Intentions to Marry, 1903 North Island

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840423, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

Imaged by Luke at Archives NZ Wellington, October 10 2025

1903 is bound in two volumes, North Island districts and South Island districts.

Page 678

District of Eltham Quarter ending 31 March 1903 Registrar James William Middleton

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 January 1903

John Muir
Florence Mabel Upsall

John Muir
Florence Mabel Upsell
💍 1903/677

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
domestic duties

29
25

Eltham
Eltham

3 days
1 year

At the Presbyterian Manse Eltham

03/294

5 January 1903

Rev. J. H. G. Chapple

No	93
Date of Notice	5 January 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Muir	Florence Mabel Upsall
BDM Match (98%)	John Muir	Florence Mabel Upsell
	💍 1903/677
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	domestic duties
Age	29	25
Dwelling Place	Eltham	Eltham
Length of Residence	3 days	1 year
Marriage Place	At the Presbyterian Manse Eltham
Folio	03/294
Consent
Date of Certificate	5 January 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. H. G. Chapple

16 January 1903

George Leonard Coleman
Sarah Kenny

George Leonard Coleman
Sarah Kenny
💍 1903/678

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
domestic duties

32
23

Eltham
Ngaire

3 days
17 years

At the house of Mr. Kenny Ngaire

03/295

16 January 1903

Rev. J. H. G. Chapple

No	94
Date of Notice	16 January 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Leonard Coleman	Sarah Kenny
	💍 1903/678
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	domestic duties
Age	32	23
Dwelling Place	Eltham	Ngaire
Length of Residence	3 days	17 years
Marriage Place	At the house of Mr. Kenny Ngaire
Folio	03/295
Consent
Date of Certificate	16 January 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. H. G. Chapple

19 January 1903

Alfred Benjamin Morgan
Lilian Elizabeth Robinson

Alfred Benjamen Morgan
Lilian Elizabeth Robinson
💍 1903/4026

Bachelor
Spinster

Railway hand
domestic duties

28
22

Eltham
Eltham

3 days
10 years

At the Primitive Methodist Church Eltham

03/3558

19 January 1903

Rev. J. R. B. Woollocall

No	95
Date of Notice	19 January 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Alfred Benjamin Morgan	Lilian Elizabeth Robinson
BDM Match (98%)	Alfred Benjamen Morgan	Lilian Elizabeth Robinson
	💍 1903/4026
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Railway hand	domestic duties
Age	28	22
Dwelling Place	Eltham	Eltham
Length of Residence	3 days	10 years
Marriage Place	At the Primitive Methodist Church Eltham
Folio	03/3558
Consent
Date of Certificate	19 January 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. R. B. Woollocall

16 March 1903

Richard Inch
Emma Haigh

Richard Inch
Emma Haigh
💍 1903/679

Bachelor
Spinster

Wharf hand
domestic duties

28
26

Eltham
Eltham

3 days
4 weeks

At the house of Mr. J. Commera Eltham

03/296

16 March 1903

Rev. J. R. B. Woollocall

No	96
Date of Notice	16 March 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Richard Inch	Emma Haigh
	💍 1903/679
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Wharf hand	domestic duties
Age	28	26
Dwelling Place	Eltham	Eltham
Length of Residence	3 days	4 weeks
Marriage Place	At the house of Mr. J. Commera Eltham
Folio	03/296
Consent
Date of Certificate	16 March 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. R. B. Woollocall

16 March 1903

Ernest Augustus Death
Doris Dora Davies

Ernest Augustus Death
Ivor Dora Eliza Davies
💍 1903/682

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
domestic duties

25
19

Eltham
Eltham

5 years
6 years

Church of England Eltham

03/298

Eliza Davies, Mother

16 March 1903

Rev. E. J. McConnell

No	97
Date of Notice	16 March 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Ernest Augustus Death	Doris Dora Davies
BDM Match (77%)	Ernest Augustus Death	Ivor Dora Eliza Davies
	💍 1903/682
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	domestic duties
Age	25	19
Dwelling Place	Eltham	Eltham
Length of Residence	5 years	6 years
Marriage Place	Church of England Eltham
Folio	03/298
Consent	Eliza Davies, Mother
Date of Certificate	16 March 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev. E. J. McConnell

24 March 1903

Edward Revell
Rose Eliza Fitch

Edward Revell
Rose Eliza Fitch
💍 1903/680

Widower
Widow

Farmer
domestic duties

44
36

Eltham
Eltham

10 years
8 years

At the house of the Bridegroom

03/297

24 March 1903

Rev. J. R. B. Woollocall

No	98
Date of Notice	24 March 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edward Revell	Rose Eliza Fitch
	💍 1903/680
Condition	Widower	Widow
Profession	Farmer	domestic duties
Age	44	36
Dwelling Place	Eltham	Eltham
Length of Residence	10 years	8 years
Marriage Place	At the house of the Bridegroom
Folio	03/297
Consent
Date of Certificate	24 March 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. R. B. Woollocall

25 March 1903

William Henry Eayrs
Mary Daines

William Henry Eayre
Mary Jane Daines
💍 1903/683

William Henry Lyons
Mary Kirby
💍 1903/3850

William Henry Fricker
Mary Manning
💍 1903/3868

William Henry Thomas
Mary Emily Tester
💍 1904/2810

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
domestic duties

22
21

Eltham
Eltham

3 months
10 years

At the Registrar's Office Eltham

03/299

25 March 1903

J. W. Middleton, Registrar Eltham

No	99
Date of Notice	25 March 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Henry Eayrs	Mary Daines
BDM Match (82%)	William Henry Eayre	Mary Jane Daines
	💍 1903/683
BDM Match (67%)	William Henry Lyons	Mary Kirby
	💍 1903/3850
BDM Match (63%)	William Henry Fricker	Mary Manning
	💍 1903/3868
BDM Match (61%)	William Henry Thomas	Mary Emily Tester
	💍 1904/2810
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	domestic duties
Age	22	21
Dwelling Place	Eltham	Eltham
Length of Residence	3 months	10 years
Marriage Place	At the Registrar's Office Eltham
Folio	03/299
Consent
Date of Certificate	25 March 1903
Officiating Minister	J. W. Middleton, Registrar Eltham

100

25 March 1903

Harry Smith
Jane Hall

Harry Smith
Jane Hall
💍 1903/4027

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
domestic duties

26
22

Eltham
Eltham

2 years
1 month

At the House of Mr. Thomas Partridge Eltham

03/3559

25 March 1903

Rev. J. R. B. Woollocall

No	100
Date of Notice	25 March 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Harry Smith	Jane Hall
	💍 1903/4027
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	domestic duties
Age	26	22
Dwelling Place	Eltham	Eltham
Length of Residence	2 years	1 month
Marriage Place	At the House of Mr. Thomas Partridge Eltham
Folio	03/3559
Consent
Date of Certificate	25 March 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. R. B. Woollocall

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).