Intentions to Marry, 1905 Canterbury, Otago, Chatham Islands

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840429, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

1905 is bound in three volumes - Auckland, Taranaki, Hawke's Bay (1905a), Wellington, Marlborough, Nelson, Westland (1905b), and Canterbury, Otago, Chatham Islands (1905c).

Page 096

District of Christchurch Quarter ending 30 September 1905 Registrar Lyonel Charles Williams

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

473

26 July 1905

George John Roberts
Sarah Louisa Kimber

George John Roberts
Sarah Louisa Kimber
💍 1905/2318

Widower
Spinster

Farmer

34
34

Springston
Springston

14 years
24 years

Anglican Church

05/4667

26 July 1905

Rev. T. J. Smyth, Anglican

No	473
Date of Notice	26 July 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George John Roberts	Sarah Louisa Kimber
	💍 1905/2318
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	34	34
Dwelling Place	Springston	Springston
Length of Residence	14 years	24 years
Marriage Place	Anglican Church
Folio	05/4667
Consent
Date of Certificate	26 July 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. T. J. Smyth, Anglican

474

26 July 1905

Henry Berry Anderson
Louisa Mary Anderson

Henry Berry
Louisa Mary Anderson
💍 1905/2242

Hans Marino Andersen
Mary Anderson
💍 1905/340

Widower
Spinster

Bootmaker

28
19

Christchurch
Christchurch

18 years
10 years

House of Mr. Berry, Tuam Street, Christchurch

05/4741

Sarah Ann Anderson, mother

26 July 1905

Rev. K. Lee, Methodist

No	474
Date of Notice	26 July 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Henry Berry Anderson	Louisa Mary Anderson
BDM Match (78%)	Henry Berry	Louisa Mary Anderson
	💍 1905/2242
BDM Match (60%)	Hans Marino Andersen	Mary Anderson
	💍 1905/340
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Bootmaker
Age	28	19
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	18 years	10 years
Marriage Place	House of Mr. Berry, Tuam Street, Christchurch
Folio	05/4741
Consent	Sarah Ann Anderson, mother
Date of Certificate	26 July 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. K. Lee, Methodist

475

26 July 1905

Walter Dunshea
Agnes McGuin

Walter Dunshea
Agnes McGuire
💍 1905/2214

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic

29
24

Christchurch
Christchurch

2 weeks
18 months

Registrar's Office, Christchurch

05/4619

26 July 1905

Registrar of Marriages, Christchurch

No	475
Date of Notice	26 July 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Walter Dunshea	Agnes McGuin
BDM Match (92%)	Walter Dunshea	Agnes McGuire
	💍 1905/2214
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic
Age	29	24
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	2 weeks	18 months
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office, Christchurch
Folio	05/4619
Consent
Date of Certificate	26 July 1905
Officiating Minister	Registrar of Marriages, Christchurch

476

28 July 1905

Francis Edwin Smith
Fanny Hayes Spensley

Francis Edwin Smith
Fanny Sayers
💍 1905/2305

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic

34
31

Lincoln
Lincoln

3 days
4 years

St. Saviours, Lincoln

05/4653

28 July 1905

Archdeacon Scott, Anglican

No	476
Date of Notice	28 July 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Francis Edwin Smith	Fanny Hayes Spensley
BDM Match (75%)	Francis Edwin Smith	Fanny Sayers
	💍 1905/2305
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic
Age	34	31
Dwelling Place	Lincoln	Lincoln
Length of Residence	3 days	4 years
Marriage Place	St. Saviours, Lincoln
Folio	05/4653
Consent
Date of Certificate	28 July 1905
Officiating Minister	Archdeacon Scott, Anglican

477

28 July 1905

Frank Young Huston
Adela Mary Roche

Frank Young Musband
Adela Mary Roche
💍 1905/2215

Widower
Spinster

Grocer
Artist

40
25

Christchurch
Christchurch

3 years
18 months

Registrar's Office, Christchurch

05/4620

28 July 1905

Registrar of Marriages, Christchurch

No	477
Date of Notice	28 July 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Frank Young Huston	Adela Mary Roche
BDM Match (89%)	Frank Young Musband	Adela Mary Roche
	💍 1905/2215
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Grocer	Artist
Age	40	25
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	3 years	18 months
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office, Christchurch
Folio	05/4620
Consent
Date of Certificate	28 July 1905
Officiating Minister	Registrar of Marriages, Christchurch

478

28 July 1905

George John Waites
Mary Harris

George John Waites
Mary Harris
💍 1905/2771

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer

31
33

Belfast
St. Albans

9 years
33 years

St. Matthew's, St. Albans

05/5211

28 July 1905

Rev. J. H. Roper, Anglican

No	478
Date of Notice	28 July 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George John Waites	Mary Harris
	💍 1905/2771
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer
Age	31	33
Dwelling Place	Belfast	St. Albans
Length of Residence	9 years	33 years
Marriage Place	St. Matthew's, St. Albans
Folio	05/5211
Consent
Date of Certificate	28 July 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. H. Roper, Anglican

479

29 July 1905

Percy Elias Callaghan
Sarah Augusta Brunn

Francis Peter Callaghan
Sarah Augusta Dunn
💍 1905/2359

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer

39
29

Christchurch
Christchurch

6 months
2 weeks

St. Paul's, Christchurch

05/4686

29 July 1905

Rev. J. Tait, Presbyterian

No	479
Date of Notice	29 July 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Percy Elias Callaghan	Sarah Augusta Brunn
BDM Match (71%)	Francis Peter Callaghan	Sarah Augusta Dunn
	💍 1905/2359
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer
Age	39	29
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	6 months	2 weeks
Marriage Place	St. Paul's, Christchurch
Folio	05/4686
Consent
Date of Certificate	29 July 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Tait, Presbyterian

480

31 July 1905

Arthur Ingram Stephens
Helen Eveline Pribble

Arthur Morgan Stephens
Helen Eveline Prebble
💍 1905/2712

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer

21
22

Christchurch
Papanui

3 days
8 years

Presbyterian Church, Papanui

05/5752

31 July 1905

Rev. J. Machens, Presbyterian

No	480
Date of Notice	31 July 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Arthur Ingram Stephens	Helen Eveline Pribble
BDM Match (86%)	Arthur Morgan Stephens	Helen Eveline Prebble
	💍 1905/2712
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	21	22
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Papanui
Length of Residence	3 days	8 years
Marriage Place	Presbyterian Church, Papanui
Folio	05/5752
Consent
Date of Certificate	31 July 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Machens, Presbyterian

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).