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 032

District of Christchurch Quarter ending 31 March 1906 Registrar L.C. Menzies

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

5 January 1906

John Whitelock
Rose Ada Hawthorne

John Whitelock Amos
Rose Ada Hawthorne
💍 1906/2271

Bachelor
Spinster

Laborer
Cook

24
27

Christchurch
Christchurch

1 month
5 years

Registrar's Office

06/996

5 January 1906

Registrar

No	G
Date of Notice	5 January 1906
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Whitelock	Rose Ada Hawthorne
BDM Match (87%)	John Whitelock Amos	Rose Ada Hawthorne
	💍 1906/2271
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Laborer	Cook
Age	24	27
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	1 month	5 years
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office
Folio	06/996
Consent
Date of Certificate	5 January 1906
Officiating Minister	Registrar

5 January 1906

Edward Graham Collins
Alice Harriet Weeks

Bachelor
Spinster

Timber Worker
Domestic

30
24

Christchurch
Christchurch

2 years
1 year

St. Mary's, Addington

06/1063

5 January 1906

Rev. W. S. Bean, Anglican

No	10
Date of Notice	5 January 1906
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edward Graham Collins	Alice Harriet Weeks
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Timber Worker	Domestic
Age	30	24
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	2 years	1 year
Marriage Place	St. Mary's, Addington
Folio	06/1063
Consent
Date of Certificate	5 January 1906
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. S. Bean, Anglican

5 January 1906

David Grange
Mary Ann Genner

David Grange
Mary Ann Genet
💍 1906/2385

Widower
Widow

Stereotyper
Housekeeper

54
57

Christchurch
Christchurch

29 years
35 years

St. Luke's

06/1038

5 January 1906

Rev. T. H. Sedgwick, Anglican

No	11
Date of Notice	5 January 1906
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	David Grange	Mary Ann Genner
BDM Match (93%)	David Grange	Mary Ann Genet
	💍 1906/2385
Condition	Widower	Widow
Profession	Stereotyper	Housekeeper
Age	54	57
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	29 years	35 years
Marriage Place	St. Luke's
Folio	06/1038
Consent
Date of Certificate	5 January 1906
Officiating Minister	Rev. T. H. Sedgwick, Anglican

6 January 1906

John Heagney
Sarah Ann Costelloe

John Meagher
Sarah Ann Costelloe
💍 1906/2491

Bachelor
Spinster

Produce Merchant

42
35

Christchurch
Christchurch

5 years
1 year

Catholic Cathedral

06/1108

6 January 1906

Rev. J. J. O'Connell, Roman Catholic

No	12
Date of Notice	6 January 1906
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Heagney	Sarah Ann Costelloe
BDM Match (88%)	John Meagher	Sarah Ann Costelloe
	💍 1906/2491
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Produce Merchant
Age	42	35
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	5 years	1 year
Marriage Place	Catholic Cathedral
Folio	06/1108
Consent
Date of Certificate	6 January 1906
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. J. O'Connell, Roman Catholic

6 January 1906

Henry Barnes
Frances York

Denys Hoare
Frances York
💍 1906/2421

Bachelor
Spinster

Accountant

29
30

Riccarton
Woolston

2 years
30 years

St. John's, Woolston

06/1079

6 January 1906

Rev. R. Hallam, Anglican

No	13
Date of Notice	6 January 1906
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Henry Barnes	Frances York
BDM Match (71%)	Denys Hoare	Frances York
	💍 1906/2421
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Accountant
Age	29	30
Dwelling Place	Riccarton	Woolston
Length of Residence	2 years	30 years
Marriage Place	St. John's, Woolston
Folio	06/1079
Consent
Date of Certificate	6 January 1906
Officiating Minister	Rev. R. Hallam, Anglican

8 January 1906

William Frederick Hills
Harriett Roberts

William Frederick Hills
Harriett Roberts Shrimpton
💍 1906/2759

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Dressmaker

28
24

Christchurch
Christchurch

10 years
3 years

St. Mary's, Sydenham

06/1076

8 January 1906

Rev. Canon Pascoe, Anglican

No	14
Date of Notice	8 January 1906
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Frederick Hills	Harriett Roberts
BDM Match (81%)	William Frederick Hills	Harriett Roberts Shrimpton
	💍 1906/2759
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Dressmaker
Age	28	24
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	10 years	3 years
Marriage Place	St. Mary's, Sydenham
Folio	06/1076
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 January 1906
Officiating Minister	Rev. Canon Pascoe, Anglican

8 January 1906

William Hurel
Hannah Bell

William Harold Tulley
Hannah Bell
💍 1906/2543

William Steel
Daisy Bell
💍 1907/322

Bachelor
Spinster

Salesman
Domestic

22
20

Christchurch
Christchurch

22 years
12 years

St. John's, Latimer Square

06/1130

Rev. W. Giles, father of bride

8 January 1906

Rev. W. Giles, Methodist

No	15
Date of Notice	8 January 1906
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Hurel	Hannah Bell
BDM Match (76%)	William Harold Tulley	Hannah Bell
	💍 1906/2543
BDM Match (66%)	William Steel	Daisy Bell
	💍 1907/322
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Salesman	Domestic
Age	22	20
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	22 years	12 years
Marriage Place	St. John's, Latimer Square
Folio	06/1130
Consent	Rev. W. Giles, father of bride
Date of Certificate	8 January 1906
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. Giles, Methodist

8 January 1906

Bertrand Oliver Harcourt
Florence Lewis

Bertrand Oliver Harcourt Parker
Florence Lewis
💍 1906/2380

Bachelor
Spinster

Engineer
Domestic

25
21

Christchurch
Christchurch

6 months
6 months

St. Michael's Anglican Church, Merivale

06/1051

8 January 1906

Rev. C. H. Gosset, Anglican

No	16
Date of Notice	8 January 1906
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Bertrand Oliver Harcourt	Florence Lewis
BDM Match (89%)	Bertrand Oliver Harcourt Parker	Florence Lewis
	💍 1906/2380
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Engineer	Domestic
Age	25	21
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	6 months	6 months
Marriage Place	St. Michael's Anglican Church, Merivale
Folio	06/1051
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 January 1906
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. H. Gosset, Anglican

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).