Intentions to Marry, 1907 Canterbury, Otago, Chatham Islands

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840435, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

1907 is bound in three volumes - Auckland, Taranaki, Hawke's Bay (1907a), Wellington, Marlborough, Nelson, Westland (1907b), and Canterbury, Otago, Chatham Islands (1907c).

Page 031

District of Christchurch Quarter ending 31 March 1907 Registrar Lyonel Charles 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

2 January 1907

George Crozier
Elizabeth Cooper

George Crozier
Elizabeth Cooper
💍 1907/1024

Bachelor
Spinster

Laborer
Domestic

38
28

Christchurch
Christchurch

9 days
1 year

Registrar's Office, Christchurch

07/1120

2 January 1907

L. C. Williams, Registrar

No	1
Date of Notice	2 January 1907
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Crozier	Elizabeth Cooper
	💍 1907/1024
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Laborer	Domestic
Age	38	28
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	9 days	1 year
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office, Christchurch
Folio	07/1120
Consent
Date of Certificate	2 January 1907
Officiating Minister	L. C. Williams, Registrar

2 January 1907

Walter Anderson
Ada Stewart

Walter Anderson
Ada Stewart
💍 1907/1025

Bachelor
Spinster

Traveller
Domestic

25
16

Christchurch
Christchurch

10 Months
3 years

Registrar's Office, Christchurch

07/1121

Mother, Jane Stewart,

2 January 1907

L. C. Williams, Registrar

No	2
Date of Notice	2 January 1907
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Walter Anderson	Ada Stewart
	💍 1907/1025
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Traveller	Domestic
Age	25	16
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	10 Months	3 years
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office, Christchurch
Folio	07/1121
Consent	Mother, Jane Stewart,
Date of Certificate	2 January 1907
Officiating Minister	L. C. Williams, Registrar

2 January 1907

William John Owens
Rose Christina Mildred Whitmarsh

William John Owens
Rose Christina Mildred Whitmarsh
💍 1907/1026

Bachelor
Spinster

Laborer

26
19

Christchurch
Christchurch

15 years
18 Months

Registrar's Office, Christchurch

07/1122

Ellen Theresa Branting Guardian

2 January 1907

L. C. Williams, Registrar

No	3
Date of Notice	2 January 1907
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William John Owens	Rose Christina Mildred Whitmarsh
	💍 1907/1026
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Laborer
Age	26	19
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	15 years	18 Months
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office, Christchurch
Folio	07/1122
Consent	Ellen Theresa Branting Guardian
Date of Certificate	2 January 1907
Officiating Minister	L. C. Williams, Registrar

2 January 1907

Peter Guthrie
Marion Nelkin

Peter Guthrie
Marion Nelkin
💍 1907/1027

Bachelor
Widow

Baker
Nurse

45
41

Christchurch
Christchurch

2 weeks
12 Months

Registrar's Office, Christchurch

07/1123

2 January 1907

L. C. Williams, Registrar

No	4
Date of Notice	2 January 1907
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Peter Guthrie	Marion Nelkin
	💍 1907/1027
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Baker	Nurse
Age	45	41
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	2 weeks	12 Months
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office, Christchurch
Folio	07/1123
Consent
Date of Certificate	2 January 1907
Officiating Minister	L. C. Williams, Registrar

3 January 1907

James Frederick Heseltine
Eleanor Gallagher

James Frederick Heseltine
Eleanor Gallagher
💍 1907/1161

Bachelor
Spinster

Laborer

25
28

Christchurch
Prebbleton

4 days
Life

St. John's, Latimer Square, Christchurch

07/1265

3 January 1907

Rev. H. Purchas, Anglican

No	5
Date of Notice	3 January 1907
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Frederick Heseltine	Eleanor Gallagher
	💍 1907/1161
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Laborer
Age	25	28
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Prebbleton
Length of Residence	4 days	Life
Marriage Place	St. John's, Latimer Square, Christchurch
Folio	07/1265
Consent
Date of Certificate	3 January 1907
Officiating Minister	Rev. H. Purchas, Anglican

3 January 1907

Walter Francis Herrich
Martha Lillian Swanston

Walter Francis Herrick
Martha Lillian Swanston
💍 1907/1222

Bachelor
Spinster

Commercial Traveller

28
31

Linwood
Christchurch

4 Months
5 Months

House of Rev. T. Tait, Latimer Square, Christchurch

07/1326

3 January 1907

Rev. T. Tait, Presbyterian

No	6
Date of Notice	3 January 1907
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Walter Francis Herrich	Martha Lillian Swanston
BDM Match (98%)	Walter Francis Herrick	Martha Lillian Swanston
	💍 1907/1222
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Commercial Traveller
Age	28	31
Dwelling Place	Linwood	Christchurch
Length of Residence	4 Months	5 Months
Marriage Place	House of Rev. T. Tait, Latimer Square, Christchurch
Folio	07/1326
Consent
Date of Certificate	3 January 1907
Officiating Minister	Rev. T. Tait, Presbyterian

3 January 1907

Walter Holbrook
Annie Veronica Lawlor

Walter Holbrook
Annie Veronica Lawlor
💍 1907/1843

Bachelor
Spinster

Bricklayer
Housekeeper

27
29

Christchurch
Papanui

5 years
29 years

St. Mary's, Manchester Street, Christchurch

07/1939

3 January 1907

Rev. .J P. Hickson, Roman Catholic

No	7
Date of Notice	3 January 1907
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Walter Holbrook	Annie Veronica Lawlor
	💍 1907/1843
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Bricklayer	Housekeeper
Age	27	29
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Papanui
Length of Residence	5 years	29 years
Marriage Place	St. Mary's, Manchester Street, Christchurch
Folio	07/1939
Consent
Date of Certificate	3 January 1907
Officiating Minister	Rev. .J P. Hickson, Roman Catholic

4 January 1907

John Barrett
Ada Allen

John Barrett
Ada Allen
💍 1907/1028

Bachelor
Spinster

Stoker
Domestic

26
24

Christchurch
Christchurch

10 Months
1 year

Registrar's Office, Christchurch

07/1124

4 January 1907

L. C. Williams, Registrar

No	8
Date of Notice	4 January 1907
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Barrett	Ada Allen
	💍 1907/1028
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Stoker	Domestic
Age	26	24
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	10 Months	1 year
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office, Christchurch
Folio	07/1124
Consent
Date of Certificate	4 January 1907
Officiating Minister	L. C. Williams, Registrar

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).