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 286

District of Christchurch Quarter ending 31 March 1904 Registrar Lyonel Charles 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

160

23 March 1904

Benjamin Williamson
Grace Morgan

Benjamin Williamson
Gran Morgan
💍 1904/780

Bachelor
Spinster

Clerk

33
29

Christchurch
Christchurch

3 days
1 week

House of Mrs. Levenghie, Linwood

04/1661

23 March 1904

Rev. G. Umelie, Presbyterian

No	160
Date of Notice	23 March 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Benjamin Williamson	Grace Morgan
BDM Match (92%)	Benjamin Williamson	Gran Morgan
	💍 1904/780
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Clerk
Age	33	29
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	3 days	1 week
Marriage Place	House of Mrs. Levenghie, Linwood
Folio	04/1661
Consent
Date of Certificate	23 March 1904
Officiating Minister	Rev. G. Umelie, Presbyterian

161

23 March 1904

Charles Graham Laybo
Ellen Luigleton

Charles Graham Lamb
Ellen Singleton
💍 1904/204

Bachelor
Spinster

Accountant
Tailoress

26
22

Christchurch
Christchurch

26 years
22 years

St. Pauls, Christchurch

04/1141

23 March 1904

Rev. G. Tait, Presbyterian

No	161
Date of Notice	23 March 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Graham Laybo	Ellen Luigleton
BDM Match (85%)	Charles Graham Lamb	Ellen Singleton
	💍 1904/204
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Accountant	Tailoress
Age	26	22
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	26 years	22 years
Marriage Place	St. Pauls, Christchurch
Folio	04/1141
Consent
Date of Certificate	23 March 1904
Officiating Minister	Rev. G. Tait, Presbyterian

162

23 March 1904

George Albert Lassen
Sarah Ellen Pearson

George Albert Lassen
Sarah Ellen Pearson
💍 1904/1917

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer

30
39

Greenpark
Lincoln

5 years
37 years

Anglican Church, Springston

04/2981

23 March 1904

Rev. G. G. Semple, Anglican

No	162
Date of Notice	23 March 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Albert Lassen	Sarah Ellen Pearson
BDM Match (98%)	George Albert Lassen	Sarah Ellen Pearson
	💍 1904/1917
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	30	39
Dwelling Place	Greenpark	Lincoln
Length of Residence	5 years	37 years
Marriage Place	Anglican Church, Springston
Folio	04/2981
Consent
Date of Certificate	23 March 1904
Officiating Minister	Rev. G. G. Semple, Anglican

163

23 March 1904

Edward Cossar
Mary Jane Davis

Edward Cassor
Mary Jane Davis
💍 1904/163

Edgar James Henry Derham
Mary Davis
💍 1904/4107

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic

37
31

Christchurch
Tai Tapu

3 days
10 years

St. Andrews Manse, Christchurch

04/1122

23 March 1904

Rev. J. Mackenzie, Presbyterian

No	163
Date of Notice	23 March 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edward Cossar	Mary Jane Davis
BDM Match (92%)	Edward Cassor	Mary Jane Davis
	💍 1904/163
BDM Match (46%)	Edgar James Henry Derham	Mary Davis
	💍 1904/4107
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic
Age	37	31
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Tai Tapu
Length of Residence	3 days	10 years
Marriage Place	St. Andrews Manse, Christchurch
Folio	04/1122
Consent
Date of Certificate	23 March 1904
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Mackenzie, Presbyterian

164

24 March 1904

Samuel Needham
Edith Laura Sutcliffe

Samuel Needham
Edith Laura Sutcliffe
💍 1904/722

Bachelor
Spinster

Baker

36
38

Linwood
Linwood

8 years
5 years

R.C. Ward, Cambridge Terrace, Christchurch

04/1621

24 March 1904

Rev. R. H. Laing, Methodist

No	164
Date of Notice	24 March 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Samuel Needham	Edith Laura Sutcliffe
	💍 1904/722
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Baker
Age	36	38
Dwelling Place	Linwood	Linwood
Length of Residence	8 years	5 years
Marriage Place	R.C. Ward, Cambridge Terrace, Christchurch
Folio	04/1621
Consent
Date of Certificate	24 March 1904
Officiating Minister	Rev. R. H. Laing, Methodist

165

24 March 1904

George Lee
Henrietta Elphick

George Lee
Henrietta Gilpin
💍 1904/208

Bachelor
Spinster

Painter

33
21

Christchurch
Christchurch

33 years
21 years

Wesleyan Church, Durham St., Christchurch

04/1169

24 March 1904

Rev. G. Baumber, Methodist

No	165
Date of Notice	24 March 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Lee	Henrietta Elphick
BDM Match (85%)	George Lee	Henrietta Gilpin
	💍 1904/208
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Painter
Age	33	21
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	33 years	21 years
Marriage Place	Wesleyan Church, Durham St., Christchurch
Folio	04/1169
Consent
Date of Certificate	24 March 1904
Officiating Minister	Rev. G. Baumber, Methodist

166

24 March 1904

Sydney Hubert Jones
Violet May Jamieson

Sydney Herbert Jones
Violet May Jameison
💍 1904/218

Bachelor
Spinster

Clerk

23
20

Linwood
Linwood

3 years
20 years

Wesleyan Church, East Belt, Christchurch

04/1178

James Jamieson, father

24 March 1904

Rev. C. H. Laws, Methodist

No	166
Date of Notice	24 March 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Sydney Hubert Jones	Violet May Jamieson
BDM Match (90%)	Sydney Herbert Jones	Violet May Jameison
	💍 1904/218
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Clerk
Age	23	20
Dwelling Place	Linwood	Linwood
Length of Residence	3 years	20 years
Marriage Place	Wesleyan Church, East Belt, Christchurch
Folio	04/1178
Consent	James Jamieson, father
Date of Certificate	24 March 1904
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. H. Laws, Methodist

167

25 March 1904

Joseph Henry Peek
Fanny Louisa Rilkens

Joseph Henry Peek
Fanny Louisa Billens
💍 1904/219

Bachelor
Spinster

Painter
Tailoress

29
28

Beckenham
Beckenham

2 years
3 years

House of Mrs. Rilkens, Beckenham

04/1179

25 March 1904

Rev. H. Bull, Methodist

No	167
Date of Notice	25 March 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Joseph Henry Peek	Fanny Louisa Rilkens
BDM Match (95%)	Joseph Henry Peek	Fanny Louisa Billens
	💍 1904/219
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Painter	Tailoress
Age	29	28
Dwelling Place	Beckenham	Beckenham
Length of Residence	2 years	3 years
Marriage Place	House of Mrs. Rilkens, Beckenham
Folio	04/1179
Consent
Date of Certificate	25 March 1904
Officiating Minister	Rev. H. Bull, Methodist

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).