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 158

District of Ellesmere Quarter ending 31 March 1905 Registrar Heerbert Arthur Penn

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 1905

Aaron Godfrey
Kate Galyer

Aaron Godfrey
Kate Galyer
💍 1905/6504

Bachelor
Spinster

Laborer
Domestic

45
25

Southbridge
Dunsandel

5 years
8 years

David Galyer's House, Dunsandel

05/1588

5 January 1905

Rev. Hamilton

No	1
Date of Notice	5 January 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Aaron Godfrey	Kate Galyer
	💍 1905/6504
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Laborer	Domestic
Age	45	25
Dwelling Place	Southbridge	Dunsandel
Length of Residence	5 years	8 years
Marriage Place	David Galyer's House, Dunsandel
Folio	05/1588
Consent
Date of Certificate	5 January 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. Hamilton

9 January 1905

John Alexander Doak
Mary Elizabeth Wills

John Alexander Doak
Mary Elizabeth Mills
💍 1905/6192

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic

29
28

Leeston
Leeston

29 years
28 years

David Wills' House, Leeston

05/1164

9 January 1905

Rev. W. H. Beck

No	2
Date of Notice	9 January 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Alexander Doak	Mary Elizabeth Wills
BDM Match (98%)	John Alexander Doak	Mary Elizabeth Mills
	💍 1905/6192
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic
Age	29	28
Dwelling Place	Leeston	Leeston
Length of Residence	29 years	28 years
Marriage Place	David Wills' House, Leeston
Folio	05/1164
Consent
Date of Certificate	9 January 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. H. Beck

9 January 1905

Ernest Tince
Mary Harriet Galyer

Ernest Vince
Mary Harriet Galyer
💍 1905/6505

Bachelor
Spinster

Cycle Engineer
Domestic

23
21

Rakaia
Dunsandel

6 months
3 weeks

English Church, Dunsandel

05/1589

9 January 1905

Rev. Hamilton

No	3
Date of Notice	9 January 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Ernest Tince	Mary Harriet Galyer
BDM Match (96%)	Ernest Vince	Mary Harriet Galyer
	💍 1905/6505
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Cycle Engineer	Domestic
Age	23	21
Dwelling Place	Rakaia	Dunsandel
Length of Residence	6 months	3 weeks
Marriage Place	English Church, Dunsandel
Folio	05/1589
Consent
Date of Certificate	9 January 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. Hamilton

12 January 1905

Daniel O'Connell
Mary Florence Lewis

Daniel O'Connell
Mary Florence Lewis
💍 1905/6506

Bachelor
Spinster

Laborer
Domestic

27
26

Ch Ch
Southbridge

5 years
18 years

English Church, Southbridge

05/1590

12 January 1905

Rev. Hamilton

No	4
Date of Notice	12 January 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Daniel O'Connell	Mary Florence Lewis
	💍 1905/6506
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Laborer	Domestic
Age	27	26
Dwelling Place	Ch Ch	Southbridge
Length of Residence	5 years	18 years
Marriage Place	English Church, Southbridge
Folio	05/1590
Consent
Date of Certificate	12 January 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. Hamilton

14 January 1905

Gawn Cooper
Elizabeth Hampton

Gavin Cooper
Elizabeth Hampton
💍 1905/6193

Bachelor
Spinster

Stock Agent
Domestic

32
25

Killinchy
Leeston

32 years
7 years

English Church, Leeston

05/1165

14 January 1905

Rev. W. H. Orbell

No	5
Date of Notice	14 January 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Gawn Cooper	Elizabeth Hampton
BDM Match (92%)	Gavin Cooper	Elizabeth Hampton
	💍 1905/6193
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Stock Agent	Domestic
Age	32	25
Dwelling Place	Killinchy	Leeston
Length of Residence	32 years	7 years
Marriage Place	English Church, Leeston
Folio	05/1165
Consent
Date of Certificate	14 January 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. H. Orbell

13 February 1905

Jackson Edward Brydges
Elizabeth Moorhead

Jackson Edward Brydges
Elizabeth Moorhead
💍 1905/6507

Widower
Spinster

Timber Merchant
Domestic

43
29

Wellington
Southbridge

2 years
29 years

House of Mrs. Moorhead, Southbridge

05/1591

13 February 1905

Rev. N. H. S. Hamilton

No	6
Date of Notice	13 February 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Jackson Edward Brydges	Elizabeth Moorhead
	💍 1905/6507
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Timber Merchant	Domestic
Age	43	29
Dwelling Place	Wellington	Southbridge
Length of Residence	2 years	29 years
Marriage Place	House of Mrs. Moorhead, Southbridge
Folio	05/1591
Consent
Date of Certificate	13 February 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. N. H. S. Hamilton

16 February 1905

David Small
Annie Agnes Glengarry

David Small
Aimie Agnes Glengarry
💍 1905/6194

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic

21
18

Lumsden
Leeston

19 years
5 weeks

House of Rev. W. Grant, Leeston

05/1166

John Glengarry, Father

16 February 1905

Rev. W. Grant

No	7
Date of Notice	16 February 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	David Small	Annie Agnes Glengarry
BDM Match (95%)	David Small	Aimie Agnes Glengarry
	💍 1905/6194
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic
Age	21	18
Dwelling Place	Lumsden	Leeston
Length of Residence	19 years	5 weeks
Marriage Place	House of Rev. W. Grant, Leeston
Folio	05/1166
Consent	John Glengarry, Father
Date of Certificate	16 February 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. Grant

16 March 1905

George Joseph Goulden
Isabella Margaret Sellars Shierlaw

George Joseph Goulden
Isabella Margaret Sellars Shierlaw
💍 1905/6508

Bachelor
Spinster

Laborer
Domestic

29
18

Southbridge
Southbridge

18 months
18 years

House of Mrs. Shierlaw, Southbridge

05/1592

Agnes Shierlaw, Mother

16 March 1905

Rev. R. W. Jackson

No	8
Date of Notice	16 March 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Joseph Goulden	Isabella Margaret Sellars Shierlaw
	💍 1905/6508
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Laborer	Domestic
Age	29	18
Dwelling Place	Southbridge	Southbridge
Length of Residence	18 months	18 years
Marriage Place	House of Mrs. Shierlaw, Southbridge
Folio	05/1592
Consent	Agnes Shierlaw, Mother
Date of Certificate	16 March 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. R. W. Jackson

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).