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 593

District of Invercargill Quarter ending 30 June 1905 Registrar John Erncot 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

8 May 1905

Walter Bernard Lee
Eva Basset Martin

Walter Bernard Lee
Eva Basset Martin
💍 1905/1019

Bachelor
Spinster

Clerk
Domestic

22
19

1 Need Street, Invercargill
5 Crinan Street, Invercargill

13 years
5 years

Residence of George McTeigh Martin

05/3403

George McTeigh Martin, father

8 May 1905

Rev. I. Pybus

No	60
Date of Notice	8 May 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Walter Bernard Lee	Eva Basset Martin
	💍 1905/1019
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Clerk	Domestic
Age	22	19
Dwelling Place	1 Need Street, Invercargill	5 Crinan Street, Invercargill
Length of Residence	13 years	5 years
Marriage Place	Residence of George McTeigh Martin
Folio	05/3403
Consent	George McTeigh Martin, father
Date of Certificate	8 May 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. I. Pybus

8 May 1905

Colin McKenzie Gordon
Sarah Logan

Colin McKenzie Gordon
Sarah Logan
💍 1905/1055

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic

30
28

York Street, Invercargill
York Street, Invercargill

3 years
7 years

Residence of J. Logan

05/3415

8 May 1905

Rev. Geo. Lindsay

No	61
Date of Notice	8 May 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Colin McKenzie Gordon	Sarah Logan
	💍 1905/1055
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic
Age	30	28
Dwelling Place	York Street, Invercargill	York Street, Invercargill
Length of Residence	3 years	7 years
Marriage Place	Residence of J. Logan
Folio	05/3415
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 May 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. Geo. Lindsay

9 May 1905

William Grant
Mary Elizabeth Meredith

William Grant
Mary Elizabeth Meredith
💍 1905/1056

Bachelor
Spinster

Drill Instructor
Domestic

30
25

Spey Street, Invercargill
Gladstone, Invercargill

3 years
25 years

Residence of R. Meredith

05/3416

9 May 1905

Rev. Geo. Lindsay

No	62
Date of Notice	9 May 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Grant	Mary Elizabeth Meredith
	💍 1905/1056
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Drill Instructor	Domestic
Age	30	25
Dwelling Place	Spey Street, Invercargill	Gladstone, Invercargill
Length of Residence	3 years	25 years
Marriage Place	Residence of R. Meredith
Folio	05/3416
Consent
Date of Certificate	9 May 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. Geo. Lindsay

15 May 1905

Edgar Francis Paterson
Olive Evangeline Henderson

Edgar Francis Paterson
Olive Evangeline Henderson
💍 1905/1047

Bachelor
Spinster

Telegraphist
Domestic

33
25

Clyde Street, Invercargill
Clyde Street, Invercargill

5 days
25 years

Residence of H. C. Henderson

05/3431

15 May 1905

Rev. R. Ferguson

No	63
Date of Notice	15 May 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edgar Francis Paterson	Olive Evangeline Henderson
	💍 1905/1047
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Telegraphist	Domestic
Age	33	25
Dwelling Place	Clyde Street, Invercargill	Clyde Street, Invercargill
Length of Residence	5 days	25 years
Marriage Place	Residence of H. C. Henderson
Folio	05/3431
Consent
Date of Certificate	15 May 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. R. Ferguson

20 May 1905

William Dunsmuir
Catherine Eliza Deazeley

William Dunsmuir
Catherine Eliza Dedgeley
💍 1905/1049

Widower
Spinster

Iron dealer
Artist

63
46

Dee Street, Invercargill
York Street, Invercargill

7 days
3 days

First Presbyterian Church

05/3432

20 May 1905

Rev. R. Ferguson

No	64
Date of Notice	20 May 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Dunsmuir	Catherine Eliza Deazeley
BDM Match (96%)	William Dunsmuir	Catherine Eliza Dedgeley
	💍 1905/1049
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Iron dealer	Artist
Age	63	46
Dwelling Place	Dee Street, Invercargill	York Street, Invercargill
Length of Residence	7 days	3 days
Marriage Place	First Presbyterian Church
Folio	05/3432
Consent
Date of Certificate	20 May 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. R. Ferguson

22 May 1905

Samuel McHatty
Mary Simms

Samuel McNatty McMillan
Mary Simms
💍 1905/1060

Bachelor
Spinster

Merchant
Domestic

25
21

Princes Street, South Invercargill
Mc Quarrie Street, South Invercargill

25 years
21 years

Residence of James McMillian

05/3420

22 May 1905

Rev. I. A. Pybus

No	65
Date of Notice	22 May 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Samuel McHatty	Mary Simms
BDM Match (78%)	Samuel McNatty McMillan	Mary Simms
	💍 1905/1060
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Merchant	Domestic
Age	25	21
Dwelling Place	Princes Street, South Invercargill	Mc Quarrie Street, South Invercargill
Length of Residence	25 years	21 years
Marriage Place	Residence of James McMillian
Folio	05/3420
Consent
Date of Certificate	22 May 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. I. A. Pybus

25 May 1905

Hugh Eanara Parker Robb
Charlotte Haadell

Hugh Edward Parker Robb
Charlotte Waddell
💍 1905/1061

Bachelor
Widow

Painter
Domestic

28
25

Janet Street, South Invercargill
Elles Road, South Invercargill

18 years
20 years

Primitive Methodist Church

05/3421

25 May 1905

Rev. I. A. Pybus

No	66
Date of Notice	25 May 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Hugh Eanara Parker Robb	Charlotte Haadell
BDM Match (88%)	Hugh Edward Parker Robb	Charlotte Waddell
	💍 1905/1061
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Painter	Domestic
Age	28	25
Dwelling Place	Janet Street, South Invercargill	Elles Road, South Invercargill
Length of Residence	18 years	20 years
Marriage Place	Primitive Methodist Church
Folio	05/3421
Consent
Date of Certificate	25 May 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. I. A. Pybus

These records have been automatically transcribed and must be verified using the page image (below)

100% Contrast

100% Brightness

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).