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 125

District of CHRISTCHURCH Quarter ending 31 December 1905 Registrar L. C. Millional

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

683

27 October 1905

Horace Norman Talbot
Hercus McDonald

Horace Norman Talbot
Elizabeth Stevenson Donald
💍 1905/4098

Bachelor
Spinster

Clerk

32
29

Christchurch
Rangiora

5 Years
9 Months

Presbyterian Church, Christchurch

05/6632

27 October 1905

Rev. S. S. Steele, Presbyterian

No	683
Date of Notice	27 October 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Horace Norman Talbot	Hercus McDonald
BDM Match (65%)	Horace Norman Talbot	Elizabeth Stevenson Donald
	💍 1905/4098
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Clerk
Age	32	29
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Rangiora
Length of Residence	5 Years	9 Months
Marriage Place	Presbyterian Church, Christchurch
Folio	05/6632
Consent
Date of Certificate	27 October 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. S. S. Steele, Presbyterian

684

27 October 1905

Joseph Ash
Mary Ann Maculish

Joseph Ash
Mary Ann Macintosh
💍 1905/3936

Bachelor
Spinster

Engineer
Housewife

33
33

Christchurch
Christchurch

13 Years
12 Years

Presbyterian Church, Sydenham

05/6498

27 October 1905

Rev. C. Murray, Presbyterian

No	684
Date of Notice	27 October 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Joseph Ash	Mary Ann Maculish
BDM Match (89%)	Joseph Ash	Mary Ann Macintosh
	💍 1905/3936
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Engineer	Housewife
Age	33	33
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	13 Years	12 Years
Marriage Place	Presbyterian Church, Sydenham
Folio	05/6498
Consent
Date of Certificate	27 October 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Murray, Presbyterian

685

27 October 1905

Andrew Ernest Thomson
Caroline Louisa Schumacher

Andrew Ernest Thomson
Caroline Louisa Schumacher
💍 1905/3844

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic

25
22

Christchurch
Papanui

25 Years
22 Years

Registrar's Office, Christchurch

05/6378

27 October 1905

Registrar, Christchurch

No	685
Date of Notice	27 October 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Andrew Ernest Thomson	Caroline Louisa Schumacher
	💍 1905/3844
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic
Age	25	22
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Papanui
Length of Residence	25 Years	22 Years
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office, Christchurch
Folio	05/6378
Consent
Date of Certificate	27 October 1905
Officiating Minister	Registrar, Christchurch

686

28 October 1905

Robert Burke Wright
Emily Patching

Robert Duke Wright
Emily Patching
💍 1905/3918

Bachelor
Spinster

Merchant

28
29

Burnwood
S.S. Ruapehu

7 Months
10 Months

Anglican Church, Burnwood

05/6469

28 October 1905

Rev. J. R. Redwood, Anglican

No	686
Date of Notice	28 October 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Robert Burke Wright	Emily Patching
BDM Match (95%)	Robert Duke Wright	Emily Patching
	💍 1905/3918
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Merchant
Age	28	29
Dwelling Place	Burnwood	S.S. Ruapehu
Length of Residence	7 Months	10 Months
Marriage Place	Anglican Church, Burnwood
Folio	05/6469
Consent
Date of Certificate	28 October 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. R. Redwood, Anglican

687

28 October 1905

Charles Hawthorn Gamble
Edith Gullick James

Charles Hawthorne Gamble
Edith Gullisk
💍 1905/3993

Bachelor
Spinster

Compositor
Fitter

22
20

Christchurch
Christchurch

6 Years
20 Years

Methodist Church, Durham Street

05/6535

28 October 1905

Rev. H. R. Reasbury, Methodist

No	687
Date of Notice	28 October 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Hawthorn Gamble	Edith Gullick James
BDM Match (80%)	Charles Hawthorne Gamble	Edith Gullisk
	💍 1905/3993
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Compositor	Fitter
Age	22	20
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	6 Years	20 Years
Marriage Place	Methodist Church, Durham Street
Folio	05/6535
Consent
Date of Certificate	28 October 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. H. R. Reasbury, Methodist

688

30 October 1905

William McTigue
Janet McGallan

William McFigue
Janet McFallon
💍 1905/3949

Bachelor
Spinster

Blacksmith
School mistress

31
36

Christchurch
Christchurch

3 Days
20 Years

Roman Catholic Cathedral

05/6573

30 October 1905

Rev. J. J. Le Lievre, Romanist

No	688
Date of Notice	30 October 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William McTigue	Janet McGallan
BDM Match (90%)	William McFigue	Janet McFallon
	💍 1905/3949
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Blacksmith	School mistress
Age	31	36
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	3 Days	20 Years
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Cathedral
Folio	05/6573
Consent
Date of Certificate	30 October 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. J. Le Lievre, Romanist

689

30 October 1905

Robert James Adams
Mary Alice Suttie

Robert James Adams
Mary Alice Suttie
💍 1905/3944

Bachelor
Spinster

Bricklayer
Domestic

20
27

Woolston
Christchurch

9 Years
9 Years

Presbyterian Church, Woolston

05/6484

Joseph Wilfred Adams, father of groom

30 October 1905

Rev. Thos. Donald, Presbyterian

No	689
Date of Notice	30 October 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Robert James Adams	Mary Alice Suttie
	💍 1905/3944
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Bricklayer	Domestic
Age	20	27
Dwelling Place	Woolston	Christchurch
Length of Residence	9 Years	9 Years
Marriage Place	Presbyterian Church, Woolston
Folio	05/6484
Consent	Joseph Wilfred Adams, father of groom
Date of Certificate	30 October 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. Thos. Donald, Presbyterian

690

31 October 1905

Hugh Egan
Kate Lang

Hugh Egan
Kate Lang
💍 1905/3845

Bachelor
Widow

Contractor
Housewife

33
43

Christchurch
Christchurch

1 Year
1 Year

Registrar's Office, Christchurch

05/6379

31 October 1905

Registrar, Christchurch

No	690
Date of Notice	31 October 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Hugh Egan	Kate Lang
	💍 1905/3845
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Contractor	Housewife
Age	33	43
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	1 Year	1 Year
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office, Christchurch
Folio	05/6379
Consent
Date of Certificate	31 October 1905
Officiating Minister	Registrar, Christchurch

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).