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 612

District of Invercargill Quarter ending 31 December 1905 Registrar J. Pelus

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

162

28 December 1905

Frederick James Goodall
Lillias Fraser Irwin

Frederick James Goodall
Lillias Fraser Irwin
💍 1905/4412

Bachelor
Spinster

Sawmiller
Domestic

24
21

Dee Street, Invercargill
Richmond Grove, Invercargill

7 days
7 days

English Church, Gladstone, Invercargill

05/6948

28 December 1905

Rev. W. Swinburn

No	162
Date of Notice	28 December 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Frederick James Goodall	Lillias Fraser Irwin
	💍 1905/4412
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Sawmiller	Domestic
Age	24	21
Dwelling Place	Dee Street, Invercargill	Richmond Grove, Invercargill
Length of Residence	7 days	7 days
Marriage Place	English Church, Gladstone, Invercargill
Folio	05/6948
Consent
Date of Certificate	28 December 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. Swinburn

163

28 December 1905

William Ewart
Mary Matheson

William Ewart
Mary Matheson
💍 1906/2684

Bachelor
Spinster

Surgeon

36
35

Don Street, Invercargill
Avenal, Tay Street, Invercargill

2 years
35 years

Presbyterian Church

06/1390

28 December 1905

Rev. R. Ferguson

No	163
Date of Notice	28 December 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Ewart	Mary Matheson
	💍 1906/2684
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Surgeon
Age	36	35
Dwelling Place	Don Street, Invercargill	Avenal, Tay Street, Invercargill
Length of Residence	2 years	35 years
Marriage Place	Presbyterian Church
Folio	06/1390
Consent
Date of Certificate	28 December 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. R. Ferguson

164

28 December 1905

Thomas Charles Gillies
Jessie Angus

Thomas Charles Gillies
Jessie Angus
💍 1906/2701

Bachelor
Spinster

Grocer
Domestic

28
24

Clifton, Invercargill
Clifton, Invercargill

4 years
10 years

Residence of Alexander Angus, Clifton, Invercargill

06/1408

28 December 1905

Rev. J. A. Pylrus

No	164
Date of Notice	28 December 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Charles Gillies	Jessie Angus
	💍 1906/2701
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Grocer	Domestic
Age	28	24
Dwelling Place	Clifton, Invercargill	Clifton, Invercargill
Length of Residence	4 years	10 years
Marriage Place	Residence of Alexander Angus, Clifton, Invercargill
Folio	06/1408
Consent
Date of Certificate	28 December 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. A. Pylrus

165

28 December 1905

Thomas Boyle
Frances Grace Stuck

Thomas Boyle
Frances Grace Stuck
💍 1906/2695

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Dressmaker

32
27

McMaster Street, East Invercargill
Annan Street, Tyne Street, Invercargill

3 years
4 years

Roman Catholic Church

06/1402

28 December 1905

Very Rev. Dean Burke

No	165
Date of Notice	28 December 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Boyle	Frances Grace Stuck
	💍 1906/2695
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Dressmaker
Age	32	27
Dwelling Place	McMaster Street, East Invercargill	Annan Street, Tyne Street, Invercargill
Length of Residence	3 years	4 years
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Church
Folio	06/1402
Consent
Date of Certificate	28 December 1905
Officiating Minister	Very Rev. Dean Burke

166

28 December 1905

Andrew Chapman
Georgina Mary Cook

Andrew Chapman
Georgina Mary Cook
💍 1906/2692

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Dressmaker

41
34

Melbourne Street, North Invercargill
Trick Street, Invercargill

1 year
30 years

English Church, Tay Street, Invercargill

06/1375

28 December 1905

Ven. Archdeacon Stocker

No	166
Date of Notice	28 December 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Andrew Chapman	Georgina Mary Cook
	💍 1906/2692
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Dressmaker
Age	41	34
Dwelling Place	Melbourne Street, North Invercargill	Trick Street, Invercargill
Length of Residence	1 year	30 years
Marriage Place	English Church, Tay Street, Invercargill
Folio	06/1375
Consent
Date of Certificate	28 December 1905
Officiating Minister	Ven. Archdeacon Stocker

167

29 December 1905

William Quinn
Elizabeth Selina May Macdonald

William Quinn
Elizabeth Selina May Macdonald
💍 1906/2713

Bachelor
Spinster

Merchant
Lady

35
35

Gladstone, Invercargill
Enwood, Invercargill

20 years
35 years

Residence of J. M. Macdonald, Enwood, Invercargill

06/1396

29 December 1905

Rev. J. Gibson-Smith

No	167
Date of Notice	29 December 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Quinn	Elizabeth Selina May Macdonald
	💍 1906/2713
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Merchant	Lady
Age	35	35
Dwelling Place	Gladstone, Invercargill	Enwood, Invercargill
Length of Residence	20 years	35 years
Marriage Place	Residence of J. M. Macdonald, Enwood, Invercargill
Folio	06/1396
Consent
Date of Certificate	29 December 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Gibson-Smith

168

29 December 1905

Archibald Henderson
Catherine Rae

Archibald Henderson
Catherine Rae
💍 1906/2673

Bachelor
Spinster

Carter
Domestic

26
23

Myross Bush, Invercargill
Myross Bush, Invercargill

26 years
18 years

Residence of Rev. J. Cumming, Myross Bush, Invercargill

06/1380

29 December 1905

Rev. J. Cumming

No	168
Date of Notice	29 December 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Archibald Henderson	Catherine Rae
	💍 1906/2673
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carter	Domestic
Age	26	23
Dwelling Place	Myross Bush, Invercargill	Myross Bush, Invercargill
Length of Residence	26 years	18 years
Marriage Place	Residence of Rev. J. Cumming, Myross Bush, Invercargill
Folio	06/1380
Consent
Date of Certificate	29 December 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).