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 207

District of LYTTELTON Quarter ending 31 December 1905 Registrar WILLIAM DRYBURGH WALLACE

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

2 October 1905

James Sinclair
Elizabeth Swan

James Sinclair
Elizabeth Swan
💍 1905/4036

Bachelor
Spinster

Boat-builder

22
20

LYTTELTON
LYTTELTON

22 years
20 years

at the house of John Swan, Bridle-path, Lyttelton

05/6602

John Swan Father

2 October 1905

Rev. Wm Lee (Methodist)

No	30
Date of Notice	2 October 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Sinclair	Elizabeth Swan
	💍 1905/4036
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Boat-builder
Age	22	20
Dwelling Place	LYTTELTON	LYTTELTON
Length of Residence	22 years	20 years
Marriage Place	at the house of John Swan, Bridle-path, Lyttelton
Folio	05/6602
Consent	John Swan Father
Date of Certificate	2 October 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. Wm Lee (Methodist)

9 October 1905

James Wilkinson
Mary Ann Rutledge

James Wilkinson
Mary Ann Rutledge
💍 1905/4064

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic Servant

23
21

LYTTELTON
LYTTELTON

3 months
21 years

at the house of Richard Forman, College Rd Lyttelton

05/6607

9 October 1905

Rev A.C. Wedderspoon (Presbyterian)

No	31
Date of Notice	9 October 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Wilkinson	Mary Ann Rutledge
	💍 1905/4064
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic Servant
Age	23	21
Dwelling Place	LYTTELTON	LYTTELTON
Length of Residence	3 months	21 years
Marriage Place	at the house of Richard Forman, College Rd Lyttelton
Folio	05/6607
Consent
Date of Certificate	9 October 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev A.C. Wedderspoon (Presbyterian)

3 November 1905

James McHerrow
Bertha Priskie

James McKerron
Bertha Priskie
💍 1905/4065

Bachelor
Spinster

Engine-fitter

23
20

LYTTELTON
LYTTELTON

3 years
3 years

at the house of Albert Wootton, Ripon St, Lyttelton

05/6608

Godfrey Priskie Father

3 November 1905

Rev. A.C. Wedderspoon (Presbyterian)

No	32
Date of Notice	3 November 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James McHerrow	Bertha Priskie
BDM Match (93%)	James McKerron	Bertha Priskie
	💍 1905/4065
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Engine-fitter
Age	23	20
Dwelling Place	LYTTELTON	LYTTELTON
Length of Residence	3 years	3 years
Marriage Place	at the house of Albert Wootton, Ripon St, Lyttelton
Folio	05/6608
Consent	Godfrey Priskie Father
Date of Certificate	3 November 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. A.C. Wedderspoon (Presbyterian)

11 November 1905

John Channings
Alice Matilda Bryant

John Channings
Alice Matilda Bryant
💍 1905/4044

John Trewin
Fanny Matilda Bryant
💍 1905/5580

Bachelor
Spinster

Bricklayer

21
16

LYTTELTON
LYTTELTON

7 months
16 years

at the house of Anton Wm Malmquist, Hawkhurst Rd Lyttelton

05/6603

Jane Malmquist Mother

11 November 1905

Rev. Wm Lee (Methodist)

No	33
Date of Notice	11 November 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Channings	Alice Matilda Bryant
	💍 1905/4044
BDM Match (63%)	John Trewin	Fanny Matilda Bryant
	💍 1905/5580
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Bricklayer
Age	21	16
Dwelling Place	LYTTELTON	LYTTELTON
Length of Residence	7 months	16 years
Marriage Place	at the house of Anton Wm Malmquist, Hawkhurst Rd Lyttelton
Folio	05/6603
Consent	Jane Malmquist Mother
Date of Certificate	11 November 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. Wm Lee (Methodist)

20 November 1905

Charles Oscar Frith Anderson
Edith Clark

Charles Oscar Nick Anderson
Edith Clarke
💍 1905/4062

Bachelor
Spinster

Stevedore
Nil

34
30

LYTTELTON
LYTTELTON

4 years
8 years

The Wesleyan Church

05/6605

20 November 1905

Rev. Wm Lee (Methodist)

No	34
Date of Notice	20 November 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Oscar Frith Anderson	Edith Clark
BDM Match (89%)	Charles Oscar Nick Anderson	Edith Clarke
	💍 1905/4062
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Stevedore	Nil
Age	34	30
Dwelling Place	LYTTELTON	LYTTELTON
Length of Residence	4 years	8 years
Marriage Place	The Wesleyan Church
Folio	05/6605
Consent
Date of Certificate	20 November 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. Wm Lee (Methodist)

27 November 1905

Frederick Lillard
Nellie Warren

Frederick Gillard
Nellie Warren
💍 1905/4055

Bachelor
Spinster

Stevedore
Domestic servant

24
23

LYTTELTON
LYTTELTON

24 years
18 months

at the house of Frederick Lillard, Exeter St, Lyttelton

05/6604

27 November 1905

Rev. Wm Lee (Methodist)

No	35
Date of Notice	27 November 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Frederick Lillard	Nellie Warren
BDM Match (97%)	Frederick Gillard	Nellie Warren
	💍 1905/4055
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Stevedore	Domestic servant
Age	24	23
Dwelling Place	LYTTELTON	LYTTELTON
Length of Residence	24 years	18 months
Marriage Place	at the house of Frederick Lillard, Exeter St, Lyttelton
Folio	05/6604
Consent
Date of Certificate	27 November 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. Wm Lee (Methodist)

22 December 1905

Charles Henry Bowker
Amy Bertha Smith Dalraish

Charles Henry Bowler
Amy Bertha Smith Galbraith
💍 1905/4063

Bachelor
Spinster

Land-agent

32
28

LYTTELTON
LYTTELTON

3 days
28 years

St. Saviours Church

05/6606

22 December 1905

Rev E. E. Chambers (Anglican)

No	36
Date of Notice	22 December 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Henry Bowker	Amy Bertha Smith Dalraish
BDM Match (92%)	Charles Henry Bowler	Amy Bertha Smith Galbraith
	💍 1905/4063
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Land-agent
Age	32	28
Dwelling Place	LYTTELTON	LYTTELTON
Length of Residence	3 days	28 years
Marriage Place	St. Saviours Church
Folio	05/6606
Consent
Date of Certificate	22 December 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev E. E. Chambers (Anglican)

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).