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 237

District of Oxford Quarter ending 30 June 1905 Registrar Leonard Sylvester Downes

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

13 April 1905

William James Martyn
Margaret Powell

William James Martyn
Margaret Powell
💍 1905/734

Bachelor
Spinster

Bookmaker
Domestic

23 years
28 years

Oxford
Oxford

6 Months
28 years

Baptist Church

05/3063

13 April 1905

Rev T Wagstaff

No	28
Date of Notice	13 April 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William James Martyn	Margaret Powell
	💍 1905/734
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Bookmaker	Domestic
Age	23 years	28 years
Dwelling Place	Oxford	Oxford
Length of Residence	6 Months	28 years
Marriage Place	Baptist Church
Folio	05/3063
Consent
Date of Certificate	13 April 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev T Wagstaff

25 April 1905

Thomas Scott
Eliza Milligan

Thomas Scott
Eliza Milligan
💍 1905/2775

Bachelor
Spinster

Blacksmith
Domestic

36 years
28 years

Dunsandel
Oxford

7 Months
28 years

St Andrews Church, East Oxford

05/5231

25 April 1905

Rev R F Garbett

No	29
Date of Notice	25 April 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Scott	Eliza Milligan
	💍 1905/2775
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Blacksmith	Domestic
Age	36 years	28 years
Dwelling Place	Dunsandel	Oxford
Length of Residence	7 Months	28 years
Marriage Place	St Andrews Church, East Oxford
Folio	05/5231
Consent
Date of Certificate	25 April 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev R F Garbett

8 June 1905

Percy John Beveley
Alice Mildred Parish

Percy John Barclay Pearson
Alice Mildred Parish
💍 1905/729

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic

26 years
24 years

Kirwee
Oxford

2 Months
24 years

Church of England

05/3058

8 June 1905

Rev R F Garbett

No	30
Date of Notice	8 June 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Percy John Beveley	Alice Mildred Parish
BDM Match (77%)	Percy John Barclay Pearson	Alice Mildred Parish
	💍 1905/729
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic
Age	26 years	24 years
Dwelling Place	Kirwee	Oxford
Length of Residence	2 Months	24 years
Marriage Place	Church of England
Folio	05/3058
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 June 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev R F Garbett

12 June 1905

Paolo William Luisetti
Hannah Louise Vincent

Paolo William Luisatia
Hannah Louisa Vincent
💍 1905/749

Bachelor
Spinster

Grocers Assistant
Domestic

24 years
24 years

Amberley
East Oxford

3 years
24 years

Church of England, Amberley

05/3056

12 June 1905

Rev R F Garbett

No	31
Date of Notice	12 June 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Paolo William Luisetti	Hannah Louise Vincent
BDM Match (91%)	Paolo William Luisatia	Hannah Louisa Vincent
	💍 1905/749
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Grocers Assistant	Domestic
Age	24 years	24 years
Dwelling Place	Amberley	East Oxford
Length of Residence	3 years	24 years
Marriage Place	Church of England, Amberley
Folio	05/3056
Consent
Date of Certificate	12 June 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev R F Garbett

12 June 1905

John Burrell
Edith Clara Vincent

John Burtt
Edith Clara Vincent
💍 1905/730

Bachelor
Spinster

Bookseller
Domestic

29 years
23 years

Christchurch
Oxford

13 years
23 years

Church of England, Christchurch

05/3059

12 June 1905

Rev R F Garbett

No	32
Date of Notice	12 June 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Burrell	Edith Clara Vincent
BDM Match (83%)	John Burtt	Edith Clara Vincent
	💍 1905/730
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Bookseller	Domestic
Age	29 years	23 years
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Oxford
Length of Residence	13 years	23 years
Marriage Place	Church of England, Christchurch
Folio	05/3059
Consent
Date of Certificate	12 June 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev R F Garbett

13 June 1905

Charles Henry Weir Baker
Brighton Annie Cockburn

Charles Henry Were Baker
Crighton Annie Cockburn
💍 1905/733

Bachelor
Spinster

Coachbuilder
Domestic

25 years
21 years

Ashburton
Oxford

25 years
21 years

Presbyterian Church

05/3062

13 June 1905

Rev Wm Spencer

No	33
Date of Notice	13 June 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Henry Weir Baker	Brighton Annie Cockburn
BDM Match (94%)	Charles Henry Were Baker	Crighton Annie Cockburn
	💍 1905/733
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Coachbuilder	Domestic
Age	25 years	21 years
Dwelling Place	Ashburton	Oxford
Length of Residence	25 years	21 years
Marriage Place	Presbyterian Church
Folio	05/3062
Consent
Date of Certificate	13 June 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev Wm Spencer

17 June 1905

Arthur Matthew Russell
Edith Gertrude Clarke

Andrew Matthew Russell
Edith Gertrude Clarke
💍 1905/731

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic

26 years
23 years

Oxford
Oxford

16 years
23 years

St Marys Church

05/3060

17 June 1905

Rev R F Garbett

No	34
Date of Notice	17 June 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Arthur Matthew Russell	Edith Gertrude Clarke
BDM Match (89%)	Andrew Matthew Russell	Edith Gertrude Clarke
	💍 1905/731
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic
Age	26 years	23 years
Dwelling Place	Oxford	Oxford
Length of Residence	16 years	23 years
Marriage Place	St Marys Church
Folio	05/3060
Consent
Date of Certificate	17 June 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev R F Garbett

20 June 1905

James Henry Proffitt
Ada Bertha Marsh

James Henry Moffit
Ada Bertha Marsh
💍 1905/732

Bachelor
Spinster

Bushman
Domestic

24 years
18 years

Oxford
Oxford

24 years
18 years

St Marys Church

05/3061

Robert Marsh, Father

20 June 1905

Rev R F Garbett

No	35
Date of Notice	20 June 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Henry Proffitt	Ada Bertha Marsh
BDM Match (93%)	James Henry Moffit	Ada Bertha Marsh
	💍 1905/732
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Bushman	Domestic
Age	24 years	18 years
Dwelling Place	Oxford	Oxford
Length of Residence	24 years	18 years
Marriage Place	St Marys Church
Folio	05/3061
Consent	Robert Marsh, Father
Date of Certificate	20 June 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev R F Garbett

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).