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 260

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

4 February 1903

Mark Hope
Margaret Anne Power

Mark Hope
Margaret Anne Power
💍 1903/1701

Bachelor
Spinster

Carpenter
Domestic

40
36

Christchurch
Lyttelton

4 days
4 days

Registrar's Office, Christchurch

03/929

4 February 1903

Registrar, Christchurch

No	64
Date of Notice	4 February 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Mark Hope	Margaret Anne Power
	💍 1903/1701
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carpenter	Domestic
Age	40	36
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Lyttelton
Length of Residence	4 days	4 days
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office, Christchurch
Folio	03/929
Consent
Date of Certificate	4 February 1903
Officiating Minister	Registrar, Christchurch

5 February 1903

Lot Alleyne
Isabella Mutton

Lot Alleyne
Isabella Mutton
💍 1903/945

Bachelor
Widow

Laborer
Domestic

34
34

Christchurch
Christchurch

3 days
3 days

St. Saviour's

03/967

5 February 1903

Archdeacon Scott, Anglican

No	65
Date of Notice	5 February 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Lot Alleyne	Isabella Mutton
	💍 1903/945
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Laborer	Domestic
Age	34	34
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	St. Saviour's
Folio	03/967
Consent
Date of Certificate	5 February 1903
Officiating Minister	Archdeacon Scott, Anglican

7 February 1903

James Matthews
Annie Bridges

James Matthews
Annie Bridges
💍 1903/1702

Widower
Widow

Plasterer

50
50

Sydenham
Sydenham

25 years
30 years

Registrar's Office, Christchurch

03/930

7 February 1903

Registrar, Christchurch

No	66
Date of Notice	7 February 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Matthews	Annie Bridges
	💍 1903/1702
Condition	Widower	Widow
Profession	Plasterer
Age	50	50
Dwelling Place	Sydenham	Sydenham
Length of Residence	25 years	30 years
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office, Christchurch
Folio	03/930
Consent
Date of Certificate	7 February 1903
Officiating Minister	Registrar, Christchurch

7 February 1903

David Rowse
Elizabeth Taylor

David Rowse
Elizabeth Sarah Taylor
💍 1903/1087

David Burns
Sarah Elizabeth Taylor
💍 1903/168

Bachelor
Spinster

Railway Employee
Domestic

25
22

Opawa
Woolston

3 years
7 years

House of Mr. Taylor, Heathcote

03/1053

7 February 1903

Rev. J. Orchard, Methodist

No	67
Date of Notice	7 February 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	David Rowse	Elizabeth Taylor
BDM Match (86%)	David Rowse	Elizabeth Sarah Taylor
	💍 1903/1087
BDM Match (64%)	David Burns	Sarah Elizabeth Taylor
	💍 1903/168
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Railway Employee	Domestic
Age	25	22
Dwelling Place	Opawa	Woolston
Length of Residence	3 years	7 years
Marriage Place	House of Mr. Taylor, Heathcote
Folio	03/1053
Consent
Date of Certificate	7 February 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Orchard, Methodist

7 February 1903

Edward Lee
Jane Emily Reveley

Edward Gee
Jane Emily Revell Ellis
💍 1903/907

Bachelor
Spinster

Salesman
Domestic

35
28

Sydenham
Addington

20 years
15 years

St. Mary's

03/974

7 February 1903

Rev. W. S. Bean, Anglican

No	68
Date of Notice	7 February 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edward Lee	Jane Emily Reveley
BDM Match (80%)	Edward Gee	Jane Emily Revell Ellis
	💍 1903/907
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Salesman	Domestic
Age	35	28
Dwelling Place	Sydenham	Addington
Length of Residence	20 years	15 years
Marriage Place	St. Mary's
Folio	03/974
Consent
Date of Certificate	7 February 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. S. Bean, Anglican

9 February 1903

George Alexander Black
Margaret Lucy Patterson

George Alexander Black
Margaret Lucy Patterson
💍 1903/3136

Bachelor
Spinster

Fireman

25
22

Christchurch
Sydenham

4 days
8 years

House of Mr. Patterson, Taylor Street

03/1031

9 February 1903

Rev. W. Scripens, Presbyterian

No	69
Date of Notice	9 February 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Alexander Black	Margaret Lucy Patterson
	💍 1903/3136
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Fireman
Age	25	22
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Sydenham
Length of Residence	4 days	8 years
Marriage Place	House of Mr. Patterson, Taylor Street
Folio	03/1031
Consent
Date of Certificate	9 February 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. Scripens, Presbyterian

10 February 1903

Roland Booth
Myra Florence Rowley

Roland Boot
Myra Florence Rowley
💍 1903/908

Bachelor
Spinster

Art Designer

29
29

Christchurch
Christchurch

4 days
20 years

St. Michael's

03/983

10 February 1903

Rev. Canon Averill, Anglican

No	70
Date of Notice	10 February 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Roland Booth	Myra Florence Rowley
BDM Match (96%)	Roland Boot	Myra Florence Rowley
	💍 1903/908
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Art Designer
Age	29	29
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	4 days	20 years
Marriage Place	St. Michael's
Folio	03/983
Consent
Date of Certificate	10 February 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev. Canon Averill, Anglican

10 February 1903

William Duncan
Effie Lydia Murray

William Duncan Luke
Effie Lylia Murray
💍 1903/3131

Bachelor
Spinster

Clerk

32
25

Christchurch
Christchurch

5 days
4 days

St. Andrew's Manse

03/1005

10 February 1903

Rev. J. Mackenzie, Presbyterian

No	71
Date of Notice	10 February 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Duncan	Effie Lydia Murray
BDM Match (84%)	William Duncan Luke	Effie Lylia Murray
	💍 1903/3131
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Clerk
Age	32	25
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	5 days	4 days
Marriage Place	St. Andrew's Manse
Folio	03/1005
Consent
Date of Certificate	10 February 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 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).