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 379

District of Geraldine Quarter ending 30 June 1903 Registrar A. Andrews

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

629

19 May 1903

Charles Thomas Major
Mabel Halder

Charles Thomas Major
Mabel Nalder
💍 1903/3896

Bachelor
Spinster

Schoolmaster

33
21

Woodside, Pleasant Valley
Woodside, Pleasant Valley

3 days
1 week

S. Mary's Church, Geraldine

03/3268

19 May 1903

Rev. Stephen Hamilton, Church of England

No	629
Date of Notice	19 May 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Thomas Major	Mabel Halder
BDM Match (96%)	Charles Thomas Major	Mabel Nalder
	💍 1903/3896
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Schoolmaster
Age	33	21
Dwelling Place	Woodside, Pleasant Valley	Woodside, Pleasant Valley
Length of Residence	3 days	1 week
Marriage Place	S. Mary's Church, Geraldine
Folio	03/3268
Consent
Date of Certificate	19 May 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev. Stephen Hamilton, Church of England

630

23 May 1903

William Smothers
Isabella Kirlake

William Struthers
Isabella Kerslake
💍 1903/2924

Widower
Spinster

Shepherd
Domestic Duties

45
22

Muskleburn
Waterude Farm near Pleasant Point

4 years
2 years

The House of Mr. Robert Kirlake

03/2790

23 May 1903

Rev. Joseph White, Presbyterian

No	630
Date of Notice	23 May 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Smothers	Isabella Kirlake
BDM Match (85%)	William Struthers	Isabella Kerslake
	💍 1903/2924
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Shepherd	Domestic Duties
Age	45	22
Dwelling Place	Muskleburn	Waterude Farm near Pleasant Point
Length of Residence	4 years	2 years
Marriage Place	The House of Mr. Robert Kirlake
Folio	03/2790
Consent
Date of Certificate	23 May 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev. Joseph White, Presbyterian

631

27 May 1903

Kyran Michael Brophy
Rosanna Catherine Tierney

Kyran Michael Brophy
Rosanna Catherine Toomey
💍 1903/2925

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic Duties

24
21

Pleasant Valley
Hilton

2 years
2 years

Roman Catholic Church

03/2791

27 May 1903

Rev. H. G. Bowers, Roman Catholic

No	631
Date of Notice	27 May 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Kyran Michael Brophy	Rosanna Catherine Tierney
BDM Match (92%)	Kyran Michael Brophy	Rosanna Catherine Toomey
	💍 1903/2925
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic Duties
Age	24	21
Dwelling Place	Pleasant Valley	Hilton
Length of Residence	2 years	2 years
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Church
Folio	03/2791
Consent
Date of Certificate	27 May 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev. H. G. Bowers, Roman Catholic

632

2 June 1903

Hugh Seathern
Gertrude Kathleen Gillum

Hugh Leathem
Gertrude Kathleen Gillum
💍 1903/2926

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic Duties

31
22

Geraldine Flat
Geraldine Flat

3 days
2 years

Roman Catholic Church

03/2792

3 June 1903

Rev. H. G. Bowers, Roman Catholic

No	632
Date of Notice	2 June 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Hugh Seathern	Gertrude Kathleen Gillum
BDM Match (88%)	Hugh Leathem	Gertrude Kathleen Gillum
	💍 1903/2926
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic Duties
Age	31	22
Dwelling Place	Geraldine Flat	Geraldine Flat
Length of Residence	3 days	2 years
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Church
Folio	03/2792
Consent
Date of Certificate	3 June 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev. H. G. Bowers, Roman Catholic

633

26 June 1903

Frederick George Pratt
Margaret Wells

Frederick George Pratt
Margaret Wells
💍 1903/3879

Bachelor
Spinster

Carrier
Housekeeper

22
26

Geraldine
Geraldine

2 years
1 month

The House of Mr. William Wells

03/3274

26 June 1903

Rev. A. Bruce Todd, Presbyterian

No	633
Date of Notice	26 June 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Frederick George Pratt	Margaret Wells
	💍 1903/3879
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carrier	Housekeeper
Age	22	26
Dwelling Place	Geraldine	Geraldine
Length of Residence	2 years	1 month
Marriage Place	The House of Mr. William Wells
Folio	03/3274
Consent
Date of Certificate	26 June 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. Bruce Todd, Presbyterian

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 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).