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 262

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

5 February 1902

Henry Mortimer Leathem
Annette Maudine Agassiz

Henry Mortimer Leathem
Annette Vaudine Aggassiz
💍 1902/858

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer

36
26

Christchurch
Christchurch

20 Years
10 Years

St. Mary's Church, Manchester St.

02/1049

5 February 1902

Rev. R. H. Y. Marrack

No	64
Date of Notice	5 February 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Henry Mortimer Leathem	Annette Maudine Agassiz
BDM Match (96%)	Henry Mortimer Leathem	Annette Vaudine Aggassiz
	💍 1902/858
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer
Age	36	26
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	20 Years	10 Years
Marriage Place	St. Mary's Church, Manchester St.
Folio	02/1049
Consent
Date of Certificate	5 February 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. R. H. Y. Marrack

5 February 1902

George Edwin Good
Ethel Maud Fowke

George Edwin Good
Ethel Maud Fowke
💍 1902/1073

Bachelor
Spinster

Draper's Assistant
Saleswoman

30
23

Christchurch
Christchurch

10 Years
23 Years

St. John's Church

02/986

5 February 1902

Rev. J. G. Fielding

No	65
Date of Notice	5 February 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Edwin Good	Ethel Maud Fowke
	💍 1902/1073
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Draper's Assistant	Saleswoman
Age	30	23
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	10 Years	23 Years
Marriage Place	St. John's Church
Folio	02/986
Consent
Date of Certificate	5 February 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. G. Fielding

8 February 1902

John Smith
Matilda McKenna

John Smith
Matilda McKenna
💍 1902/853

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer

33
28

Christchurch
Christchurch

10 Years
25 Years

Residence of Mr. & Mrs. Milne, Lincoln Road

02/1044

8 February 1902

Rev. J. H. Simpson

No	66
Date of Notice	8 February 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Smith	Matilda McKenna
	💍 1902/853
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	33	28
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	10 Years	25 Years
Marriage Place	Residence of Mr. & Mrs. Milne, Lincoln Road
Folio	02/1044
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 February 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. H. Simpson

8 February 1902

David Francis Hollick
Rhoda Julia Cooper

David Francis Holland
Rhoda Julia Cooper
💍 1902/4310

Bachelor
Spinster

Clerk

27
20

Christchurch
Christchurch

2 Years
19 Years

Roman Catholic Pro-Cathedral

02/1118

Thornhill Cooper, Father

8 February 1902

Rev. H. McDonnell

No	67
Date of Notice	8 February 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	David Francis Hollick	Rhoda Julia Cooper
BDM Match (93%)	David Francis Holland	Rhoda Julia Cooper
	💍 1902/4310
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Clerk
Age	27	20
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	2 Years	19 Years
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Pro-Cathedral
Folio	02/1118
Consent	Thornhill Cooper, Father
Date of Certificate	8 February 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. H. McDonnell

8 February 1902

George Brock
Sarah Wilson

George Brock
Sarah Wilson
💍 1902/3473

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer

30
24

Christchurch
Christchurch

7 days
24 Years

Church of England

02/606

8 February 1902

Rev. W. J. P. Winter

No	68
Date of Notice	8 February 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Brock	Sarah Wilson
	💍 1902/3473
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer
Age	30	24
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	7 days	24 Years
Marriage Place	Church of England
Folio	02/606
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 February 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. J. P. Winter

10 February 1902

Charles Craig
Elizabeth Booth

Charles Craig
Elizabeth Booth
💍 1902/944

Bachelor
Spinster

Contractor
Governess

28
21

Christchurch
Christchurch

4 days
4 days

Registrar's Office

02/957

10 February 1902

Registrar of Marriages

No	69
Date of Notice	10 February 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Craig	Elizabeth Booth
	💍 1902/944
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Contractor	Governess
Age	28	21
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	4 days	4 days
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office
Folio	02/957
Consent
Date of Certificate	10 February 1902
Officiating Minister	Registrar of Marriages

10 February 1902

Alfred John Edwards
Mary Louisa Yeatman

Alfred John Edwards
Mary Louisa Yeatman
💍 1902/1068

Bachelor
Spinster

Bricklayer

23
20

Christchurch
Christchurch

1 Year
4 Years

St. Mary's Church, Addington

02/981

John Henry Yeatman, Father

10 February 1902

Rev. W. S. Beare

No	70
Date of Notice	10 February 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Alfred John Edwards	Mary Louisa Yeatman
	💍 1902/1068
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Bricklayer
Age	23	20
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	1 Year	4 Years
Marriage Place	St. Mary's Church, Addington
Folio	02/981
Consent	John Henry Yeatman, Father
Date of Certificate	10 February 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. S. Beare

11 February 1902

William Henry Alexander
Charlotte Ayers

William Henry Alexander
Charlotte Ayers
💍 1902/852

Bachelor
Spinster

Guard
Barmaid

24
28

Christchurch
Christchurch

7 Years
28 Years

Residence of Mr. Arthur Ayers, 231 Montreal St.

02/1037

11 February 1902

Rev. J. Finlayson

No	71
Date of Notice	11 February 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Henry Alexander	Charlotte Ayers
	💍 1902/852
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Guard	Barmaid
Age	24	28
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	7 Years	28 Years
Marriage Place	Residence of Mr. Arthur Ayers, 231 Montreal St.
Folio	02/1037
Consent
Date of Certificate	11 February 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Finlayson

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).