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 264

District of Christchurch Quarter ending 31 March 1904 Registrar L. C. Richanf

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

5 January 1904

Charles Gladstone Wallace
Johanna Leslie

Charles Gladstone Wallace
Johanna Leslie
💍 1904/145

Bachelor
Spinster

Driver

21
21

Christchurch
Christchurch

21 Years
2 Weeks

St. Lukes

04/1097

5 January 1904

Rev. R. G. W. Segar, Anglican

No	9
Date of Notice	5 January 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Gladstone Wallace	Johanna Leslie
	💍 1904/145
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Driver
Age	21	21
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	21 Years	2 Weeks
Marriage Place	St. Lukes
Folio	04/1097
Consent
Date of Certificate	5 January 1904
Officiating Minister	Rev. R. G. W. Segar, Anglican

5 January 1904

Edward Giles
Emily Harvey

Edward Giles
Emily Harvey
💍 1904/114

Widower
Spinster

Cordwainer

46
39

Christchurch
Addington

3 Days
19 Years

St. Mary's

04/1066

5 January 1904

Rev. R. S. Grace, Anglican

No	10
Date of Notice	5 January 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edward Giles	Emily Harvey
	💍 1904/114
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Cordwainer
Age	46	39
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Addington
Length of Residence	3 Days	19 Years
Marriage Place	St. Mary's
Folio	04/1066
Consent
Date of Certificate	5 January 1904
Officiating Minister	Rev. R. S. Grace, Anglican

6 January 1904

John Harry Thomas Rogers
Sarah Annie Chambers

John Harry Thomas Rogers
Sarah Annie Chambers
💍 1904/230

Bachelor
Spinster

Driver

28
29

Sydenham
Sydenham

14 Years
14 Years

Baptist Chapel

04/1183

6 January 1904

Rev. R. T. Hall, Baptist

No	11
Date of Notice	6 January 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Harry Thomas Rogers	Sarah Annie Chambers
	💍 1904/230
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Driver
Age	28	29
Dwelling Place	Sydenham	Sydenham
Length of Residence	14 Years	14 Years
Marriage Place	Baptist Chapel
Folio	04/1183
Consent
Date of Certificate	6 January 1904
Officiating Minister	Rev. R. T. Hall, Baptist

6 January 1904

George William Jacobs
Ada Ellen Wilson

George William Jacobs
Ada Ellen Wilson
💍 1904/4748

Bachelor
Spinster

Commercial Traveller

23
19

Christchurch
Christchurch

3 Years
7 Years

St. Marks

04/1109

William Jacobs, Father

6 January 1904

Rev. R. P. J. Ewer, Anglican

No	12
Date of Notice	6 January 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George William Jacobs	Ada Ellen Wilson
	💍 1904/4748
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Commercial Traveller
Age	23	19
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	3 Years	7 Years
Marriage Place	St. Marks
Folio	04/1109
Consent	William Jacobs, Father
Date of Certificate	6 January 1904
Officiating Minister	Rev. R. P. J. Ewer, Anglican

7 January 1904

Richard Henry Brewer
Emily Browne

Richard Henry Brewer
Emily Ada Browne
💍 1904/71

Bachelor
Spinster

Carpenter

30
25

Christchurch
Christchurch

5 Years
3 Weeks

Registrar's Office

04/1024

7 January 1904

Registrar, Christchurch

No	13
Date of Notice	7 January 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Richard Henry Brewer	Emily Browne
BDM Match (88%)	Richard Henry Brewer	Emily Ada Browne
	💍 1904/71
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carpenter
Age	30	25
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	5 Years	3 Weeks
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office
Folio	04/1024
Consent
Date of Certificate	7 January 1904
Officiating Minister	Registrar, Christchurch

7 January 1904

George Henry Bush
Charlotte Elizabeth Hallett

George Henry Bush
Charlotte Elizabeth Hallet
💍 1904/185

Bachelor
Spinster

Painter

30
34

Christchurch
Christchurch

23 Years
33 Years

St. Mary's, Manchester

04/1146

7 January 1904

Rev. R. H. Thomas, Roman Catholic

No	14
Date of Notice	7 January 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Henry Bush	Charlotte Elizabeth Hallett
BDM Match (98%)	George Henry Bush	Charlotte Elizabeth Hallet
	💍 1904/185
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Painter
Age	30	34
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	23 Years	33 Years
Marriage Place	St. Mary's, Manchester
Folio	04/1146
Consent
Date of Certificate	7 January 1904
Officiating Minister	Rev. R. H. Thomas, Roman Catholic

8 January 1904

John Fennell
Lollie Day
(Known as Davies)

John Fennell
Lottie Day
💍 1904/214

Bachelor
Spinster

Ironmonger

23
21

Christchurch
Christchurch

6 Years
2 Weeks

St. Barnabas, Burwood

04/1175

8 January 1904

Rev. C. A. Fraer, Methodist

No	15
Date of Notice	8 January 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Fennell	Lollie Day (Known as Davies)
BDM Match (90%)	John Fennell	Lottie Day
	💍 1904/214
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Ironmonger
Age	23	21
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	6 Years	2 Weeks
Marriage Place	St. Barnabas, Burwood
Folio	04/1175
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 January 1904
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. A. Fraer, Methodist

9 January 1904

George Walter Dore
Georgina Augusta O'Neill

George Walter Dore
Georgina Augusta O'Neill
💍 1904/70

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic

28
22

Christchurch
Christchurch

3 Days
3 Days

Registrar's Office

04/1023

9 January 1904

Registrar, Christchurch

No	16
Date of Notice	9 January 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Walter Dore	Georgina Augusta O'Neill
	💍 1904/70
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic
Age	28	22
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	3 Days	3 Days
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office
Folio	04/1023
Consent
Date of Certificate	9 January 1904
Officiating Minister	Registrar, Christchurch

These records have been automatically transcribed and must be verified using the page image (below)

100% Contrast

100% Brightness

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).