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 827

District of Invercargill Quarter ending 31 March 1904 Registrar J. T. Petrie

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 February 1904

Frederick Hewlings Cherkolin
Alice Christina Isabella Russell

Frederick Hewlings Chisholm
Alice Christina Isabella Russell
💍 1904/7069

Bachelor
Spinster

Travelling Representative

28
24

Wellington
Bay Road, Invercargill

3 days
14 years

English Church, Gladstone, Invercargill

04/1473

10 February 1904

Rev. W. Jermyn

No	22
Date of Notice	10 February 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Frederick Hewlings Cherkolin	Alice Christina Isabella Russell
BDM Match (91%)	Frederick Hewlings Chisholm	Alice Christina Isabella Russell
	💍 1904/7069
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Travelling Representative
Age	28	24
Dwelling Place	Wellington	Bay Road, Invercargill
Length of Residence	3 days	14 years
Marriage Place	English Church, Gladstone, Invercargill
Folio	04/1473
Consent
Date of Certificate	10 February 1904
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. Jermyn

12 February 1904

Alexander Murdoch Cameron
Jane Nicholson

Alexander Murdoch Cameron
Jane Nicholson
💍 1904/594

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Dressmaker

22
28

Esk Street, Invercargill
Esk Street, Invercargill

3 days
3 days

Office of the Registrar of Marriages, Invercargill

04/1466

12 February 1904

Registrar of Marriages, Invercargill

No	23
Date of Notice	12 February 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Alexander Murdoch Cameron	Jane Nicholson
	💍 1904/594
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Dressmaker
Age	22	28
Dwelling Place	Esk Street, Invercargill	Esk Street, Invercargill
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	Office of the Registrar of Marriages, Invercargill
Folio	04/1466
Consent
Date of Certificate	12 February 1904
Officiating Minister	Registrar of Marriages, Invercargill

13 February 1904

William Joseph Fleming
Delia Josephine Browne

William Joseph Hanning
Delia Josephine Browne
💍 1904/6851

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic

30
31

Invercargill
Roslyn Road, Invercargill

30 years
31 years

Roman Catholic Church, Rallabouka, Invercargill

04/1684

13 February 1904

Very Rev. W. Burke

No	24
Date of Notice	13 February 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Joseph Fleming	Delia Josephine Browne
BDM Match (91%)	William Joseph Hanning	Delia Josephine Browne
	💍 1904/6851
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic
Age	30	31
Dwelling Place	Invercargill	Roslyn Road, Invercargill
Length of Residence	30 years	31 years
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Church, Rallabouka, Invercargill
Folio	04/1684
Consent
Date of Certificate	13 February 1904
Officiating Minister	Very Rev. W. Burke

15 February 1904

Michael Hayes
Margaret Selina Steemble

Michael Hayes
Margaret Selina Stumbles
💍 1904/800

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Dressmaker

54
37

Esk Street, Invercargill
Esk Street, Invercargill

3 days
3 days

Roman Catholic Church, Clyde Street, Invercargill

04/1685

15 February 1904

Very Rev. W. Burke

No	25
Date of Notice	15 February 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Michael Hayes	Margaret Selina Steemble
BDM Match (94%)	Michael Hayes	Margaret Selina Stumbles
	💍 1904/800
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Dressmaker
Age	54	37
Dwelling Place	Esk Street, Invercargill	Esk Street, Invercargill
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Church, Clyde Street, Invercargill
Folio	04/1685
Consent
Date of Certificate	15 February 1904
Officiating Minister	Very Rev. W. Burke

20 February 1904

James Heubel McCaw
Frances Ida Dawson

James Hunter McGaw
Frances Ida Dawson
💍 1904/581

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic

29
21

Longbush, Invercargill
Runnwick, Invercargill

5 years
3 years

Residence of Arthur W. Dawson, Runnwick, Invercargill

04/1476

20 February 1904

Rev. J. Cumming

No	26
Date of Notice	20 February 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Heubel McCaw	Frances Ida Dawson
BDM Match (86%)	James Hunter McGaw	Frances Ida Dawson
	💍 1904/581
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic
Age	29	21
Dwelling Place	Longbush, Invercargill	Runnwick, Invercargill
Length of Residence	5 years	3 years
Marriage Place	Residence of Arthur W. Dawson, Runnwick, Invercargill
Folio	04/1476
Consent
Date of Certificate	20 February 1904
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Cumming

24 February 1904

James Dickson
Helen Isabella Barclay

James Dickison
Helen Isabella Barclay
💍 1904/603

Bachelor
Spinster

Gardener
Dressmaker

33
27

Lyttleton, Clyde Street
Ellusk Street, Enwood, Invercargill

1 month
3 years

Residence of Helen Barclay, Ellusk Street, Enwood, Invercargill

04/1486

24 February 1904

Rev. Geo. Lindsay

No	27
Date of Notice	24 February 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Dickson	Helen Isabella Barclay
BDM Match (96%)	James Dickison	Helen Isabella Barclay
	💍 1904/603
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Gardener	Dressmaker
Age	33	27
Dwelling Place	Lyttleton, Clyde Street	Ellusk Street, Enwood, Invercargill
Length of Residence	1 month	3 years
Marriage Place	Residence of Helen Barclay, Ellusk Street, Enwood, Invercargill
Folio	04/1486
Consent
Date of Certificate	24 February 1904
Officiating Minister	Rev. Geo. Lindsay

3 March 1904

William Thomas Widdowson
May Steele Cockburn

William Thomas Widdowson
Mary Steele Cockburn
💍 1904/598

Widower
Divorced

Coach Builder
Domestic

34
33

New South, Invercargill
Crinan Street, Invercargill

14 years
25 years

Residence of Mary Jarvis, Crinan Street, Invercargill

04/1495

3 March 1904

Rev. T. A. Byrnes

No	28
Date of Notice	3 March 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Thomas Widdowson	May Steele Cockburn
BDM Match (98%)	William Thomas Widdowson	Mary Steele Cockburn
	💍 1904/598
Condition	Widower	Divorced
Profession	Coach Builder	Domestic
Age	34	33
Dwelling Place	New South, Invercargill	Crinan Street, Invercargill
Length of Residence	14 years	25 years
Marriage Place	Residence of Mary Jarvis, Crinan Street, Invercargill
Folio	04/1495
Consent
Date of Certificate	3 March 1904
Officiating Minister	Rev. T. A. Byrnes

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).