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 204

District of LYTTELTON Quarter ending 30 June 1907 Registrar William D Wallace

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

3 April 1907

William Charles Holland
Jane Ross

William Charles Holland
Jane Ross
💍 1907/4306

Bachelor
Spinster

Captain, Salvation Army
Lieutenant, Salvation Army

24
25

LYTTELTON
LYTTELTON

5 weeks
5 days

Salvation Army Hall, Lyttelton

07/3463

3 April 1907

Brigadier Ernest Knight (Salvation Army)

No	8
Date of Notice	3 April 1907
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Charles Holland	Jane Ross
	💍 1907/4306
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Captain, Salvation Army	Lieutenant, Salvation Army
Age	24	25
Dwelling Place	LYTTELTON	LYTTELTON
Length of Residence	5 weeks	5 days
Marriage Place	Salvation Army Hall, Lyttelton
Folio	07/3463
Consent
Date of Certificate	3 April 1907
Officiating Minister	Brigadier Ernest Knight (Salvation Army)

8 April 1907

George Ernest Quartermaine
Ellen Christina Piper

George Ernest Quartermaine
Ellen Christine Piper
💍 1907/4284

Bachelor
Spinster

Painter & Decorator
Domestic duties

26
21

LYTTELTON
LYTTELTON

7 days
14 years

The house of Agnes Duffell, Dublin Street, Lyttelton

07/3456

8 April 1907

Rev. Thomas McDonald (Presbyterian)

No	9
Date of Notice	8 April 1907
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Ernest Quartermaine	Ellen Christina Piper
BDM Match (98%)	George Ernest Quartermaine	Ellen Christine Piper
	💍 1907/4284
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Painter & Decorator	Domestic duties
Age	26	21
Dwelling Place	LYTTELTON	LYTTELTON
Length of Residence	7 days	14 years
Marriage Place	The house of Agnes Duffell, Dublin Street, Lyttelton
Folio	07/3456
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 April 1907
Officiating Minister	Rev. Thomas McDonald (Presbyterian)

10 April 1907

Henry William Thompson
Marion Crozet Clark

Henry William Thompson
Marion Crozet Clarke
💍 1907/4274

Bachelor
Spinster

Laborer
Domestic duties

33
27

LYTTELTON
LYTTELTON

6 years
10 years

The house of Charles Clark, Oxford St. Lyttelton

07/3453

10 April 1907

Rev. Alfred Peters (Methodist)

No	10
Date of Notice	10 April 1907
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Henry William Thompson	Marion Crozet Clark
BDM Match (98%)	Henry William Thompson	Marion Crozet Clarke
	💍 1907/4274
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Laborer	Domestic duties
Age	33	27
Dwelling Place	LYTTELTON	LYTTELTON
Length of Residence	6 years	10 years
Marriage Place	The house of Charles Clark, Oxford St. Lyttelton
Folio	07/3453
Consent
Date of Certificate	10 April 1907
Officiating Minister	Rev. Alfred Peters (Methodist)

19 April 1907

Richard Osborne
Edith Ruby Shillito

Richard Osborne
Edith Ruby Shillito
💍 1907/4303

Bachelor
Spinster

Engine driver
Domestic servant

27
21

LYTTELTON
Christchurch

3 weeks
12 months

The office of the Registrar of Marriages

07/3460

19 April 1907

W. D. Wallace (Registrar)

No	11
Date of Notice	19 April 1907
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Richard Osborne	Edith Ruby Shillito
	💍 1907/4303
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Engine driver	Domestic servant
Age	27	21
Dwelling Place	LYTTELTON	Christchurch
Length of Residence	3 weeks	12 months
Marriage Place	The office of the Registrar of Marriages
Folio	07/3460
Consent
Date of Certificate	19 April 1907
Officiating Minister	W. D. Wallace (Registrar)

19 April 1907

Charles Edward Cook
Enrica Pia Serra

Charles Edward Cook
Eunice Pia Serra
💍 1907/4750

Bachelor
Spinster

Butcher
Dressmaker

24
23

LYTTELTON
LYTTELTON

24 years
23 years

The dwelling house of Annie Cook, Oxford St. Lyttelton

07/4182

19 April 1907

Rev. Patrick Cooney (Roman Catholic)

No	12
Date of Notice	19 April 1907
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Edward Cook	Enrica Pia Serra
BDM Match (91%)	Charles Edward Cook	Eunice Pia Serra
	💍 1907/4750
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Butcher	Dressmaker
Age	24	23
Dwelling Place	LYTTELTON	LYTTELTON
Length of Residence	24 years	23 years
Marriage Place	The dwelling house of Annie Cook, Oxford St. Lyttelton
Folio	07/4182
Consent
Date of Certificate	19 April 1907
Officiating Minister	Rev. Patrick Cooney (Roman Catholic)

22 April 1907

Alfred Boland
Sarah Baker

Alfred Boland
Sarah Baker
💍 1907/4275

Bachelor
Spinster

Waiter

23
23

LYTTELTON
LYTTELTON

3 days
3 weeks

St. Saviour's Church Lyttelton

07/3454

22 April 1907

Rev. E. E. Chambers (Anglican)

No	13
Date of Notice	22 April 1907
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Alfred Boland	Sarah Baker
	💍 1907/4275
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Waiter
Age	23	23
Dwelling Place	LYTTELTON	LYTTELTON
Length of Residence	3 days	3 weeks
Marriage Place	St. Saviour's Church Lyttelton
Folio	07/3454
Consent
Date of Certificate	22 April 1907
Officiating Minister	Rev. E. E. Chambers (Anglican)

25 April 1907

Jeremiah Joseph Loader
Elsie May Ayers

Jeremiah Joseph Loader
Elsie May Ayers
💍 1907/4761

Bachelor
Spinster

Grocer

23
24

LYTTELTON
LYTTELTON

23 years
24 years

The Roman Catholic Church, Lyttelton

07/4183

25 April 1907

Rev. Patrick Cooney (Roman Catholic)

No	14
Date of Notice	25 April 1907
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Jeremiah Joseph Loader	Elsie May Ayers
	💍 1907/4761
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Grocer
Age	23	24
Dwelling Place	LYTTELTON	LYTTELTON
Length of Residence	23 years	24 years
Marriage Place	The Roman Catholic Church, Lyttelton
Folio	07/4183
Consent
Date of Certificate	25 April 1907
Officiating Minister	Rev. Patrick Cooney (Roman Catholic)

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).