Intentions to Marry, 1903 South Island

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840424, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

Imaged by Carole at Archives NZ Wellington, October 10 2025.

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

Page 255

District of Christchurch Quarter ending 31 March 1903 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

21 January 1903

Thomas James Kelly
Elizabeth Scott
decree absolute Aug 22 1902 NSW

Thomas James Kelly
Elizabeth Scott
💍 1903/1669

Bachelor
Divorced

Fireman
Domestic

29
27

Christchurch
Woolston

1 year
24 years

Registrar's Office Christchurch

03/920

21 January 1903

Registrar Marriages Christchurch

No	32
Date of Notice	21 January 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas James Kelly	Elizabeth Scott decree absolute Aug 22 1902 NSW
	💍 1903/1669
Condition	Bachelor	Divorced
Profession	Fireman	Domestic
Age	29	27
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Woolston
Length of Residence	1 year	24 years
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office Christchurch
Folio	03/920
Consent
Date of Certificate	21 January 1903
Officiating Minister	Registrar Marriages Christchurch

21 January 1903

George Alfred John Clifford
Ellen Turvey

George Alfred John Clifford
Ellen Turvery
💍 1903/1670

Bachelor
Spinster

Stoker
Domestic

24
23

Sydenham
Prebbleton

24 years
16 years

Registrar's Office

03/921

21 January 1903

Registrar Marriages Christchurch

No	33
Date of Notice	21 January 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Alfred John Clifford	Ellen Turvey
BDM Match (96%)	George Alfred John Clifford	Ellen Turvery
	💍 1903/1670
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Stoker	Domestic
Age	24	23
Dwelling Place	Sydenham	Prebbleton
Length of Residence	24 years	16 years
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office
Folio	03/921
Consent
Date of Certificate	21 January 1903
Officiating Minister	Registrar Marriages Christchurch

21 January 1903

Frederick William Barker
Annie Maria Sceats

Frederick William Barker
Annie Maria Sceats
💍 1903/1073

Bachelor
Spinster

Bachelor
Comedienne

32
32

Christchurch
Christchurch

1 year
1 year

Wesleyan Church, Durham Street, Christchurch

03/1063

21 January 1903

Rev. C. W. R. R. Barnes, Wesleyan

No	34
Date of Notice	21 January 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Frederick William Barker	Annie Maria Sceats
	💍 1903/1073
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Bachelor	Comedienne
Age	32	32
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	1 year	1 year
Marriage Place	Wesleyan Church, Durham Street, Christchurch
Folio	03/1063
Consent
Date of Certificate	21 January 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. W. R. R. Barnes, Wesleyan

21 January 1903

Edwin Howard Wood
Annie Molloy

Edwin Haswell Wood
Annie Molloy
💍 1903/1744

Bachelor
Spinster

Grocer

22
24

Linwood
Sydenham

10 months
2 months

House of R. S. Manifold, St Albans Lane, St Albans

03/1083

21 January 1903

Rev. S. Manifold, Church of Christ

No	35
Date of Notice	21 January 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edwin Howard Wood	Annie Molloy
BDM Match (86%)	Edwin Haswell Wood	Annie Molloy
	💍 1903/1744
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Grocer
Age	22	24
Dwelling Place	Linwood	Sydenham
Length of Residence	10 months	2 months
Marriage Place	House of R. S. Manifold, St Albans Lane, St Albans
Folio	03/1083
Consent
Date of Certificate	21 January 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev. S. Manifold, Church of Christ

22 January 1903

Arthur Sykes
Hannah Mawson Sanderson

Arthur Sykes
Hannah Mawson Sanderson
💍 1903/1678

Bachelor
Spinster

Carpenter
Domestic

25
25

Hillmortin
Hillmortin

19 years
3 years

Registrar's Office Christchurch

03/922

22 January 1903

Registrar Marriages Christchurch

No	36
Date of Notice	22 January 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Arthur Sykes	Hannah Mawson Sanderson
	💍 1903/1678
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carpenter	Domestic
Age	25	25
Dwelling Place	Hillmortin	Hillmortin
Length of Residence	19 years	3 years
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office Christchurch
Folio	03/922
Consent
Date of Certificate	22 January 1903
Officiating Minister	Registrar Marriages Christchurch

23 January 1903

Thomas Hayes
Clara Thompson

Thomas Hayes
Clara Philis Thompson
💍 1903/1708

Bachelor
Spinster

Mason

26
21

Christchurch
Christchurch

2 years
2 years

St. Paul's

03/1014

23 January 1903

Rev. S. R. Buchanan, Presbyterian

No	37
Date of Notice	23 January 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Hayes	Clara Thompson
BDM Match (83%)	Thomas Hayes	Clara Philis Thompson
	💍 1903/1708
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Mason
Age	26	21
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	2 years	2 years
Marriage Place	St. Paul's
Folio	03/1014
Consent
Date of Certificate	23 January 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev. S. R. Buchanan, Presbyterian

23 January 1903

Mark Cossar
Margaret Ellen McDowell

Monk Cossor
Margaret Ellen McDowell
💍 1903/1716

Bachelor
Spinster

Post Office Clerk
Tailoress

25
24

Christchurch
Sydenham

1 year
24 years

St. Andrew's Christchurch

03/1022

23 January 1903

Rev. J. MacKenzie, Presbyterian

No	38
Date of Notice	23 January 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Mark Cossar	Margaret Ellen McDowell
BDM Match (86%)	Monk Cossor	Margaret Ellen McDowell
	💍 1903/1716
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Post Office Clerk	Tailoress
Age	25	24
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Sydenham
Length of Residence	1 year	24 years
Marriage Place	St. Andrew's Christchurch
Folio	03/1022
Consent
Date of Certificate	23 January 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. MacKenzie, Presbyterian

26 January 1903

Oscar Abildgaar Moller
Leila Frances Myra Cottrell

Oscar Abildgaar Möller
Leila Frances Myra Cottrell
💍 1903/3150

Bachelor
Spinster

Engraver

27
22

Richmond
Christchurch

5 years
22 years

House of Mrs. Crystale, Colombo Street, Christchurch

03/1073

26 January 1903

Rev. J. MacKenzie, Presbyterian

No	39
Date of Notice	26 January 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Oscar Abildgaar Moller	Leila Frances Myra Cottrell
BDM Match (96%)	Oscar Abildgaar Möller	Leila Frances Myra Cottrell
	💍 1903/3150
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Engraver
Age	27	22
Dwelling Place	Richmond	Christchurch
Length of Residence	5 years	22 years
Marriage Place	House of Mrs. Crystale, Colombo Street, Christchurch
Folio	03/1073
Consent
Date of Certificate	26 January 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. MacKenzie, Presbyterian

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).