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 310

District of Christchurch Quarter ending 30 September 1903 Registrar L. C. Richards

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

426

13 July 1903

Thomas McLeod
Florence Julia Myers

Bachelor
Spinster

Turner
Knitter

25
25

25 Hereford Street
Christchurch

25 years
25 years

St Andrew's Manse

03/4286

13 July 1903

Rev. J. Maclaurin, Presbyterian

No	426
Date of Notice	13 July 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas McLeod	Florence Julia Myers
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Turner	Knitter
Age	25	25
Dwelling Place	25 Hereford Street	Christchurch
Length of Residence	25 years	25 years
Marriage Place	St Andrew's Manse
Folio	03/4286
Consent
Date of Certificate	13 July 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Maclaurin, Presbyterian

427

13 July 1903

Henry Wright
Minnie Comer

Henry Wright
Minnie Jane Comer
💍 1903/4614

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer

38
33

Christchurch
Springston

50 years
38 years

Anglican Church

03/4279

13 July 1903

Rev. H. Williams, Anglican

No	427
Date of Notice	13 July 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Henry Wright	Minnie Comer
BDM Match (85%)	Henry Wright	Minnie Jane Comer
	💍 1903/4614
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	38	33
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Springston
Length of Residence	50 years	38 years
Marriage Place	Anglican Church
Folio	03/4279
Consent
Date of Certificate	13 July 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev. H. Williams, Anglican

428

14 July 1903

Frederick Henry Richard
Annie Roser

Frederick Henry Prichard
Annie Procter
💍 1903/4507

Frederick Harris
Annie Johansen
💍 1903/750

Bachelor
Spinster

Produce Dealer
Saleswoman

29
45

Riccarton
St Albans

6 years
18 months

St Mary's

03/4271

14 July 1903

Rev. W. J. Bean, Anglican

No	428
Date of Notice	14 July 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Frederick Henry Richard	Annie Roser
BDM Match (80%)	Frederick Henry Prichard	Annie Procter
	💍 1903/4507
BDM Match (60%)	Frederick Harris	Annie Johansen
	💍 1903/750
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Produce Dealer	Saleswoman
Age	29	45
Dwelling Place	Riccarton	St Albans
Length of Residence	6 years	18 months
Marriage Place	St Mary's
Folio	03/4271
Consent
Date of Certificate	14 July 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. J. Bean, Anglican

429

14 July 1903

Edward Thompson
Fanny Ellis

Edward Thompson Brimicombe
Fanny Ellis
💍 1903/4530

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer

30
27

Woolston
Sydenham

1 year
27 years

Methodist Chapel, Durham Street

03/4371

14 July 1903

Rev. R. J. Murray, Methodist

No	429
Date of Notice	14 July 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edward Thompson	Fanny Ellis
BDM Match (79%)	Edward Thompson Brimicombe	Fanny Ellis
	💍 1903/4530
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer
Age	30	27
Dwelling Place	Woolston	Sydenham
Length of Residence	1 year	27 years
Marriage Place	Methodist Chapel, Durham Street
Folio	03/4371
Consent
Date of Certificate	14 July 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev. R. J. Murray, Methodist

430

15 July 1903

David William Prosser
Mary Purchase

David William Prosser
Mercy Pritchard
💍 1903/4544

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer

27
19

Christchurch
Sydenham

3 days
19 years

House of John Purchase, Sydenham

03/4311

John Purchase, father of bride

15 July 1903

Rev. W. Lee, Methodist

No	430
Date of Notice	15 July 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	David William Prosser	Mary Purchase
BDM Match (77%)	David William Prosser	Mercy Pritchard
	💍 1903/4544
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	27	19
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Sydenham
Length of Residence	3 days	19 years
Marriage Place	House of John Purchase, Sydenham
Folio	03/4311
Consent	John Purchase, father of bride
Date of Certificate	15 July 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. Lee, Methodist

431

16 July 1903

John McLeod
Emma Gorman

John Reid McLeod
Emma McGorman
💍 1903/4506

John McLeod
Martha Boden
💍 1903/4036

Bachelor
Spinster

Life Assurance Manager

23
23

Christchurch
Springston

3 days
8 years

St Mary's

03/4270

16 July 1903

Rev. W. J. Bean, Anglican

No	431
Date of Notice	16 July 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John McLeod	Emma Gorman
BDM Match (77%)	John Reid McLeod	Emma McGorman
	💍 1903/4506
BDM Match (63%)	John McLeod	Martha Boden
	💍 1903/4036
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Life Assurance Manager
Age	23	23
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Springston
Length of Residence	3 days	8 years
Marriage Place	St Mary's
Folio	03/4270
Consent
Date of Certificate	16 July 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. J. Bean, Anglican

432

16 July 1903

George Lewis
Daisy Barrett

George Lewis
Daisy Barrett
💍 1903/4625

Bachelor
Spinster

Salesman
Dressmaker

28
23

St Albans
Christchurch

26 years
23 years

Trinity Church

03/4280

16 July 1903

Canon Pascoe, Anglican

No	432
Date of Notice	16 July 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Lewis	Daisy Barrett
	💍 1903/4625
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Salesman	Dressmaker
Age	28	23
Dwelling Place	St Albans	Christchurch
Length of Residence	26 years	23 years
Marriage Place	Trinity Church
Folio	03/4280
Consent
Date of Certificate	16 July 1903
Officiating Minister	Canon Pascoe, Anglican

433

16 July 1903

Albert Edward William Fairbrass
Annie Mary Teckler Buckley

Albert Edward William Fairbrass
Annie Mary Teckler Dunkley
💍 1903/4509

Bachelor
Spinster

Baker
Machinist

21
23

Christchurch
Sydenham

4 years
23 years

St Mary's

03/4272

16 July 1903

Rev. W. J. Bean, Anglican

No	433
Date of Notice	16 July 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Albert Edward William Fairbrass	Annie Mary Teckler Buckley
BDM Match (96%)	Albert Edward William Fairbrass	Annie Mary Teckler Dunkley
	💍 1903/4509
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Baker	Machinist
Age	21	23
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Sydenham
Length of Residence	4 years	23 years
Marriage Place	St Mary's
Folio	03/4272
Consent
Date of Certificate	16 July 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. J. Bean, Anglican

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).