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 359

District of Ellesmere Quarter ending 30 June 1902 Registrar C. S. Denby

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

1 April 1902

Thomas Francis Bray
Eva Rebecca Marshall

Thomas Francis Bray
Eva Rebecca Marshall
💍 1902/3200

Bachelor
Spinster

Butcher
Domestic

34
24

Petone
Petone

12 years
4 years

St. James Church, Southbridge

02/677

1 April 1902

Rev. W. H. Orbell

No	10
Date of Notice	1 April 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Francis Bray	Eva Rebecca Marshall
	💍 1902/3200
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Butcher	Domestic
Age	34	24
Dwelling Place	Petone	Petone
Length of Residence	12 years	4 years
Marriage Place	St. James Church, Southbridge
Folio	02/677
Consent
Date of Certificate	1 April 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. H. Orbell

7 April 1902

Richard Rowe
Caroline Ann Eddy

Richard Rowe
Caroline Ann Eddy
💍 1902/6459

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic

40
20

Southbridge
Southbridge

15 years
7 years

St. James Church, Southbridge

02/678

Wm. Henry Eddy, father

7 April 1902

Rev. F. G. Cocks

No	11
Date of Notice	7 April 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Richard Rowe	Caroline Ann Eddy
	💍 1902/6459
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic
Age	40	20
Dwelling Place	Southbridge	Southbridge
Length of Residence	15 years	7 years
Marriage Place	St. James Church, Southbridge
Folio	02/678
Consent	Wm. Henry Eddy, father
Date of Certificate	7 April 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. F. G. Cocks

15 April 1902

Arthur Henry Dearnley
Sarah McJarrow

Arthur Henry Dearnley
Sarah McJarrow
💍 1902/2929

Widower
Spinster

Farmer
Housemaid

38
36

Springston
Southbridge

33 years
2 years

Geo Simpson's House, Milltown

02/684

15 April 1902

Rev. R. W. Jackson

No	12
Date of Notice	15 April 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Arthur Henry Dearnley	Sarah McJarrow
	💍 1902/2929
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Housemaid
Age	38	36
Dwelling Place	Springston	Southbridge
Length of Residence	33 years	2 years
Marriage Place	Geo Simpson's House, Milltown
Folio	02/684
Consent
Date of Certificate	15 April 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. R. W. Jackson

17 April 1902

Robert Lambie
Mary Lochhead Jamieson

Robert Lambie
Mary Lockhead Jamieson
💍 1902/3203

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer

29
27

Pihama
Leeston

17 years
27 years

Presbyterian Church, Leeston

02/681

17 April 1902

Rev. W. Grant

No	13
Date of Notice	17 April 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Robert Lambie	Mary Lochhead Jamieson
BDM Match (98%)	Robert Lambie	Mary Lockhead Jamieson
	💍 1902/3203
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	29	27
Dwelling Place	Pihama	Leeston
Length of Residence	17 years	27 years
Marriage Place	Presbyterian Church, Leeston
Folio	02/681
Consent
Date of Certificate	17 April 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. Grant

26 April 1902

George Gosset
Mary Lochhead Rennie

George Gosset
Mary Lockhead Rennie
💍 1902/3202

Widower
Spinster

Medical Practitioner

54
32

Leeston
Doyleston

18 years
32 years

St. David's Church, Leeston

02/680

26 April 1902

Rev. W. Grant

No	14
Date of Notice	26 April 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Gosset	Mary Lochhead Rennie
BDM Match (98%)	George Gosset	Mary Lockhead Rennie
	💍 1902/3202
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Medical Practitioner
Age	54	32
Dwelling Place	Leeston	Doyleston
Length of Residence	18 years	32 years
Marriage Place	St. David's Church, Leeston
Folio	02/680
Consent
Date of Certificate	26 April 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. Grant

29 April 1902

William Walter Vaughan
Beatrice Sarah Withell

William Walter Vaughan
Beatrice Sarah Withell
💍 1902/3201

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer

23
26

Amberley
Brookside

3 weeks
26 years

St Mary's Church, Irwell

02/679

29 April 1902

Rev. W. H. Onbell

No	15
Date of Notice	29 April 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Walter Vaughan	Beatrice Sarah Withell
	💍 1902/3201
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	23	26
Dwelling Place	Amberley	Brookside
Length of Residence	3 weeks	26 years
Marriage Place	St Mary's Church, Irwell
Folio	02/679
Consent
Date of Certificate	29 April 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. H. Onbell

21 May 1902

Oliver Thomas McManaway
Margaret Alen Monica Holley

Oliver Thomas McManaway
Margaret Ellen Monica Holley
💍 1902/4361

Bachelor
Spinster

Telegraphist

33
35

Wellington
Leeston

7 years
9 years

Roman Catholic Church, Leeston

02/4168

21 May 1902

Rev. F. G. Holley

No	16
Date of Notice	21 May 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Oliver Thomas McManaway	Margaret Alen Monica Holley
BDM Match (96%)	Oliver Thomas McManaway	Margaret Ellen Monica Holley
	💍 1902/4361
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Telegraphist
Age	33	35
Dwelling Place	Wellington	Leeston
Length of Residence	7 years	9 years
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Church, Leeston
Folio	02/4168
Consent
Date of Certificate	21 May 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. F. G. Holley

22 May 1902

Charles Alexander Wright
Bertha Mary Gates

Charles Alexander Wright
Bertha Mary Gales
💍 1902/2923

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer

29
25

Dunsandel
Southbridge

17 years
14 years

Church of England, Southbridge

02/685

22 May 1902

Rev. P. G. Cocks

No	17
Date of Notice	22 May 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Alexander Wright	Bertha Mary Gates
BDM Match (97%)	Charles Alexander Wright	Bertha Mary Gales
	💍 1902/2923
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	29	25
Dwelling Place	Dunsandel	Southbridge
Length of Residence	17 years	14 years
Marriage Place	Church of England, Southbridge
Folio	02/685
Consent
Date of Certificate	22 May 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. P. G. Cocks

14 June 1902

John Patterson
Louisa Jane Jones

John Patterson
Louisa Jane Jones
💍 1902/2912

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer

27
19

Taumutu
Dunsandel

25 years
19 years

Josiah Jones House, Dunsandel

02/682

14 June 1902

Rev. W. Grant

No	18
Date of Notice	14 June 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Patterson	Louisa Jane Jones
	💍 1902/2912
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer
Age	27	19
Dwelling Place	Taumutu	Dunsandel
Length of Residence	25 years	19 years
Marriage Place	Josiah Jones House, Dunsandel
Folio	02/682
Consent
Date of Certificate	14 June 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. Grant

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 1908. 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).