Intentions to Marry, 1906 Canterbury, Otago, Chatham Islands

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840432, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

1906 is bound in three volumes - Auckland, Taranaki, Hawke's Bay (1906a), Wellington, Marlborough, Nelson, Westland (1906b), and Canterbury, Otago, Chatham Islands (1906c).

Page 597

District of INVERCARGILL Quarter ending 31 March 1906

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

24 February 1906

Robert Henry Cunningham Shields
Margaret Lynch

Robert Henry Cunningham Shields
Margaret Lynch
💍 1906/2706

Bachelor
Spinster

Upholsterer
Dressmaker

21
21

Newcastle Street North, Invercargill
Mary Street East, Invercargill

7 years
12 years

Residence of Mary Ann Lynch, Mary Street East, Invercargill

06/1412

24 February 1906

Rev. R. Raine

No	28
Date of Notice	24 February 1906
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Robert Henry Cunningham Shields	Margaret Lynch
	💍 1906/2706
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Upholsterer	Dressmaker
Age	21	21
Dwelling Place	Newcastle Street North, Invercargill	Mary Street East, Invercargill
Length of Residence	7 years	12 years
Marriage Place	Residence of Mary Ann Lynch, Mary Street East, Invercargill
Folio	06/1412
Consent
Date of Certificate	24 February 1906
Officiating Minister	Rev. R. Raine

24 February 1906

George Henderson
Annie Fairweather

George Henderson
Annie Fairweather
💍 1906/2675

Bachelor
Spinster

Contractor
Domestic

22
23

Myross Bush, Southland
Myross Bush, Southland

4 days
23 years

Residence of Charles Fairweather, Myross Bush, Invercargill

06/1382

24 February 1906

Rev. J. Cumming

No	29
Date of Notice	24 February 1906
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Henderson	Annie Fairweather
	💍 1906/2675
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Contractor	Domestic
Age	22	23
Dwelling Place	Myross Bush, Southland	Myross Bush, Southland
Length of Residence	4 days	23 years
Marriage Place	Residence of Charles Fairweather, Myross Bush, Invercargill
Folio	06/1382
Consent
Date of Certificate	24 February 1906
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Cumming

24 February 1906

Richard Berry
Sarah Radka (Maiden Name Small)

Richard Berry
Sarah Radka
💍 1906/2690

Widower
Widow

Farmer
Domestic

48
38

Woodlands, Invercargill
Waikawa, Invercargill

20 years
38 years

English Church, Gladstone, Invercargill

06/1373

24 February 1906

Rev. M. Swinburn

No	30
Date of Notice	24 February 1906
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Richard Berry	Sarah Radka (Maiden Name Small)
BDM Match (68%)	Richard Berry	Sarah Radka
	💍 1906/2690
Condition	Widower	Widow
Profession	Farmer	Domestic
Age	48	38
Dwelling Place	Woodlands, Invercargill	Waikawa, Invercargill
Length of Residence	20 years	38 years
Marriage Place	English Church, Gladstone, Invercargill
Folio	06/1373
Consent
Date of Certificate	24 February 1906
Officiating Minister	Rev. M. Swinburn

26 February 1906

Edward Moran
Mary Margaret Connelly

Edward Moran
Mary Margaret Connelly
💍 1906/2698

Widower
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic

38
27

Queen Street South, Invercargill
Queen Street South, Invercargill

3 years
2 weeks

Roman Catholic Church, Tyne Street, Invercargill

06/1405

26 February 1906

Very Rev. Dean Burke

No	31
Date of Notice	26 February 1906
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edward Moran	Mary Margaret Connelly
	💍 1906/2698
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic
Age	38	27
Dwelling Place	Queen Street South, Invercargill	Queen Street South, Invercargill
Length of Residence	3 years	2 weeks
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Church, Tyne Street, Invercargill
Folio	06/1405
Consent
Date of Certificate	26 February 1906
Officiating Minister	Very Rev. Dean Burke

26 February 1906

James Hendry Milne
Annie Elizabeth Duthie

James Hendry Milne
Annie Elizabeth Duthie
💍 1906/3502

Bachelor
Spinster

Butcher
Domestic

22
20

Bowmont Street, Invercargill
Tweed Street, Enwood, Invercargill

22 years
20 years

Roman Catholic Church, Tyne Street, Invercargill

06/13575

George Duthie, father

26 February 1906

Very Rev. Dean Burke

No	32
Date of Notice	26 February 1906
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Hendry Milne	Annie Elizabeth Duthie
	💍 1906/3502
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Butcher	Domestic
Age	22	20
Dwelling Place	Bowmont Street, Invercargill	Tweed Street, Enwood, Invercargill
Length of Residence	22 years	20 years
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Church, Tyne Street, Invercargill
Folio	06/13575
Consent	George Duthie, father
Date of Certificate	26 February 1906
Officiating Minister	Very Rev. Dean Burke

26 February 1906

Patrick Ford
Beania Cahill

Patrick Ford
Beania Cahill
💍 1906/3503

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Dressmaker

29
23

Gore, Southland
Gala Street, Invercargill

25 years
23 years

Roman Catholic Church, Tyne Street, Invercargill

06/13576

26 February 1906

Very Rev. Dean Burke

No	33
Date of Notice	26 February 1906
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Patrick Ford	Beania Cahill
	💍 1906/3503
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Dressmaker
Age	29	23
Dwelling Place	Gore, Southland	Gala Street, Invercargill
Length of Residence	25 years	23 years
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Church, Tyne Street, Invercargill
Folio	06/13576
Consent
Date of Certificate	26 February 1906
Officiating Minister	Very Rev. Dean Burke

27 February 1906

David McFadzien
Mary Russell

David McFadzien
Mary Russell
💍 1906/2674

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic

28
27

Dee Street, Invercargill
Tweed Street, Invercargill

3 days
4 months

Residence of Jane Russell, Tweed Street, Invercargill

06/1381

27 February 1906

Rev. J. Cumming

No	34
Date of Notice	27 February 1906
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	David McFadzien	Mary Russell
	💍 1906/2674
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic
Age	28	27
Dwelling Place	Dee Street, Invercargill	Tweed Street, Invercargill
Length of Residence	3 days	4 months
Marriage Place	Residence of Jane Russell, Tweed Street, Invercargill
Folio	06/1381
Consent
Date of Certificate	27 February 1906
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Cumming

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 1908. 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).