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 598

District of Invercargill Quarter ending 30 September 1905 Registrar John Ernest Taylor

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

1 August 1905

John McLeap
Jane Orr Fisher

John McLeay
Jane Orr Fisher
💍 1905/2582

Bachelor
Spinster

Sawyer
Domestic

34
26

One Tree Point, Invercargill
One Tree Point, Invercargill

34 years
26 years

Church of England

05/74993

1 August 1905

Rev. Arch. Stocker

No	94
Date of Notice	1 August 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John McLeap	Jane Orr Fisher
BDM Match (95%)	John McLeay	Jane Orr Fisher
	💍 1905/2582
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Sawyer	Domestic
Age	34	26
Dwelling Place	One Tree Point, Invercargill	One Tree Point, Invercargill
Length of Residence	34 years	26 years
Marriage Place	Church of England
Folio	05/74993
Consent
Date of Certificate	1 August 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. Arch. Stocker

11 August 1905

Donald McLennan
Florence Parry

Donald McLennan
Florence Parry
💍 1905/2543

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic

36
29

Dee Street, Invercargill
Dee Street, Invercargill

3 days
3 days

St. Paul's Presbyterian Church

05/75005

11 August 1905

Rev. Geo. Lindsay

No	95
Date of Notice	11 August 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Donald McLennan	Florence Parry
	💍 1905/2543
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic
Age	36	29
Dwelling Place	Dee Street, Invercargill	Dee Street, Invercargill
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	St. Paul's Presbyterian Church
Folio	05/75005
Consent
Date of Certificate	11 August 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. Geo. Lindsay

12 August 1905

William Rowan Nimmo Parker Leck
Edith Barbara Sinclair Gunn

William Rowan Nimmo Parker Leck
Edith Barbara Sinclair Gunn
💍 1905/395

Bachelor
Spinster

Clerk
Dressmaker

23
23

Yarrow Street, Invercargill
Yarrow Street, Invercargill

4 years
14 years

Residence of R. W. Gunn

05/74996

12 August 1905

Rev. P. Ferguson

No	96
Date of Notice	12 August 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Rowan Nimmo Parker Leck	Edith Barbara Sinclair Gunn
	💍 1905/395
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Clerk	Dressmaker
Age	23	23
Dwelling Place	Yarrow Street, Invercargill	Yarrow Street, Invercargill
Length of Residence	4 years	14 years
Marriage Place	Residence of R. W. Gunn
Folio	05/74996
Consent
Date of Certificate	12 August 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. P. Ferguson

19 August 1905

Albert John Pedlar
Annie Rhoda Saunders

Albert John Pedlar
Annie Rhoda Saunders
💍 1905/2554

Widower
Spinster

Machinist
Domestic

32
32

Clifton Street, North Invercargill
Dee Street, North Invercargill

20 years
16 years

Residence of Andrew Colquhoun, Clifton Street

05/75015

19 August 1905

Rev. J. A. Peebles

No	97
Date of Notice	19 August 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Albert John Pedlar	Annie Rhoda Saunders
	💍 1905/2554
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Machinist	Domestic
Age	32	32
Dwelling Place	Clifton Street, North Invercargill	Dee Street, North Invercargill
Length of Residence	20 years	16 years
Marriage Place	Residence of Andrew Colquhoun, Clifton Street
Folio	05/75015
Consent
Date of Certificate	19 August 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. A. Peebles

23 August 1905

James Holmes Millar
Elizabeth Aithen

James Holmes Millar
Elizabeth Aitken
💍 1905/2560

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic

27
22

Hill Road, Invercargill
Hill Road, Invercargill

3 days
3 days

Residence of Walter Taylor, Hill Road

05/74999

23 August 1905

Rev. Jas. Cumming

No	98
Date of Notice	23 August 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Holmes Millar	Elizabeth Aithen
BDM Match (97%)	James Holmes Millar	Elizabeth Aitken
	💍 1905/2560
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic
Age	27	22
Dwelling Place	Hill Road, Invercargill	Hill Road, Invercargill
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	Residence of Walter Taylor, Hill Road
Folio	05/74999
Consent
Date of Certificate	23 August 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. Jas. Cumming

26 August 1905

Thomas Edwards
Jane Russell
M.N. Golightly

Thomas Edwards
Jane Russell
💍 1905/2577

Bachelor
Widow

Farmer
Domestic

23
26

Nest Plains, Invercargill
Nest Plains, Invercargill

11 years
5 years

Office of the Deputy Registrar of Marriages

05/74988

26 August 1905

Deputy Registrar

No	99
Date of Notice	26 August 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Edwards	Jane Russell M.N. Golightly
	💍 1905/2577
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Farmer	Domestic
Age	23	26
Dwelling Place	Nest Plains, Invercargill	Nest Plains, Invercargill
Length of Residence	11 years	5 years
Marriage Place	Office of the Deputy Registrar of Marriages
Folio	05/74988
Consent
Date of Certificate	26 August 1905
Officiating Minister	Deputy Registrar

100

28 August 1905

Samuel Lithgow
Catherine O'Halloran

Samuel Lithgow
Catherine O'Halloran
💍 1905/2544

Bachelor
Spinster

Iron Moulder
Domestic

23
19

Ettrick Street, Invercargill
Ettrick Street, Invercargill

23 years
19 years

Residence of Thomas Ryder, Ettrick Street

05/75006

John O'Halloran, father

28 August 1905

Rev. A. Mitchell

No	100
Date of Notice	28 August 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Samuel Lithgow	Catherine O'Halloran
	💍 1905/2544
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Iron Moulder	Domestic
Age	23	19
Dwelling Place	Ettrick Street, Invercargill	Ettrick Street, Invercargill
Length of Residence	23 years	19 years
Marriage Place	Residence of Thomas Ryder, Ettrick Street
Folio	05/75006
Consent	John O'Halloran, father
Date of Certificate	28 August 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. Mitchell

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).