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 527

District of Timaru Quarter ending 30 September 1904 Registrar Alexander Montgomery

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

7 July 1904

George Charles Gibbs
Margaret Martin

George Charles Gibbs
Margaret Martin
💍 1904/5284

Bachelor
Spinster

Storeman
Hospital Attendant

21 years
22 years

Timaru
Timaru

16 years
12 months

Dwellinghouse of W. McIntosh, Beach Road, Timaru

04/4701

7 July 1904

Rev. S. Spall, Wesleyan Minister

No	49
Date of Notice	7 July 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Charles Gibbs	Margaret Martin
	💍 1904/5284
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Storeman	Hospital Attendant
Age	21 years	22 years
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	16 years	12 months
Marriage Place	Dwellinghouse of W. McIntosh, Beach Road, Timaru
Folio	04/4701
Consent
Date of Certificate	7 July 1904
Officiating Minister	Rev. S. Spall, Wesleyan Minister

8 July 1904

Walter Coleman
Minnie Wilkins

Walter Coleman
Minnie Wilkins
💍 1904/5273

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic Servant

23 years
21 years

Timaru
Timaru

3 days
3 days

Registrar's Office, Timaru

04/4691

8 July 1904

Alex. Montgomery, Registrar

No	50
Date of Notice	8 July 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Walter Coleman	Minnie Wilkins
	💍 1904/5273
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic Servant
Age	23 years	21 years
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office, Timaru
Folio	04/4691
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 July 1904
Officiating Minister	Alex. Montgomery, Registrar

9 July 1904

John Cassidy
Susan Elizabeth Egan

John Cassidy
Susan Elizabeth Tozer
💍 1904/5277

Bachelor
Spinster

Ploughman
Domestic Duties

24 years
24 years

Levels
Levels

2 years
2 years

Roman Catholic Church, Timaru

04/4695

9 July 1904

Rev. J. Taylor, Roman Catholic Priest

No	51
Date of Notice	9 July 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Cassidy	Susan Elizabeth Egan
BDM Match (88%)	John Cassidy	Susan Elizabeth Tozer
	💍 1904/5277
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Ploughman	Domestic Duties
Age	24 years	24 years
Dwelling Place	Levels	Levels
Length of Residence	2 years	2 years
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Church, Timaru
Folio	04/4695
Consent
Date of Certificate	9 July 1904
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Taylor, Roman Catholic Priest

11 July 1904

Joseph Dalton Billens
Edith Maria Smith

Joseph Daltry Billens
Edith Maria Smith
💍 1904/5285

Bachelor
Spinster

Traveller
Tailoress

30 years
23 years

Timaru
Timaru

3 days
3 days

Dwellinghouse of Rev. S. Spall, Timaru

04/4702

11 July 1904

Rev. S. Spall, Wesleyan Minister

No	52
Date of Notice	11 July 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Joseph Dalton Billens	Edith Maria Smith
BDM Match (95%)	Joseph Daltry Billens	Edith Maria Smith
	💍 1904/5285
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Traveller	Tailoress
Age	30 years	23 years
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	Dwellinghouse of Rev. S. Spall, Timaru
Folio	04/4702
Consent
Date of Certificate	11 July 1904
Officiating Minister	Rev. S. Spall, Wesleyan Minister

28 July 1904

John Francis Smither
Eleanor Harriet Coker

John Francis Smither
Eleanor Harriet Coker
💍 1904/5293

Bachelor
Spinster

Slaughterman
Hospital Attendant

22 years
18 years

Smithfield
Timaru

2 years
18 years

Dwellinghouse of W. Coker, Edward St., Timaru

04/4703

W. Coker, Edward St., Father

28 July 1904

Rev. S. Spall, Wesleyan Minister

No	53
Date of Notice	28 July 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Francis Smither	Eleanor Harriet Coker
	💍 1904/5293
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Slaughterman	Hospital Attendant
Age	22 years	18 years
Dwelling Place	Smithfield	Timaru
Length of Residence	2 years	18 years
Marriage Place	Dwellinghouse of W. Coker, Edward St., Timaru
Folio	04/4703
Consent	W. Coker, Edward St., Father
Date of Certificate	28 July 1904
Officiating Minister	Rev. S. Spall, Wesleyan Minister

