Intentions to Marry, 1904 South Island

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840426, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

Imaged by Carole at Archives NZ Wellington, October 13 2025.

1904 is bound in two volumes, North Island districts and South Island districts.

Page 276

District of Akaroa Quarter ending 31 March 1904 Registrar L.C. Truman

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

26 February 1904

Andrew Charles Bairns
Edith Laurie

Andrew Charles Birss
Edith Lawrie
💍 1904/107

Bachelor
Spinster

Carpenter
Domestic

26
21

Christchurch
Christchurch

2 years
2 years

Registrar's Office

04/1036

26 February 1904

No	96
Date of Notice	26 February 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Andrew Charles Bairns	Edith Laurie
BDM Match (91%)	Andrew Charles Birss	Edith Lawrie
	💍 1904/107
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carpenter	Domestic
Age	26	21
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	2 years	2 years
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office
Folio	04/1036
Consent
Date of Certificate	26 February 1904
Officiating Minister

27 February 1904

William Sampson
Ethel Mary Abbott

William Bazzet Sampson
Ethel May Ashbolt
💍 1904/228

Bachelor
Spinster

Bagmaker
Saleswoman

29
21

10 Smith Street, Ashburton
288 Cashel Street, Christchurch

2 years
2 years

10 Smith Street, Ashburton

04/1165

27 February 1904

Rev. J. Orchard, Methodist

No	97
Date of Notice	27 February 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Sampson	Ethel Mary Abbott
BDM Match (72%)	William Bazzet Sampson	Ethel May Ashbolt
	💍 1904/228
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Bagmaker	Saleswoman
Age	29	21
Dwelling Place	10 Smith Street, Ashburton	288 Cashel Street, Christchurch
Length of Residence	2 years	2 years
Marriage Place	10 Smith Street, Ashburton
Folio	04/1165
Consent
Date of Certificate	27 February 1904
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Orchard, Methodist

27 February 1904

Herbert Charles Allen
Millie Fisher

Herbert Charles Alen
Millie Fisher
💍 1904/171

Bachelor
Spinster

Painter
Saleswoman

24
21

Christchurch
Christchurch

4 years
21 years

Presbyterian Church, Christchurch

04/1132

27 February 1904

Rev. D. Irwin, Presbyterian

No	98
Date of Notice	27 February 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Herbert Charles Allen	Millie Fisher
BDM Match (98%)	Herbert Charles Alen	Millie Fisher
	💍 1904/171
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Painter	Saleswoman
Age	24	21
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	4 years	21 years
Marriage Place	Presbyterian Church, Christchurch
Folio	04/1132
Consent
Date of Certificate	27 February 1904
Officiating Minister	Rev. D. Irwin, Presbyterian

29 February 1904

Arthur Patterson
Lily Mitchell

Arthur Patterson
Lily Maud Mitchell
💍 1904/251

Bachelor
Spinster

Railway Employee
Domestic

25
19

23 House, Mrs. Mitchell, Huxley Street, Sydenham
23 House, Mrs. Mitchell, Huxley Street, Sydenham

23 years
19 years

23 House, Mrs. Mitchell, Huxley Street, Sydenham

04/1188

29 February 1904

Rev. F. Hales, Baptist

No	99
Date of Notice	29 February 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Arthur Patterson	Lily Mitchell
BDM Match (86%)	Arthur Patterson	Lily Maud Mitchell
	💍 1904/251
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Railway Employee	Domestic
Age	25	19
Dwelling Place	23 House, Mrs. Mitchell, Huxley Street, Sydenham	23 House, Mrs. Mitchell, Huxley Street, Sydenham
Length of Residence	23 years	19 years
Marriage Place	23 House, Mrs. Mitchell, Huxley Street, Sydenham
Folio	04/1188
Consent
Date of Certificate	29 February 1904
Officiating Minister	Rev. F. Hales, Baptist

100

29 February 1904

Edward Bell
Emily Burbery

Edward Giles
Emily Harvey
💍 1904/114

Bachelor
Spinster

Storekeeper

29
26

Christchurch
Sydenham

7 years
7 years

Bride's Hall, Colombo Street

"see note"

29 February 1904

Rev. J. Orchard, Methodist

No	100
Date of Notice	29 February 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edward Bell	Emily Burbery
BDM Match (68%)	Edward Giles	Emily Harvey
	💍 1904/114
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Storekeeper
Age	29	26
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Sydenham
Length of Residence	7 years	7 years
Marriage Place	Bride's Hall, Colombo Street
Folio	"see note"
Consent
Date of Certificate	29 February 1904
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Orchard, Methodist

101

29 February 1904

Herbert Ernest Hamilton
Ida Marguerite Sheribel

Ernest Herbert Hamilton
Ida Marguerite Geribel
💍 1904/719

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic

28
22

Christchurch
St. Albans

12 months
12 months

4 Years House, Rev. C. E. Ward, Cambridge Terrace

04/1618

29 February 1904

Rev. C. E. Ward, Methodist

No	101
Date of Notice	29 February 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Herbert Ernest Hamilton	Ida Marguerite Sheribel
BDM Match (78%)	Ernest Herbert Hamilton	Ida Marguerite Geribel
	💍 1904/719
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic
Age	28	22
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	St. Albans
Length of Residence	12 months	12 months
Marriage Place	4 Years House, Rev. C. E. Ward, Cambridge Terrace
Folio	04/1618
Consent
Date of Certificate	29 February 1904
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. E. Ward, Methodist

102

29 February 1904

James William Henry Glenie
Muriel Agnes Aston

James William Henry Glenie
Elisabeth Agnes Aston
💍 1904/139

Bachelor
Spinster

Plasterer
Domestic

22
25

Sumner
Sumner

1 year
1 year

St. Michaels

04/1091

29 February 1904

Archdeacon Averill, Anglican

No	102
Date of Notice	29 February 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James William Henry Glenie	Muriel Agnes Aston
BDM Match (81%)	James William Henry Glenie	Elisabeth Agnes Aston
	💍 1904/139
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Plasterer	Domestic
Age	22	25
Dwelling Place	Sumner	Sumner
Length of Residence	1 year	1 year
Marriage Place	St. Michaels
Folio	04/1091
Consent
Date of Certificate	29 February 1904
Officiating Minister	Archdeacon Averill, Anglican

103

29 February 1904

John James Kinsella
Sarah Jane Gordon

John James Kinsella
Sarah Jane Stock
💍 1904/249

Bachelor
Spinster

Carrier
Tailoress

26
23

Good Shepherd
Sydenham

1 year
23 years

1 Year House, Mrs. Mitchell, Huxley Street

04/1186

29 February 1904

Rev. F. Hales, Baptist

No	103
Date of Notice	29 February 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John James Kinsella	Sarah Jane Gordon
BDM Match (82%)	John James Kinsella	Sarah Jane Stock
	💍 1904/249
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carrier	Tailoress
Age	26	23
Dwelling Place	Good Shepherd	Sydenham
Length of Residence	1 year	23 years
Marriage Place	1 Year House, Mrs. Mitchell, Huxley Street
Folio	04/1186
Consent
Date of Certificate	29 February 1904
Officiating Minister	Rev. F. Hales, Baptist

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).