio	02/1061
Consent
Date of Certificate	30 January 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. Baumber

31 January 1902

William Jamieson
Grace Mary Edith Browne

William Jamieson
Grace Mary Edith Browne
💍 1902/2096

Bachelor
Spinster

Clerk
Shop Assistant

29
27

Christchurch
Avonside

29 years
20 years

Church of England, Avonside

02/996

31 January 1902

Rev. W. A. Pascoe

No	55
Date of Notice	31 January 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Jamieson	Grace Mary Edith Browne
	💍 1902/2096
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Clerk	Shop Assistant
Age	29	27
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Avonside
Length of Residence	29 years	20 years
Marriage Place	Church of England, Avonside
Folio	02/996
Consent
Date of Certificate	31 January 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. A. Pascoe

These records have been automatically transcribed and must be verified using the page image (below)

100% Contrast

100% Brightness

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).