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 039

District of CHRISTCHURCH Quarter ending 31 March 1906 Registrar L. C. Richamf

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

29 January 1906

Charles Joseph O'Malley
Minnie Kelly

Charles Joseph OMalley
Minnie Kelly
💍 1906/2495

Bachelor
Spinster

Chemist's Assistant

21
24

Christchurch
Christchurch

5 years
5 years

Roman Catholic Cathedral, Christchurch

06/1112

29 January 1906

Rev. S. Mahony, Romanist

No	57
Date of Notice	29 January 1906
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Joseph O'Malley	Minnie Kelly
BDM Match (98%)	Charles Joseph OMalley	Minnie Kelly
	💍 1906/2495
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Chemist's Assistant
Age	21	24
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	5 years	5 years
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Cathedral, Christchurch
Folio	06/1112
Consent
Date of Certificate	29 January 1906
Officiating Minister	Rev. S. Mahony, Romanist

29 January 1906

James Walker
Grace Ethel Larcombe

James Walker Strachan
Grace Larcombe
💍 1906/2280

Bachelor
Spinster

Engineer

24
20

Tai Tapu
Tai Tapu

3 years
16 years

Registrar's Office, Christchurch

06/1004

Emily Larcombe, mother

29 January 1906

Registrar

No	58
Date of Notice	29 January 1906
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Walker	Grace Ethel Larcombe
BDM Match (64%)	James Walker Strachan	Grace Larcombe
	💍 1906/2280
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Engineer
Age	24	20
Dwelling Place	Tai Tapu	Tai Tapu
Length of Residence	3 years	16 years
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office, Christchurch
Folio	06/1004
Consent	Emily Larcombe, mother
Date of Certificate	29 January 1906
Officiating Minister	Registrar

30 January 1906

Harry Robert Cater
Alice May Chinnery

Harry Robert Cater
Alice May Chinnery
💍 1906/2538

Bachelor
Spinster

Musician

19
18

Christchurch
Christchurch

19 years
18 years

House of H. Cater, 15 Durham Street, Christchurch

06/1131

Harry Robert Cater, Frederick George Chinnery

30 January 1906

Rev. J. Orchard, Methodist

No	59
Date of Notice	30 January 1906
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Harry Robert Cater	Alice May Chinnery
	💍 1906/2538
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Musician
Age	19	18
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	19 years	18 years
Marriage Place	House of H. Cater, 15 Durham Street, Christchurch
Folio	06/1131
Consent	Harry Robert Cater, Frederick George Chinnery
Date of Certificate	30 January 1906
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Orchard, Methodist

30 January 1906

Patrick McGirr
Mary Elizabeth Middleton

Patrick McGirr
Mary Elizabeth Middleton
💍 1906/2472

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Dressmaker

23
19

Christchurch
Christchurch

3 days
4 days

Catholic Cathedral, Christchurch

06/1113

William Middleton, father

30 January 1906

Rev. R. W. Des Chausse, Romanist

No	60
Date of Notice	30 January 1906
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Patrick McGirr	Mary Elizabeth Middleton
	💍 1906/2472
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Dressmaker
Age	23	19
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	3 days	4 days
Marriage Place	Catholic Cathedral, Christchurch
Folio	06/1113
Consent	William Middleton, father
Date of Certificate	30 January 1906
Officiating Minister	Rev. R. W. Des Chausse, Romanist

31 January 1906

Herbert Leolf Kingstrung
Charlotte Lilian Munro

Herbert Leolf Kingsbury
Charlotte Lilias Munro
💍 1906/3220

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Dressmaker

25
27

Christchurch
Christchurch

4 days
1 year

House of Mrs. Munro, Springlands Road, St. Albans, Christchurch

06/3028

31 January 1906

Rev. Dr. Erwin, Presbyterian

No	61
Date of Notice	31 January 1906
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Herbert Leolf Kingstrung	Charlotte Lilian Munro
BDM Match (89%)	Herbert Leolf Kingsbury	Charlotte Lilias Munro
	💍 1906/3220
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Dressmaker
Age	25	27
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	4 days	1 year
Marriage Place	House of Mrs. Munro, Springlands Road, St. Albans, Christchurch
Folio	06/3028
Consent
Date of Certificate	31 January 1906
Officiating Minister	Rev. Dr. Erwin, Presbyterian

31 January 1906

Servictor Cosgrove
Mary Jane Hamelton

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic

31
33

Belfast
Christchurch

3 months
3 days

Presbyterian Manse, Sydenham, Christchurch

06/1105

31 January 1906

Rev. Churran, Presbyterian

No	62
Date of Notice	31 January 1906
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Servictor Cosgrove	Mary Jane Hamelton
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic
Age	31	33
Dwelling Place	Belfast	Christchurch
Length of Residence	3 months	3 days
Marriage Place	Presbyterian Manse, Sydenham, Christchurch
Folio	06/1105
Consent
Date of Certificate	31 January 1906
Officiating Minister	Rev. Churran, Presbyterian

31 January 1906

Charles Thomas Berry
Fanny Wadsworth

Charles Thomas Berry
Fanny Wadsworth
💍 1906/2768

Bachelor
Spinster

Monumental Mason
Dressmaker

24
19

Christchurch
Christchurch

5 years
19 years

St. Mary's, Addington, Christchurch

06/1062

Emma Wadsworth

31 January 1906

Rev. W. I. Bean, Anglican

No	63
Date of Notice	31 January 1906
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Thomas Berry	Fanny Wadsworth
	💍 1906/2768
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Monumental Mason	Dressmaker
Age	24	19
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	5 years	19 years
Marriage Place	St. Mary's, Addington, Christchurch
Folio	06/1062
Consent	Emma Wadsworth
Date of Certificate	31 January 1906
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. I. Bean, Anglican

1 February 1906

Hugh Edward Bean
Ada Helen Meyers

Hugh Edward Bean
Ada Helen Meyers
💍 1906/2433

Bachelor
Spinster

Tin Smith
Tailoress

26
23

Christchurch
Christchurch

26 years
23 years

Hope of Day, 31 Montreal Street, Christchurch

06/1098

1 February 1906

Rev. P. Mackenzie, Presbyterian

No	64
Date of Notice	1 February 1906
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Hugh Edward Bean	Ada Helen Meyers
	💍 1906/2433
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Tin Smith	Tailoress
Age	26	23
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	26 years	23 years
Marriage Place	Hope of Day, 31 Montreal Street, Christchurch
Folio	06/1098
Consent
Date of Certificate	1 February 1906
Officiating Minister	Rev. P. Mackenzie, 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 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).