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 828

District of Invercargill Quarter ending 31 March 1904 Registrar John Gaumon Petro

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

3 March 1904

David Tannock
Jessie Stirling

David Tannoch
Jessie Stirling
💍 1904/604

Bachelor
Spinster

Superintendent Public Gardens
Domestic

30
29

Esk Street, Invercargill
Esk Street, Invercargill

3 days
3 days

Residence of George Lindsay, Yarrow Street, Invercargill

04/1487

3 March 1904

Rev. Geo. Lindsay

No	29
Date of Notice	3 March 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	David Tannock	Jessie Stirling
BDM Match (96%)	David Tannoch	Jessie Stirling
	💍 1904/604
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Superintendent Public Gardens	Domestic
Age	30	29
Dwelling Place	Esk Street, Invercargill	Esk Street, Invercargill
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	Residence of George Lindsay, Yarrow Street, Invercargill
Folio	04/1487
Consent
Date of Certificate	3 March 1904
Officiating Minister	Rev. Geo. Lindsay

3 March 1904

William McDowell
Rachel Moffatt

William McDowell
Rachel Robina Moffatt
💍 1904/595

Bachelor
Spinster

Dredgeman
Domestic

23
22

Grey Street, Invercargill
Earn Street, Invercargill

3 days
3 days

Office of the Registrar of Marriages, Invercargill

04/1467

3 March 1904

Registrar of Marriages, Invercargill

No	30
Date of Notice	3 March 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William McDowell	Rachel Moffatt
BDM Match (83%)	William McDowell	Rachel Robina Moffatt
	💍 1904/595
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Dredgeman	Domestic
Age	23	22
Dwelling Place	Grey Street, Invercargill	Earn Street, Invercargill
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	Office of the Registrar of Marriages, Invercargill
Folio	04/1467
Consent
Date of Certificate	3 March 1904
Officiating Minister	Registrar of Marriages, Invercargill

5 March 1904

Walter William Stiles
Harriet Susannah Morley

Walter William Stiles
Harriet Susannah Moseley
💍 1904/579

Widower
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic

49
36

Georgetown, Invercargill
Gladstone, Invercargill

20 years
20 years

English Church, Gladstone, Invercargill

04/1474

5 March 1904

Rev. W. Swinburn

No	31
Date of Notice	5 March 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Walter William Stiles	Harriet Susannah Morley
BDM Match (96%)	Walter William Stiles	Harriet Susannah Moseley
	💍 1904/579
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic
Age	49	36
Dwelling Place	Georgetown, Invercargill	Gladstone, Invercargill
Length of Residence	20 years	20 years
Marriage Place	English Church, Gladstone, Invercargill
Folio	04/1474
Consent
Date of Certificate	5 March 1904
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. Swinburn

7 March 1904

Robert James Philpot
Isabella Bailey

Robert James Philpot
Isobella Bailey
💍 1904/2359

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic

24
19

Conon Street, Invercargill
Conon Street, Invercargill

11 years
19 years

English Church, Tay Street, Invercargill

04/3461

Margaret Ann Bailey, mother

7 March 1904

Rev. Archer Stoddart

No	32
Date of Notice	7 March 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Robert James Philpot	Isabella Bailey
BDM Match (97%)	Robert James Philpot	Isobella Bailey
	💍 1904/2359
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic
Age	24	19
Dwelling Place	Conon Street, Invercargill	Conon Street, Invercargill
Length of Residence	11 years	19 years
Marriage Place	English Church, Tay Street, Invercargill
Folio	04/3461
Consent	Margaret Ann Bailey, mother
Date of Certificate	7 March 1904
Officiating Minister	Rev. Archer Stoddart

8 March 1904

Charles Richard Gooch
Clara Elizabeth Hewiott

Charles Richard Gooch
Clara Elizabeth Herriott
💍 1904/605

Bachelor
Spinster

Tea Expert
Music Teacher

34
35

Dunedin
Esk Street, Invercargill

3 years
11 months

Presbyterian Church, Invercargill

04/1488

8 March 1904

Rev. Geo. Lindsay

No	33
Date of Notice	8 March 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Richard Gooch	Clara Elizabeth Hewiott
BDM Match (96%)	Charles Richard Gooch	Clara Elizabeth Herriott
	💍 1904/605
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Tea Expert	Music Teacher
Age	34	35
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Esk Street, Invercargill
Length of Residence	3 years	11 months
Marriage Place	Presbyterian Church, Invercargill
Folio	04/1488
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 March 1904
Officiating Minister	Rev. Geo. Lindsay

8 March 1904

George Herbert Crockett
Mabel Jane Frost

George Herbert Crockett
Mabel Jane Charlotte Frost
💍 1904/607

Bachelor
Spinster

Presbyterian Minister
Domestic

24
27

Elle Rise, East Invercargill
Tweed Street, Invercargill

2 years
4 years

Residence of Jonathan Frost, Tweed Street, Invercargill

04/1490

8 March 1904

Rev. Geo. Lindsay

No	34
Date of Notice	8 March 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Herbert Crockett	Mabel Jane Frost
BDM Match (81%)	George Herbert Crockett	Mabel Jane Charlotte Frost
	💍 1904/607
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Presbyterian Minister	Domestic
Age	24	27
Dwelling Place	Elle Rise, East Invercargill	Tweed Street, Invercargill
Length of Residence	2 years	4 years
Marriage Place	Residence of Jonathan Frost, Tweed Street, Invercargill
Folio	04/1490
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 March 1904
Officiating Minister	Rev. Geo. Lindsay

9 March 1904

Claude Davey
Janet Davey

Claude Davey
Janet Davey
💍 1904/606

Bachelor
Widow

Carpenter
Domestic

26
26

Conon Street, Invercargill
Conon Street, Invercargill

1 year
1 year

Residence of Mrs. Janet Davey, Conon Street, Invercargill

04/1489

9 March 1904

Rev. Geo. Lindsay

No	35
Date of Notice	9 March 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Claude Davey	Janet Davey
	💍 1904/606
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Carpenter	Domestic
Age	26	26
Dwelling Place	Conon Street, Invercargill	Conon Street, Invercargill
Length of Residence	1 year	1 year
Marriage Place	Residence of Mrs. Janet Davey, Conon Street, Invercargill
Folio	04/1489
Consent
Date of Certificate	9 March 1904
Officiating Minister	Rev. Geo. Lindsay

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).