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 047

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

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

104

21 February 1905

Max Marcus Henry
Lea Ethel Cohen

Maximillian Marcus Herz
Jane Ethel Cohen
💍 1905/6185

Bachelor
Spinster

Medical Practitioner

29
24

Christchurch
Christchurch

11 months
2 years

Registrar's Office

05/1104

21 February 1905

Registrar, L. C. Williams

No	104
Date of Notice	21 February 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Max Marcus Henry	Lea Ethel Cohen
BDM Match (66%)	Maximillian Marcus Herz	Jane Ethel Cohen
	💍 1905/6185
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Medical Practitioner
Age	29	24
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	11 months	2 years
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office
Folio	05/1104
Consent
Date of Certificate	21 February 1905
Officiating Minister	Registrar, L. C. Williams

105

22 February 1905

Edwin Hay
Mildred Thornton Sweet

Edwin May
Mildred Thornton Siacch
💍 1905/6084

Bachelor
Spinster

Sheep Farmer

47
27

Christchurch
Christchurch

3 days
2 years

St. Michael's Church

05/1105

22 February 1905

Rev. J. Mackenzie, Presbyterian

No	105
Date of Notice	22 February 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edwin Hay	Mildred Thornton Sweet
BDM Match (84%)	Edwin May	Mildred Thornton Siacch
	💍 1905/6084
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Sheep Farmer
Age	47	27
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	3 days	2 years
Marriage Place	St. Michael's Church
Folio	05/1105
Consent
Date of Certificate	22 February 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Mackenzie, Presbyterian

106

22 February 1905

Robert Lawrence
Alice Nettie

Robert Lawrence
Alice Nettie Male
💍 1905/6165

Bachelor
Spinster

Railway Employee
Domestic

26
21

Christchurch
Christchurch

3 days
21 years

Baptist Church

05/1160

22 February 1905

Rev. R. S. Gray, Baptist

No	106
Date of Notice	22 February 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Robert Lawrence	Alice Nettie
BDM Match (85%)	Robert Lawrence	Alice Nettie Male
	💍 1905/6165
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Railway Employee	Domestic
Age	26	21
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	3 days	21 years
Marriage Place	Baptist Church
Folio	05/1160
Consent
Date of Certificate	22 February 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. R. S. Gray, Baptist

107

22 February 1905

Edmund Leonard Boyfeldt
Rose Ada Baker

Edward Leonard Borgfeldt
Rose Ada Baker
💍 1905/6155

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Factory Hand

21
22

Papanui
St. Albans

21 years
22 years

Primitive Methodist Church

05/1151

22 February 1905

Rev. C. E. Ward, Primitive Methodist

No	107
Date of Notice	22 February 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edmund Leonard Boyfeldt	Rose Ada Baker
BDM Match (90%)	Edward Leonard Borgfeldt	Rose Ada Baker
	💍 1905/6155
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Factory Hand
Age	21	22
Dwelling Place	Papanui	St. Albans
Length of Residence	21 years	22 years
Marriage Place	Primitive Methodist Church
Folio	05/1151
Consent
Date of Certificate	22 February 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. E. Ward, Primitive Methodist

108

22 February 1905

Arthur John Liddiard
Lily Hood

William John Liddiard
Lily Hood
💍 1905/657

Bachelor
Spinster

Painter
Domestic

29
23

Christchurch
Christchurch

12 years
23 years

Methodist Church

05/2986

22 February 1905

Rev. W. Ready, Methodist

No	108
Date of Notice	22 February 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Arthur John Liddiard	Lily Hood
BDM Match (83%)	William John Liddiard	Lily Hood
	💍 1905/657
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Painter	Domestic
Age	29	23
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	12 years	23 years
Marriage Place	Methodist Church
Folio	05/2986
Consent
Date of Certificate	22 February 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. Ready, Methodist

109

24 February 1905

Charles Morell Wilson
Ada Florence Boyce

Charles Morell Wilson
Ada Florence Boyer
💍 1905/4998

Bachelor
Spinster

Engineer
Domestic

33
29

Christchurch
Christchurch

4 years
10 years

Registrar's Office

05/1020

24 February 1905

Registrar, L. C. Williams

No	109
Date of Notice	24 February 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Morell Wilson	Ada Florence Boyce
BDM Match (94%)	Charles Morell Wilson	Ada Florence Boyer
	💍 1905/4998
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Engineer	Domestic
Age	33	29
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	4 years	10 years
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office
Folio	05/1020
Consent
Date of Certificate	24 February 1905
Officiating Minister	Registrar, L. C. Williams

110

25 February 1905

John Hopkins
Christina Andrews

John Hopkins
Christina McLellan Andrews
💍 1905/6094

Bachelor
Spinster

School Teacher
Saleswoman

32
21

Christchurch
Rangiora

3 years
6 months

Presbyterian Manse, Rangiora

05/1091

25 February 1905

Rev. C. Murray, Presbyterian

No	110
Date of Notice	25 February 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Hopkins	Christina Andrews
BDM Match (83%)	John Hopkins	Christina McLellan Andrews
	💍 1905/6094
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	School Teacher	Saleswoman
Age	32	21
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Rangiora
Length of Residence	3 years	6 months
Marriage Place	Presbyterian Manse, Rangiora
Folio	05/1091
Consent
Date of Certificate	25 February 1905
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Murray, Presbyterian

111

25 February 1905

Frederick Henry Cowper
Evelyn Louisa Smith

Frederick Henry Cooper Smith
Evelyn Louisa Smith
💍 1905/6150

Bachelor
Spinster

Tailor
Domestic

21
19

Christchurch
Christchurch

2 years
19 years

House of Registrar, Christchurch

05/1146

R. I. Murray, having authority

13 March 1905

Registrar, R. I. Murray, Methodist

No	111
Date of Notice	25 February 1905
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Frederick Henry Cowper	Evelyn Louisa Smith
BDM Match (88%)	Frederick Henry Cooper Smith	Evelyn Louisa Smith
	💍 1905/6150
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Tailor	Domestic
Age	21	19
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	2 years	19 years
Marriage Place	House of Registrar, Christchurch
Folio	05/1146
Consent	R. I. Murray, having authority
Date of Certificate	13 March 1905
Officiating Minister	Registrar, R. I. Murray, Methodist

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).