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 598

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

William John Spence
Fannie Gordon Springford

William John Spence
Annie Gordon Springford
💍 1906/2682

Bachelor
Spinster

Clerk
Dressmaker

26
24

Leet Street, Invercargill
Ritchie Street East, Invercargill

26 years
14 years

Residence of Helen Gordon Springford, Ritchie Street East, Invercargill

06/1388

27 February 1906

Rev. Geo. Lindsay

No	35
Date of Notice	24 February 1906
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William John Spence	Fannie Gordon Springford
BDM Match (96%)	William John Spence	Annie Gordon Springford
	💍 1906/2682
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Clerk	Dressmaker
Age	26	24
Dwelling Place	Leet Street, Invercargill	Ritchie Street East, Invercargill
Length of Residence	26 years	14 years
Marriage Place	Residence of Helen Gordon Springford, Ritchie Street East, Invercargill
Folio	06/1388
Consent
Date of Certificate	27 February 1906
Officiating Minister	Rev. Geo. Lindsay

28 February 1906

James Dawson Clark
Nellie Hamilton

James Dawson Clark
Nellie Hamilton
💍 1906/2681

Bachelor
Spinster

Carpenter
Domestic

25
23

East Road, Invercargill
Ythan Street, Invercargill

3 days
23 years

Presbyterian Church, Dee Street, Invercargill

06/1387

28 February 1906

Rev. Geo. Lindsay

No	36
Date of Notice	28 February 1906
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Dawson Clark	Nellie Hamilton
	💍 1906/2681
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carpenter	Domestic
Age	25	23
Dwelling Place	East Road, Invercargill	Ythan Street, Invercargill
Length of Residence	3 days	23 years
Marriage Place	Presbyterian Church, Dee Street, Invercargill
Folio	06/1387
Consent
Date of Certificate	28 February 1906
Officiating Minister	Rev. Geo. Lindsay

12 March 1906

John Henry Thomas
Annie Anderson

John Henry Thomas
Mary Annie Anderson
💍 1906/2702

Bachelor
Spinster

Sawmill Hand
Housekeeper

19
25

Woodend, Invercargill
Woodend, Invercargill

19 years
7 months

Residence of H. Daniel, Elles Road South, Invercargill

06/1409

David Thomas, Father

12 March 1906

Rev. H. Daniel

No	37
Date of Notice	12 March 1906
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Henry Thomas	Annie Anderson
BDM Match (87%)	John Henry Thomas	Mary Annie Anderson
	💍 1906/2702
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Sawmill Hand	Housekeeper
Age	19	25
Dwelling Place	Woodend, Invercargill	Woodend, Invercargill
Length of Residence	19 years	7 months
Marriage Place	Residence of H. Daniel, Elles Road South, Invercargill
Folio	06/1409
Consent	David Thomas, Father
Date of Certificate	12 March 1906
Officiating Minister	Rev. H. Daniel

13 March 1906

William Hercules Johnson
Coralie Hilda Valeria Madelien Hodge

William Hercules Johnson
Coralie Hilda Valeria Madelian Hodge
💍 1906/3518

Bachelor
Spinster

Commercial Traveller
Domestic

26
25

Dee Street, Invercargill
Spey Street, Invercargill

7 years
2 years

Methodist Church, Leet Street, Invercargill

06/3567

13 March 1906

Rev. A. Mitchell

No	38
Date of Notice	13 March 1906
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Hercules Johnson	Coralie Hilda Valeria Madelien Hodge
BDM Match (99%)	William Hercules Johnson	Coralie Hilda Valeria Madelian Hodge
	💍 1906/3518
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Commercial Traveller	Domestic
Age	26	25
Dwelling Place	Dee Street, Invercargill	Spey Street, Invercargill
Length of Residence	7 years	2 years
Marriage Place	Methodist Church, Leet Street, Invercargill
Folio	06/3567
Consent
Date of Certificate	13 March 1906
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. Mitchell

14 March 1906

John Berry
Ann Still Brass

John Berry
Ann Still Brass
💍 1906/2688

Bachelor
Spinster

Railway Employee
Domestic

25
21

Woodlands, Invercargill
Woodlands, Invercargill

9 years
21 years

Office of the Registrar of Marriages, Invercargill

06/1371

14 March 1906

Registrar of Marriages, Invercargill

No	39
Date of Notice	14 March 1906
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Berry	Ann Still Brass
	💍 1906/2688
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Railway Employee	Domestic
Age	25	21
Dwelling Place	Woodlands, Invercargill	Woodlands, Invercargill
Length of Residence	9 years	21 years
Marriage Place	Office of the Registrar of Marriages, Invercargill
Folio	06/1371
Consent
Date of Certificate	14 March 1906
Officiating Minister	Registrar of Marriages, Invercargill

14 March 1906

Charles Donohue McConnell
Edith Evelyn Brown

Charles Donohue McConnell
Edith Evelyn Brown
💍 1906/2714

Bachelor
Spinster

Exporter
Domestic

22
16

Spey St., Invercargill
Spey Street, Invercargill

3 days
3 days

Knox Presbyterian Church, Don St, Invercargill

06/1397

Hugh Brown, Father

14 March 1906

Rev F. W. Dunlop

No	40
Date of Notice	14 March 1906
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Donohue McConnell	Edith Evelyn Brown
	💍 1906/2714
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Exporter	Domestic
Age	22	16
Dwelling Place	Spey St., Invercargill	Spey Street, Invercargill
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	Knox Presbyterian Church, Don St, Invercargill
Folio	06/1397
Consent	Hugh Brown, Father
Date of Certificate	14 March 1906
Officiating Minister	Rev F. W. Dunlop

14 March 1906

William Black
Amelia Woodward

William Black
Amelia Woodward
💍 1906/2683

Bachelor
Spinster

Clerk
Dressmaker

26
23

Dee Street, Invercargill
Catherine Ritchie Street North, Invercargill

3 days
2 months

Residence of William Woodward, Catherine Street North, Invercargill

06/1389

14 March 1906

Rev. G. Lindsay

No	41
Date of Notice	14 March 1906
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Black	Amelia Woodward
	💍 1906/2683
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Clerk	Dressmaker
Age	26	23
Dwelling Place	Dee Street, Invercargill	Catherine Ritchie Street North, Invercargill
Length of Residence	3 days	2 months
Marriage Place	Residence of William Woodward, Catherine Street North, Invercargill
Folio	06/1389
Consent
Date of Certificate	14 March 1906
Officiating Minister	Rev. G. Lindsay

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 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).