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 812

District of INVERCARGILL Quarter ending 30 September 1903 Registrar John Gaumon Peter

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

112

8 July 1903

Frederick Ross
Matilda Town

Fredrick Ross
Matilda Tocon
💍 1903/3225

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic

21
21

Tay Street, INVERCARGILL
Leet Street, INVERCARGILL

20 years
21 years

Office of the Registrar of Marriages, Invercargill

03/4640

8 July 1903

Registrar of Marriages, INVERCARGILL

No	112
Date of Notice	8 July 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Frederick Ross	Matilda Town
BDM Match (89%)	Fredrick Ross	Matilda Tocon
	💍 1903/3225
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic
Age	21	21
Dwelling Place	Tay Street, INVERCARGILL	Leet Street, INVERCARGILL
Length of Residence	20 years	21 years
Marriage Place	Office of the Registrar of Marriages, Invercargill
Folio	03/4640
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 July 1903
Officiating Minister	Registrar of Marriages, INVERCARGILL

113

10 July 1903

Charles Bloufield
Annie Jane North

Charles Blomfield
Annie Jane Nash
💍 1903/4767

Bachelor
Spinster

Yardman
Domestic

25
25

North INVERCARGILL
Conon Street, INVERCARGILL

25 years
20 years

English Church, Tay Street, INVERCARGILL

03/4649

10 July 1903

Ven Archdeacon Stocker

No	113
Date of Notice	10 July 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Bloufield	Annie Jane North
BDM Match (88%)	Charles Blomfield	Annie Jane Nash
	💍 1903/4767
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Yardman	Domestic
Age	25	25
Dwelling Place	North INVERCARGILL	Conon Street, INVERCARGILL
Length of Residence	25 years	20 years
Marriage Place	English Church, Tay Street, INVERCARGILL
Folio	03/4649
Consent
Date of Certificate	10 July 1903
Officiating Minister	Ven Archdeacon Stocker

114

17 July 1903

Joseph Soule
Bertha Catherine Benton

Joseph Soules
Bertha Catherine Bunton
💍 1903/4761

Bachelor
Widow

Labourer
Domestic

33
38

Kew, INVERCARGILL
North, INVERCARGILL

26 years
2 years

Office of the Registrar of Marriages, INVERCARGILL

03/4641

17 July 1903

Registrar of Marriages, INVERCARGILL

No	114
Date of Notice	17 July 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Joseph Soule	Bertha Catherine Benton
BDM Match (94%)	Joseph Soules	Bertha Catherine Bunton
	💍 1903/4761
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Labourer	Domestic
Age	33	38
Dwelling Place	Kew, INVERCARGILL	North, INVERCARGILL
Length of Residence	26 years	2 years
Marriage Place	Office of the Registrar of Marriages, INVERCARGILL
Folio	03/4641
Consent
Date of Certificate	17 July 1903
Officiating Minister	Registrar of Marriages, INVERCARGILL

115

17 July 1903

Charles Henry Williamson
Margaret Langford

Charles Henry Williamson
Margaret Langford
💍 1903/5017

Bachelor
Spinster

Postmaster
Domestic

28
22

Liddell Street, INVERCARGILL
Liddell Street, INVERCARGILL

4 months
9 days

Roman Catholic Presbytery, Eye Street, INVERCARGILL

03/4884

17 July 1903

Very Rev Dean Burke

No	115
Date of Notice	17 July 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Henry Williamson	Margaret Langford
	💍 1903/5017
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Postmaster	Domestic
Age	28	22
Dwelling Place	Liddell Street, INVERCARGILL	Liddell Street, INVERCARGILL
Length of Residence	4 months	9 days
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Presbytery, Eye Street, INVERCARGILL
Folio	03/4884
Consent
Date of Certificate	17 July 1903
Officiating Minister	Very Rev Dean Burke

116

18 July 1903

Thomas Hugh Gilmour
Alice Ethel Nalder

Horace Hugh Gilmour
Alice Ethel Wakeling
💍 1903/6453

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic

20
19

Ryal Bush, INVERCARGILL
Ryal Bush, INVERCARGILL

2 years
19 years

All Saints Church, Ryal Bush, Southland

03/6446

James Alexander Gilmour, Father; Joseph Nalder, Father

18 July 1903

Rev Wm Moodie

No	116
Date of Notice	18 July 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Hugh Gilmour	Alice Ethel Nalder
BDM Match (72%)	Horace Hugh Gilmour	Alice Ethel Wakeling
	💍 1903/6453
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic
Age	20	19
Dwelling Place	Ryal Bush, INVERCARGILL	Ryal Bush, INVERCARGILL
Length of Residence	2 years	19 years
Marriage Place	All Saints Church, Ryal Bush, Southland
Folio	03/6446
Consent	James Alexander Gilmour, Father; Joseph Nalder, Father
Date of Certificate	18 July 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev Wm Moodie

117

21 July 1903

Henry Swain
Sarah Isabella Miller Roote

Harry Swain
Sarah McKeller Baxter
💍 1903/4728

Widower
Spinster

Saw-mill hand
Domestic

21
20

Dee Street, INVERCARGILL
Sawmill Bush, INVERCARGILL

3 days
7 years

Presbyterian Church, Tay Street, INVERCARGILL

03/4657

Sarah Roote, Mother

21 July 1903

Rev J Gibson Smith

No	117
Date of Notice	21 July 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Henry Swain	Sarah Isabella Miller Roote
BDM Match (65%)	Harry Swain	Sarah McKeller Baxter
	💍 1903/4728
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Saw-mill hand	Domestic
Age	21	20
Dwelling Place	Dee Street, INVERCARGILL	Sawmill Bush, INVERCARGILL
Length of Residence	3 days	7 years
Marriage Place	Presbyterian Church, Tay Street, INVERCARGILL
Folio	03/4657
Consent	Sarah Roote, Mother
Date of Certificate	21 July 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev J Gibson Smith

118

22 July 1903

Robert Henry Selby
May Proctor

Robert Henry Tuckey
May Proctor
💍 1903/4730

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic

25
24

Underwood, INVERCARGILL
Midplains, INVERCARGILL

1 month
16 years

Residence of David Peter, Midplains

03/4659

22 July 1903

Rev J Henning

No	118
Date of Notice	22 July 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Robert Henry Selby	May Proctor
BDM Match (87%)	Robert Henry Tuckey	May Proctor
	💍 1903/4730
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic
Age	25	24
Dwelling Place	Underwood, INVERCARGILL	Midplains, INVERCARGILL
Length of Residence	1 month	16 years
Marriage Place	Residence of David Peter, Midplains
Folio	03/4659
Consent
Date of Certificate	22 July 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev J Henning

These records have been automatically transcribed and must be verified using the page image (below)

100% Contrast

100% Brightness

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).