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 586

District of Invercargill Quarter ending 31 March 1905 Registrar J. B. Jay

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

William Lockhart
Isabella Louisa Riddell

William Lockhart
Isabella Louisa Riddell
💍 1905/5103

Bachelor
Spinster

Government Rabbiter
Domestic

30
22

Powertown, South Invercargill
Elles Road, South Invercargill

18 months
6 years

In the house of William Scott, Riddell, Elles Road, South Invercargill

05/1460

5 January 1905

Rev. J. A. Pybus

No	1
Date of Notice	5 January 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Lockhart	Isabella Louisa Riddell
	💍 1905/5103
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Government Rabbiter	Domestic
Age	30	22
Dwelling Place	Powertown, South Invercargill	Elles Road, South Invercargill
Length of Residence	18 months	6 years
Marriage Place	In the house of William Scott, Riddell, Elles Road, South Invercargill
Folio	05/1460
Consent
Date of Certificate	5 January 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. A. Pybus

5 January 1905

John George Macfadyen
Christina Spencer Macdonald

John George McFadyen
Christina Macdonald
💍 1905/5116

Bachelor
Spinster

Carter
Domestic

26
22

Dalrymple Street, South Invercargill
Elles Road, South Invercargill

6 months
4 years

St. Paul's Presbyterian Church

05/1449

5 January 1905

Rev. J. Lindsay

No	2
Date of Notice	5 January 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John George Macfadyen	Christina Spencer Macdonald
BDM Match (80%)	John George McFadyen	Christina Macdonald
	💍 1905/5116
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carter	Domestic
Age	26	22
Dwelling Place	Dalrymple Street, South Invercargill	Elles Road, South Invercargill
Length of Residence	6 months	4 years
Marriage Place	St. Paul's Presbyterian Church
Folio	05/1449
Consent
Date of Certificate	5 January 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Lindsay

5 January 1905

David John Keoney
Lilian May Helen Engena

David John Wesney
Lilian May Helen England
💍 1905/5102

Bachelor
Spinster

Accountant
Domestic

24
22

Yarrow Street, Invercargill
Leet Street, Invercargill

2 years
2 years

St. Paul's Methodist Church

05/1459

5 January 1905

Rev. J. F. Prior

No	3
Date of Notice	5 January 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	David John Keoney	Lilian May Helen Engena
BDM Match (88%)	David John Wesney	Lilian May Helen England
	💍 1905/5102
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Accountant	Domestic
Age	24	22
Dwelling Place	Yarrow Street, Invercargill	Leet Street, Invercargill
Length of Residence	2 years	2 years
Marriage Place	St. Paul's Methodist Church
Folio	05/1459
Consent
Date of Certificate	5 January 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. F. Prior

12 January 1905

Patrick Duggan
Margaret Caulfield

Patrick Duggan
Margaret Caulfield
💍 1905/1020

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic

26
18

Grove Bush, Invercargill
Grove Bush, Invercargill

3 years
18 years

Roman Catholic Presbytery

05/3404

Mary Caulfield, mother

12 January 1905

Very Rev. Dean Burke

No	4
Date of Notice	12 January 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Patrick Duggan	Margaret Caulfield
	💍 1905/1020
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic
Age	26	18
Dwelling Place	Grove Bush, Invercargill	Grove Bush, Invercargill
Length of Residence	3 years	18 years
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Presbytery
Folio	05/3404
Consent	Mary Caulfield, mother
Date of Certificate	12 January 1905
Officiating Minister	Very Rev. Dean Burke

12 January 1905

Robert Archibald Miller
Dinah Harvey Donglas

Robert Archibald Miller
Dinah Harvey Douglas
💍 1905/5073

Bachelor
Spinster

Carpenter
Dressmaker

24
27

Beaumont Street, Invercargill
Beaumont Street, Invercargill

17 years
2 weeks

Office of the Registrar of Marriages

05/1428

12 January 1905

Deputy Registrar of Marriages

No	5
Date of Notice	12 January 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Robert Archibald Miller	Dinah Harvey Donglas
BDM Match (98%)	Robert Archibald Miller	Dinah Harvey Douglas
	💍 1905/5073
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carpenter	Dressmaker
Age	24	27
Dwelling Place	Beaumont Street, Invercargill	Beaumont Street, Invercargill
Length of Residence	17 years	2 weeks
Marriage Place	Office of the Registrar of Marriages
Folio	05/1428
Consent
Date of Certificate	12 January 1905
Officiating Minister	Deputy Registrar of Marriages

14 January 1905

Peter David Johnstone
Lena Dey

Peter David Johnstone
Lena Dey
💍 1905/5105

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic

23
20

Makarewa, Invercargill
Makarewa, Invercargill

2 years
18 years

In the house of Gottlieb Dey, Makarewa

05/1444

Gottlieb Dey, father

14 January 1905

Rev. J. Cumming

No	6
Date of Notice	14 January 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Peter David Johnstone	Lena Dey
	💍 1905/5105
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic
Age	23	20
Dwelling Place	Makarewa, Invercargill	Makarewa, Invercargill
Length of Residence	2 years	18 years
Marriage Place	In the house of Gottlieb Dey, Makarewa
Folio	05/1444
Consent	Gottlieb Dey, father
Date of Certificate	14 January 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Cumming

17 January 1905

William Stephenson
Jessie Johnston

William Stephenson
Jessie Johnston
💍 1905/5094

Bachelor
Spinster

Telegraphist
Domestic

41
29

Tay Street, Invercargill
Tay Street, Invercargill

3 days
25 years

At the residence of J. Farnie, Tay Street

05/1443

17 January 1905

Rev. J. Cumming

No	7
Date of Notice	17 January 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Stephenson	Jessie Johnston
	💍 1905/5094
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Telegraphist	Domestic
Age	41	29
Dwelling Place	Tay Street, Invercargill	Tay Street, Invercargill
Length of Residence	3 days	25 years
Marriage Place	At the residence of J. Farnie, Tay Street
Folio	05/1443
Consent
Date of Certificate	17 January 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Cumming

21 January 1905

John Lamont
Agnes Halliday

John Lamont
Agnes Halliday
💍 1905/5112

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic

22
20

Roslyn Bush, Invercargill
Roslyn Bush, Invercargill

15 years
20 years

Presbyterian Church

05/1445

William Halliday, father

21 January 1905

Rev. J. Cumming

No	8
Date of Notice	21 January 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Lamont	Agnes Halliday
	💍 1905/5112
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic
Age	22	20
Dwelling Place	Roslyn Bush, Invercargill	Roslyn Bush, Invercargill
Length of Residence	15 years	20 years
Marriage Place	Presbyterian Church
Folio	05/1445
Consent	William Halliday, father
Date of Certificate	21 January 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Cumming

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).