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 270

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

136

10 March 1903

George Rome
Lily Barr

George Rome
Lily Barr
💍 1903/935

Bachelor
Spinster

Saddler
Dressmaker

43
37

Christchurch
Christchurch

18 years
3 months

Registrar's Office, Christchurch

03/949

10 March 1903

Registrar, Christchurch

No	136
Date of Notice	10 March 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Rome	Lily Barr
	💍 1903/935
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Saddler	Dressmaker
Age	43	37
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	18 years	3 months
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office, Christchurch
Folio	03/949
Consent
Date of Certificate	10 March 1903
Officiating Minister	Registrar, Christchurch

137

11 March 1903

Andrew Sommer
Eliza Jane Kinley

Andrew Sommer
Eliza Jane Kinley
💍 1903/946

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic

27
22

Christchurch
Christchurch

3 days
4 days

Registrar's Office, Christchurch

03/950

11 March 1903

Registrar, Christchurch

No	137
Date of Notice	11 March 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Andrew Sommer	Eliza Jane Kinley
	💍 1903/946
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic
Age	27	22
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	3 days	4 days
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office, Christchurch
Folio	03/950
Consent
Date of Certificate	11 March 1903
Officiating Minister	Registrar, Christchurch

138

12 March 1903

Joseph Walford
Mary Harriet Ferose

Joseph Shatford
Mary Harriet Grose
💍 1903/1947

Bachelor
Spinster

Carpenter
Tailoress

25
21

Linwood
Linwood

20 years
16 years

Primitive Methodist Church, Linwood

03/1460

12 March 1903

Rev. C. E. Ward, Primitive Methodist

No	138
Date of Notice	12 March 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Joseph Walford	Mary Harriet Ferose
BDM Match (85%)	Joseph Shatford	Mary Harriet Grose
	💍 1903/1947
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carpenter	Tailoress
Age	25	21
Dwelling Place	Linwood	Linwood
Length of Residence	20 years	16 years
Marriage Place	Primitive Methodist Church, Linwood
Folio	03/1460
Consent
Date of Certificate	12 March 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. E. Ward, Primitive Methodist

139

12 March 1903

Joseph Farrand Cleaver
Lillian Annie Hayden

Widower
Spinster

Machinist
Teacher

41
25

Sydenham
Christchurch

7 years
25 years

St. Michael's Church, Christchurch

03/1059

12 March 1903

Rev. R. J. Murray, Methodist

No	139
Date of Notice	12 March 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Joseph Farrand Cleaver	Lillian Annie Hayden
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Machinist	Teacher
Age	41	25
Dwelling Place	Sydenham	Christchurch
Length of Residence	7 years	25 years
Marriage Place	St. Michael's Church, Christchurch
Folio	03/1059
Consent
Date of Certificate	12 March 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev. R. J. Murray, Methodist

140

13 March 1903

James Henry Lovell
Mabel Roberts

James Henry Lovell
Mabel Roberts
💍 1903/1072

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic

27
26

Christchurch
Spreydon

3 years
22 years

House of Mr. J. Roberts, Spreydon

03/1062

13 March 1903

Rev. C. H. Laws, Methodist

No	140
Date of Notice	13 March 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Henry Lovell	Mabel Roberts
	💍 1903/1072
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic
Age	27	26
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Spreydon
Length of Residence	3 years	22 years
Marriage Place	House of Mr. J. Roberts, Spreydon
Folio	03/1062
Consent
Date of Certificate	13 March 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. H. Laws, Methodist

141

13 March 1903

Harold Schumacher
Edith Annie Burgess

Harold Schumacher
Edith Annie Burgess
💍 1903/954

Bachelor
Spinster

General Salesman
Confectioner

22
23

Christchurch
St. Albans

3 days
8 years

Registrar's Office, Christchurch

03/952

13 March 1903

Registrar, Christchurch

No	141
Date of Notice	13 March 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Harold Schumacher	Edith Annie Burgess
	💍 1903/954
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	General Salesman	Confectioner
Age	22	23
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	St. Albans
Length of Residence	3 days	8 years
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office, Christchurch
Folio	03/952
Consent
Date of Certificate	13 March 1903
Officiating Minister	Registrar, Christchurch

142

13 March 1903

William Arthur Beck
Eleanor Parks

William Arthur Beck
Elizabeth Ellen Porks
💍 1903/3134

Bachelor
Spinster

Driver
Domestic

21
21

St. Albans
St. Albans

2 years
14 years

House of Mr. Parks, St. Albans

03/1029

13 March 1903

Rev. I. Macfarlane, Presbyterian

No	142
Date of Notice	13 March 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Arthur Beck	Eleanor Parks
BDM Match (69%)	William Arthur Beck	Elizabeth Ellen Porks
	💍 1903/3134
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Driver	Domestic
Age	21	21
Dwelling Place	St. Albans	St. Albans
Length of Residence	2 years	14 years
Marriage Place	House of Mr. Parks, St. Albans
Folio	03/1029
Consent
Date of Certificate	13 March 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev. I. Macfarlane, Presbyterian

143

14 March 1903

Charles Cole
Edith Leah Crosbie

Charles Cole
Edith Jean Crosbie
💍 1903/2834

Bachelor
Spinster

Carpenter
Nurse

39
32

Riccarton
Sydenham

10 years
6 months

St. Michael's Church, Christchurch

03/1265

14 March 1903

Canon Averill, Anglican

No	143
Date of Notice	14 March 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Cole	Edith Leah Crosbie
BDM Match (94%)	Charles Cole	Edith Jean Crosbie
	💍 1903/2834
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carpenter	Nurse
Age	39	32
Dwelling Place	Riccarton	Sydenham
Length of Residence	10 years	6 months
Marriage Place	St. Michael's Church, Christchurch
Folio	03/1265
Consent
Date of Certificate	14 March 1903
Officiating Minister	Canon Averill, 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).