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 829

District of Invercargill Quarter ending 31 March 1904 Registrar J. G. 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

10 March 1904

John Reid
Rubina Norton

John Reid
Rubina Norton
💍 1904/6956

Bachelor
Spinster

Postman
Domestic

23
18

Dee Street Invercargill
Avenue Invercargill

3 days
18 years

Office of the Registrar of Marriages Invercargill

04/1468

John Norton, Father

10 March 1904

Registrar of Marriages Invercargill

No	36
Date of Notice	10 March 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Reid	Rubina Norton
	💍 1904/6956
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Postman	Domestic
Age	23	18
Dwelling Place	Dee Street Invercargill	Avenue Invercargill
Length of Residence	3 days	18 years
Marriage Place	Office of the Registrar of Marriages Invercargill
Folio	04/1468
Consent	John Norton, Father
Date of Certificate	10 March 1904
Officiating Minister	Registrar of Marriages Invercargill

18 March 1904

Thomas Albert Henry
Isabella Harding Morris

Thomas Albert Henry
Isabella Caroline Morris
💍 1904/4658

Bachelor
Spinster

Baker
Domestic

24
24

North Invercargill
Dee Street Invercargill

2 1/2 years
2 1/2 years

Methodist Church Dee Street Invercargill

04/6789

18 March 1904

Rev. Samuel Henderson Invercargill

No	37
Date of Notice	18 March 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Albert Henry	Isabella Harding Morris
BDM Match (92%)	Thomas Albert Henry	Isabella Caroline Morris
	💍 1904/4658
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Baker	Domestic
Age	24	24
Dwelling Place	North Invercargill	Dee Street Invercargill
Length of Residence	2 1/2 years	2 1/2 years
Marriage Place	Methodist Church Dee Street Invercargill
Folio	04/6789
Consent
Date of Certificate	18 March 1904
Officiating Minister	Rev. Samuel Henderson Invercargill

19 March 1904

William Lyon
Gertrude Froglimon

Bachelor
Spinster

Carpenter
Domestic

33
25

Richmond Grove Invercargill
Richmond Grove Invercargill

4 years
25 years

English Church Dee Street Invercargill

04/1472

19 March 1904

Rev. M. Hocker Invercargill

No	38
Date of Notice	19 March 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Lyon	Gertrude Froglimon
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carpenter	Domestic
Age	33	25
Dwelling Place	Richmond Grove Invercargill	Richmond Grove Invercargill
Length of Residence	4 years	25 years
Marriage Place	English Church Dee Street Invercargill
Folio	04/1472
Consent
Date of Certificate	19 March 1904
Officiating Minister	Rev. M. Hocker Invercargill

24 March 1904

Herbert de Ganes Graham
Florence Nina Henderson

Herbert De Garris Gresham
Florence Nina Henderson
💍 1904/2876

Bachelor
Spinster

Dentist

27
29

Ashburton
Clyde Street Invercargill

7 months
29 years

Residence of Bro. C. Henderson Invercargill

04/3436

24 March 1904

Rev. R. Ferguson Invercargill

No	39
Date of Notice	24 March 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Herbert de Ganes Graham	Florence Nina Henderson
BDM Match (88%)	Herbert De Garris Gresham	Florence Nina Henderson
	💍 1904/2876
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Dentist
Age	27	29
Dwelling Place	Ashburton	Clyde Street Invercargill
Length of Residence	7 months	29 years
Marriage Place	Residence of Bro. C. Henderson Invercargill
Folio	04/3436
Consent
Date of Certificate	24 March 1904
Officiating Minister	Rev. R. Ferguson Invercargill

25 March 1904

Charles Woodward
Sarah Jane Cook

Charles Woodward
Sarah Jane Cook
💍 1904/608

Bachelor
Spinster

Bricklayer
Domestic

23
24

North Invercargill
Ettrick Street Invercargill

23 years
24 years

Residence of William Cook Ettrick Street Invercargill

04/1491

25 March 1904

Rev. Geo. Lindsay Invercargill

No	40
Date of Notice	25 March 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Woodward	Sarah Jane Cook
	💍 1904/608
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Bricklayer	Domestic
Age	23	24
Dwelling Place	North Invercargill	Ettrick Street Invercargill
Length of Residence	23 years	24 years
Marriage Place	Residence of William Cook Ettrick Street Invercargill
Folio	04/1491
Consent
Date of Certificate	25 March 1904
Officiating Minister	Rev. Geo. Lindsay Invercargill

28 March 1904

Robert Simpson McNaught
Grace Marion Maron

Robert Simpson McNaught
Grace Marion Mason
💍 1904/2322

Bachelor
Spinster

Cutter
Tailoress

28
27

Dee Street Invercargill
Roslyn Dunedin

15 months
7 years

Residence of Mr. McColl Dunedin

04/3387

28 March 1904

Rev. Saunders Dunedin

No	41
Date of Notice	28 March 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Robert Simpson McNaught	Grace Marion Maron
BDM Match (97%)	Robert Simpson McNaught	Grace Marion Mason
	💍 1904/2322
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Cutter	Tailoress
Age	28	27
Dwelling Place	Dee Street Invercargill	Roslyn Dunedin
Length of Residence	15 months	7 years
Marriage Place	Residence of Mr. McColl Dunedin
Folio	04/3387
Consent
Date of Certificate	28 March 1904
Officiating Minister	Rev. Saunders Dunedin

28 March 1904

Thomas Reid
Charlotte Marshall

Thomas Bird
Charlotte Marshall
💍 1904/7145

Bachelor
Spinster

Sawmiller
Domestic

26
24

Woodend Invercargill
Otatara Invercargill

7 years
5 years

Residence of Robert Marshall Otatara Invercargill

04/3453

28 March 1904

Rev. R. Rains Invercargill

No	42
Date of Notice	28 March 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Reid	Charlotte Marshall
BDM Match (86%)	Thomas Bird	Charlotte Marshall
	💍 1904/7145
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Sawmiller	Domestic
Age	26	24
Dwelling Place	Woodend Invercargill	Otatara Invercargill
Length of Residence	7 years	5 years
Marriage Place	Residence of Robert Marshall Otatara Invercargill
Folio	04/3453
Consent
Date of Certificate	28 March 1904
Officiating Minister	Rev. R. Rains Invercargill

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).