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 508

District of Timaru Quarter ending 31 December 1903 Registrar Alexander Montgomery

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 November 1903

Robert Hogg
Lydia Trejase Thomas

Robert Hogg
Lydia Trezise Thomas
💍 1903/6147

Bachelor
Spinster

Baker
Domestic Duties

22
18

Timaru
Timaru

2 years
18 years

Dwellinghouse, Post Office Buildings of Henry Thomas, Timaru

03/6179

Henry Thomas, Father

21 November 1903

Rev. S. G. Scarpell, Wesleyan Minister

No	81
Date of Notice	21 November 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Robert Hogg	Lydia Trejase Thomas
BDM Match (95%)	Robert Hogg	Lydia Trezise Thomas
	💍 1903/6147
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Baker	Domestic Duties
Age	22	18
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	2 years	18 years
Marriage Place	Dwellinghouse, Post Office Buildings of Henry Thomas, Timaru
Folio	03/6179
Consent	Henry Thomas, Father
Date of Certificate	21 November 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev. S. G. Scarpell, Wesleyan Minister

27 November 1903

Alexander Golightly
Georgina Mary Griffiths

Alexander Golightly
Georgina Mary Griffiths
💍 1903/6144

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic Duties

25
21

Timaru
Timaru

1 month
21 years

Dwellinghouse of Walter John Griffiths, North St. Timaru

03/6176

27 November 1903

Rev. R. Jackson, Presbyterian Minister

No	82
Date of Notice	27 November 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Alexander Golightly	Georgina Mary Griffiths
	💍 1903/6144
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic Duties
Age	25	21
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	1 month	21 years
Marriage Place	Dwellinghouse of Walter John Griffiths, North St. Timaru
Folio	03/6176
Consent
Date of Certificate	27 November 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev. R. Jackson, Presbyterian Minister

29 November 1903

Benjamin Richard Barclay
Elizabeth Susannah McGill

Benjamin Richard Barkley
Elizabeth Susannah McGill
💍 1903/6622

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic Duties

25
25

Timaru
Timaru

25 years
2 years

Dwellinghouse of Bridegroom, Otipua Rd. Timaru

03/6652

29 November 1903

Rev. G. H. Mann, Primitive Methodist Minister

No	83
Date of Notice	29 November 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Benjamin Richard Barclay	Elizabeth Susannah McGill
BDM Match (96%)	Benjamin Richard Barkley	Elizabeth Susannah McGill
	💍 1903/6622
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic Duties
Age	25	25
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	25 years	2 years
Marriage Place	Dwellinghouse of Bridegroom, Otipua Rd. Timaru
Folio	03/6652
Consent
Date of Certificate	29 November 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev. G. H. Mann, Primitive Methodist Minister

28 November 1903

William Henry Cook
Elizabeth Harriett Joyer

William Henry Cook
Elizabeth Harriette Tozer
💍 1903/6213

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic Duties

35
22

Pleasant Point
Levels

35 years
10 years

Dwellinghouse of Frederick Joyer, Levels

03/6147

28 November 1903

Rev. G. White, Presbyterian Minister, Pleasant Point

No	84
Date of Notice	28 November 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Henry Cook	Elizabeth Harriett Joyer
BDM Match (94%)	William Henry Cook	Elizabeth Harriette Tozer
	💍 1903/6213
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic Duties
Age	35	22
Dwelling Place	Pleasant Point	Levels
Length of Residence	35 years	10 years
Marriage Place	Dwellinghouse of Frederick Joyer, Levels
Folio	03/6147
Consent
Date of Certificate	28 November 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev. G. White, Presbyterian Minister, Pleasant Point

1 December 1903

Hugh McMillan Irving
Martha Mills Lithgow

Hugh McMillan Ewing
Martha Mills Lithgow
💍 1903/6316

Bachelor
Spinster

Solicitor
Tailoress

29
26

Timaru
Glen-iti

4 days
12 months

Dwellinghouse of Rev. Thomas Stinson, Timaru

03/6184

1 December 1903

Rev. J. Stinson, Presbyterian Minister

No	85
Date of Notice	1 December 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Hugh McMillan Irving	Martha Mills Lithgow
BDM Match (93%)	Hugh McMillan Ewing	Martha Mills Lithgow
	💍 1903/6316
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Solicitor	Tailoress
Age	29	26
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Glen-iti
Length of Residence	4 days	12 months
Marriage Place	Dwellinghouse of Rev. Thomas Stinson, Timaru
Folio	03/6184
Consent
Date of Certificate	1 December 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Stinson, Presbyterian Minister

8 December 1903

David Ryall
Mary Ellen Newman

Denis Ryall
Mary Ann Newman
💍 1903/5923

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic Servant

29
30

Timaru
Timaru

4 years
2 years

Registrar's Office, Timaru

03/6163

8 December 1903

Alex. Montgomery, Registrar

No	86
Date of Notice	8 December 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	David Ryall	Mary Ellen Newman
BDM Match (75%)	Denis Ryall	Mary Ann Newman
	💍 1903/5923
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic Servant
Age	29	30
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	4 years	2 years
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office, Timaru
Folio	03/6163
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 December 1903
Officiating Minister	Alex. Montgomery, Registrar

11 December 1903

James Parr
Eva Isabel Gillies

James Parr
Flora Isabel Gillies
💍 1903/6502

Bachelor
Spinster

Railway Employee
Domestic Duties

28
23

Timaru
Oamaru

3 years
23 years

Dwellinghouse of A. Gillies, Glen St. N. Oamaru

03/6500

11 December 1903

Rev. R. G. Porter, Presbyterian Minister, Oamaru

No	87
Date of Notice	11 December 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Parr	Eva Isabel Gillies
BDM Match (90%)	James Parr	Flora Isabel Gillies
	💍 1903/6502
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Railway Employee	Domestic Duties
Age	28	23
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Oamaru
Length of Residence	3 years	23 years
Marriage Place	Dwellinghouse of A. Gillies, Glen St. N. Oamaru
Folio	03/6500
Consent
Date of Certificate	11 December 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev. R. G. Porter, Presbyterian Minister, Oamaru

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).