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 458

District of Rangiora Quarter ending 31 March 1902 Registrar Geo F Furby

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

6 January 1902

George Sides
Emma Maud Ranby

George Sides
Emma Maud Ranby
💍 1902/969

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
None

42
26

Morven
Rangiora

2 years
3 years

House of John Ranby, Rangiora

02/1157

6 January 1902

Rev S Barnett

No	1
Date of Notice	6 January 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Sides	Emma Maud Ranby
	💍 1902/969
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	None
Age	42	26
Dwelling Place	Morven	Rangiora
Length of Residence	2 years	3 years
Marriage Place	House of John Ranby, Rangiora
Folio	02/1157
Consent
Date of Certificate	6 January 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev S Barnett

7 January 1902

William Sanson
Lucy Willis

William Sanson
Lucy Willis
💍 1902/870

Widower
Widow

Farmer
Saleswoman

57
47

Southbrook
Christchurch

27 years
20 years

House of Lucy Willis, Christchurch

02/1080

7 January 1902

Rev C H Laws

No	2
Date of Notice	7 January 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Sanson	Lucy Willis
	💍 1902/870
Condition	Widower	Widow
Profession	Farmer	Saleswoman
Age	57	47
Dwelling Place	Southbrook	Christchurch
Length of Residence	27 years	20 years
Marriage Place	House of Lucy Willis, Christchurch
Folio	02/1080
Consent
Date of Certificate	7 January 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev C H Laws

8 January 1902

John Power
Mary Catherwood

John Power
Mary Catherwood
💍 1902/973

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
None

29
28

Ohoka
Springbank

12 years
28 years

Roman Catholic Church, Rangiora

02/1161

8 January 1902

Rev W Hyland

No	3
Date of Notice	8 January 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Power	Mary Catherwood
	💍 1902/973
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	None
Age	29	28
Dwelling Place	Ohoka	Springbank
Length of Residence	12 years	28 years
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Church, Rangiora
Folio	02/1161
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 January 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev W Hyland

24 January 1902

Richard Morrish Griffen
Amy Margaret Ellwood

Richard Morrish Griffin
Amy Margaret Ellwood
💍 1902/972

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
None

40
28

North Loburn
Ashley

8 years
28 years

Church of England

02/1160

24 January 1902

Rev H E East

No	4
Date of Notice	24 January 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Richard Morrish Griffen	Amy Margaret Ellwood
BDM Match (98%)	Richard Morrish Griffin	Amy Margaret Ellwood
	💍 1902/972
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	None
Age	40	28
Dwelling Place	North Loburn	Ashley
Length of Residence	8 years	28 years
Marriage Place	Church of England
Folio	02/1160
Consent
Date of Certificate	24 January 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev H E East

27 January 1902

Samuel Clarke Hewitt
Lucy Chambers

Samuel Clarke Hewitt
Lucy Chambers
💍 1902/3227

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
None

26
30

Hawarden
Fernside

3 weeks
30 years

Church of England

02/0730

27 January 1902

Rev F P Fendall

No	5
Date of Notice	27 January 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Samuel Clarke Hewitt	Lucy Chambers
	💍 1902/3227
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	None
Age	26	30
Dwelling Place	Hawarden	Fernside
Length of Residence	3 weeks	30 years
Marriage Place	Church of England
Folio	02/0730
Consent
Date of Certificate	27 January 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev F P Fendall

11 February 1902

William Marshall Kerr
Nellie Alice Smith

William Marshall Kerr
Nellie Alice Smith
💍 1902/970

Bachelor
Spinster

Telegraphest
None

25
21

Christchurch
Rangiora

12 years
8 years

Wesleyan Church, Rangiora

02/1158

11 February 1902

Rev S Barnett

No	6
Date of Notice	11 February 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Marshall Kerr	Nellie Alice Smith
	💍 1902/970
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Telegraphest	None
Age	25	21
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Rangiora
Length of Residence	12 years	8 years
Marriage Place	Wesleyan Church, Rangiora
Folio	02/1158
Consent
Date of Certificate	11 February 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev S Barnett

20 February 1902

Thomas Andrew Moorhouse
Evelina Gertrude Moorhouse

Thomas Andrew
Evelina Gertrude Moorhouse
💍 1902/971

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
None

34
26

Palmerston North
Rangiora

4 months
14 years

House of Ellen Moorhouse, Rangiora

02/1159

20 February 1902

Rev S Barnett

No	7
Date of Notice	20 February 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Andrew Moorhouse	Evelina Gertrude Moorhouse
BDM Match (78%)	Thomas Andrew	Evelina Gertrude Moorhouse
	💍 1902/971
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	None
Age	34	26
Dwelling Place	Palmerston North	Rangiora
Length of Residence	4 months	14 years
Marriage Place	House of Ellen Moorhouse, Rangiora
Folio	02/1159
Consent
Date of Certificate	20 February 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev S Barnett

21 February 1902

John Pratt Andrews
Catherine Annie MacDonald

John Pratt Andrews
Catherine Annie MacDonald
💍 1902/975

Bachelor
Spinster

Twine Maker
None

40
30

Waikuku
Waikuku

17 years
29 years

Church of England, Woodend

02/1163

21 February 1902

Rev J Holland

No	8
Date of Notice	21 February 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Pratt Andrews	Catherine Annie MacDonald
	💍 1902/975
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Twine Maker	None
Age	40	30
Dwelling Place	Waikuku	Waikuku
Length of Residence	17 years	29 years
Marriage Place	Church of England, Woodend
Folio	02/1163
Consent
Date of Certificate	21 February 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev J Holland

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).