1 August 1904

Thomas Henry Ward
Catherine Theresa Tyhamis

Thomas Henry Ward
Catherine Theresa Fitzharris
💍 1904/5278

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic Servant

20 years
23 years

Pareora
Pareora

10 months
18 months

Roman Catholic Church, Timaru

04/4696

W. C. Ward, Father

1 August 1904

Rev. J. Taylor, Roman Catholic Priest

No	54
Date of Notice	1 August 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Henry Ward	Catherine Theresa Tyhamis
BDM Match (89%)	Thomas Henry Ward	Catherine Theresa Fitzharris
	💍 1904/5278
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic Servant
Age	20 years	23 years
Dwelling Place	Pareora	Pareora
Length of Residence	10 months	18 months
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Church, Timaru
Folio	04/4696
Consent	W. C. Ward, Father
Date of Certificate	1 August 1904
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Taylor, Roman Catholic Priest

6 August 1904

Leslie Hunt
Helen Clarke

Leslie Hunt
Helen Clarke
💍 1904/5567

Bachelor
Spinster

Surveyor
Domestic Duties

28 years
20 years

Timaru
Timaru

12 months
15 years

St. Mary's English Church, Timaru

04/5089

Alice W. Gosling, Legal Guardian

6 August 1904

Archdeacon F. W. Harper, Church of England Clergyman

No	55
Date of Notice	6 August 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Leslie Hunt	Helen Clarke
	💍 1904/5567
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Surveyor	Domestic Duties
Age	28 years	20 years
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	12 months	15 years
Marriage Place	St. Mary's English Church, Timaru
Folio	04/5089
Consent	Alice W. Gosling, Legal Guardian
Date of Certificate	6 August 1904
Officiating Minister	Archdeacon F. W. Harper, Church of England Clergyman

10 August 1904

John Brown Leslie
Catherine Theresa Mullally

John Brown Leslie
Catherine Theresa Mullally
💍 1904/5280

Bachelor
Spinster

Carpenter
Domestic Duties

24 years
19 years

Timaru
Timaru

24 years
19 years

Roman Catholic Priory, Timaru

04/4697

J. Mullally, Father

10 August 1904

Rev. J. Taylor, Roman Catholic Priest

No	56
Date of Notice	10 August 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Brown Leslie	Catherine Theresa Mullally
	💍 1904/5280
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carpenter	Domestic Duties
Age	24 years	19 years
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	24 years	19 years
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Priory, Timaru
Folio	04/4697
Consent	J. Mullally, Father
Date of Certificate	10 August 1904
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Taylor, Roman Catholic Priest

12 August 1904

Charles Henry McMahon
Emily Suttick

Charles Henry McInman
Emily Puttick
💍 1904/5274

Bachelor
Spinster

Commission Agent
Domestic Duties

31 years
29 years

Timaru
Scarborough, near Timaru

2 1/2 years
15 years

Registrar's Office, Timaru

04/4692

12 August 1904

Alex. Montgomery, Registrar

No	57
Date of Notice	12 August 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Henry McMahon	Emily Suttick
BDM Match (87%)	Charles Henry McInman	Emily Puttick
	💍 1904/5274
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Commission Agent	Domestic Duties
Age	31 years	29 years
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Scarborough, near Timaru
Length of Residence	2 1/2 years	15 years
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office, Timaru
Folio	04/4692
Consent
Date of Certificate	12 August 1904
Officiating Minister	Alex. Montgomery, Registrar

12 August 1904

William McGrath
Sarah Emmerson

William McGrath
Sarah Emmersen
💍 1904/5283

Bachelor
Spinster

Bootmaker
Weaver

25 years
24 years

Timaru
Timaru

7 years
24 years

Dwellinghouse of W. Emmerson, Elizabeth St., Timaru

04/4700

12 August 1904

Rev. S. Buchanan, Independent Free Church Minister

No	58
Date of Notice	12 August 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William McGrath	Sarah Emmerson
BDM Match (96%)	William McGrath	Sarah Emmersen
	💍 1904/5283
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Bootmaker	Weaver
Age	25 years	24 years
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	7 years	24 years
Marriage Place	Dwellinghouse of W. Emmerson, Elizabeth St., Timaru
Folio	04/4700
Consent
Date of Certificate	12 August 1904
Officiating Minister	Rev. S. Buchanan, Independent Free Church Minister

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).