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 055

District of Christchurch Quarter ending 31 March 1905 Registrar L. C. Niehaus

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

168

25 March 1905

Isaac Andrew Lynch
Edith Alice Soames

Isaac Andrew
Edith Alice Cox
💍 1905/687

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer

29
29

Lincoln
Lincoln

3 Years
1 Year

Baptist Church

05/3016

25 March 1905

Rev. S. D. St. Clair, Baptist

No	168
Date of Notice	25 March 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Isaac Andrew Lynch	Edith Alice Soames
BDM Match (69%)	Isaac Andrew	Edith Alice Cox
	💍 1905/687
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	29	29
Dwelling Place	Lincoln	Lincoln
Length of Residence	3 Years	1 Year
Marriage Place	Baptist Church
Folio	05/3016
Consent
Date of Certificate	25 March 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. S. D. St. Clair, Baptist

169

27 March 1905

Charles Henry Griffin
Emma Blackwood

Charles Guy Griffin
Louise Blackmore
💍 1905/6111

Bachelor
Spinster

Printer
Domestic

26
25

Christchurch
Christchurch

12 Years
12 Years

St. Luke's

05/1081

27 March 1905

Rev. W. W. Sedgwick, Anglican

No	169
Date of Notice	27 March 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Henry Griffin	Emma Blackwood
BDM Match (62%)	Charles Guy Griffin	Louise Blackmore
	💍 1905/6111
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Printer	Domestic
Age	26	25
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	12 Years	12 Years
Marriage Place	St. Luke's
Folio	05/1081
Consent
Date of Certificate	27 March 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. W. Sedgwick, Anglican

170

27 March 1905

Henry Smith
Susan Lucas Dale

Henry Smith
Susan Lucas Dale
💍 1905/6105

Widower
Widow

Printer

55
67

Christchurch
Christchurch

26 Years
2 Years

St. Silas

05/1076

27 March 1905

Rev. R. C. Gooderidge, Anglican

No	170
Date of Notice	27 March 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Henry Smith	Susan Lucas Dale
	💍 1905/6105
Condition	Widower	Widow
Profession	Printer
Age	55	67
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	26 Years	2 Years
Marriage Place	St. Silas
Folio	05/1076
Consent
Date of Certificate	27 March 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. R. C. Gooderidge, Anglican

171

29 March 1905

Ernest Golding
Margaret O'Connell

Ernest Cobeldick
Margaret O'Connell
💍 1905/6091

Bachelor
Spinster

Carpenter
Tailoress

23
19

Christchurch
Christchurch

15 Years
6 Years

St. Mary's, Manchester Street

05/1111

Daniel O'Connell, father of bride

29 March 1905

Rev. A. R. O'Connell, Roman Catholic

No	171
Date of Notice	29 March 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Ernest Golding	Margaret O'Connell
BDM Match (84%)	Ernest Cobeldick	Margaret O'Connell
	💍 1905/6091
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carpenter	Tailoress
Age	23	19
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	15 Years	6 Years
Marriage Place	St. Mary's, Manchester Street
Folio	05/1111
Consent	Daniel O'Connell, father of bride
Date of Certificate	29 March 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. R. O'Connell, Roman Catholic

172

29 March 1905

Charles Edward Smith
Jane Grace Green

Charles Edward Smith
Jane Ellen Cure
💍 1905/6109

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Housekeeper

34
39

Sydenham
Sydenham

3 Years
14 Years

House of Mr. H. Merrit, 69 Hazeldean Road

05/1080

29 March 1905

Rev. J. S. Waldie, Presbyterian

No	172
Date of Notice	29 March 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Edward Smith	Jane Grace Green
BDM Match (72%)	Charles Edward Smith	Jane Ellen Cure
	💍 1905/6109
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Housekeeper
Age	34	39
Dwelling Place	Sydenham	Sydenham
Length of Residence	3 Years	14 Years
Marriage Place	House of Mr. H. Merrit, 69 Hazeldean Road
Folio	05/1080
Consent
Date of Certificate	29 March 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. S. Waldie, Presbyterian

173

27 March 1905

James John Barnes
Catherine Green

James Solvin Baines
Catherine Brown
💍 1905/4937

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic

33
29

Christchurch
Christchurch

33 Years
29 Years

Registrar's Office

05/1034

29 March 1905

Registrar, Christchurch

No	173
Date of Notice	27 March 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James John Barnes	Catherine Green
BDM Match (77%)	James Solvin Baines	Catherine Brown
	💍 1905/4937
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic
Age	33	29
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	33 Years	29 Years
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office
Folio	05/1034
Consent
Date of Certificate	29 March 1905
Officiating Minister	Registrar, Christchurch

174

28 March 1905

Henry William Biddle
Kathleen Ann Frampton

Thomas William Biddle
Kathleen Farr
💍 1905/601

Bachelor
Spinster

Bookbinder
Box Maker

29
22

Linwood
Sydenham

3 Years
3 Years

St. Saviour's

05/2894

28 March 1905

Archdeacon Scott, Anglican

No	174
Date of Notice	28 March 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Henry William Biddle	Kathleen Ann Frampton
BDM Match (62%)	Thomas William Biddle	Kathleen Farr
	💍 1905/601
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Bookbinder	Box Maker
Age	29	22
Dwelling Place	Linwood	Sydenham
Length of Residence	3 Years	3 Years
Marriage Place	St. Saviour's
Folio	05/2894
Consent
Date of Certificate	28 March 1905
Officiating Minister	Archdeacon Scott, Anglican

175

29 March 1905

Ernest Burt
Maggie Beckers

Ernest Butt
Maggie Bickistaff
💍 1905/6079

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic

26
25

Christchurch
Christchurch

3 Days
5 Years

House of Mr. R. Kelleher, Randolph Street

05/1100

29 March 1905

Rev. J. H. Smyth, Presbyterian

No	175
Date of Notice	29 March 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Ernest Burt	Maggie Beckers
BDM Match (75%)	Ernest Butt	Maggie Bickistaff
	💍 1905/6079
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic
Age	26	25
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	3 Days	5 Years
Marriage Place	House of Mr. R. Kelleher, Randolph Street
Folio	05/1100
Consent
Date of Certificate	29 March 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. H. Smyth, Presbyterian

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).