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 875

District of Winton Quarter ending 31 December 1907 Registrar William Russell

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

10 October 1907

Walter Mallard Smith
Barbara McLaren Hamilton

Walter Mallard Smith
Barbara McLaren Hamilton
💍 1907/7992

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer

26
28

Oreti Plains
Oreti Plains

3 years
20 years

House of Mr. James Hamilton, Riverside, Winton

07/8088

10 October 1907

Rev. J. M. Simpson, B.A., Presbyterian

No	14
Date of Notice	10 October 1907
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Walter Mallard Smith	Barbara McLaren Hamilton
	💍 1907/7992
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	26	28
Dwelling Place	Oreti Plains	Oreti Plains
Length of Residence	3 years	20 years
Marriage Place	House of Mr. James Hamilton, Riverside, Winton
Folio	07/8088
Consent
Date of Certificate	10 October 1907
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. M. Simpson, B.A., Presbyterian

21 October 1907

Paul Brown
Sarah Robertson

Paul Brown
Sarah Robertson
💍 1907/8012

Bachelor
Spinster

Flaxmiller

31
33

Forest Hill
Forest Hill

3 days
33 years

House of Mr. Alexander Robertson, Forest Hill

07/8084

21 October 1907

Rev. A. K. Ross, Presbyterian

No	15
Date of Notice	21 October 1907
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Paul Brown	Sarah Robertson
	💍 1907/8012
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Flaxmiller
Age	31	33
Dwelling Place	Forest Hill	Forest Hill
Length of Residence	3 days	33 years
Marriage Place	House of Mr. Alexander Robertson, Forest Hill
Folio	07/8084
Consent
Date of Certificate	21 October 1907
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. K. Ross, Presbyterian

21 October 1907

Frank Walstead Castle
Margaret Brownlie

Frank Kelstead Castle
Margaret Brownlie
💍 1907/8115

Bachelor
Spinster

Saddler

29
26

Winton
Winton

26 years
18 months

The Church of England, Winton

07/8244

21 October 1907

Rev. W. C. Wood, Church of England

No	16
Date of Notice	21 October 1907
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Frank Walstead Castle	Margaret Brownlie
BDM Match (95%)	Frank Kelstead Castle	Margaret Brownlie
	💍 1907/8115
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Saddler
Age	29	26
Dwelling Place	Winton	Winton
Length of Residence	26 years	18 months
Marriage Place	The Church of England, Winton
Folio	07/8244
Consent
Date of Certificate	21 October 1907
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. C. Wood, Church of England

2 November 1907

George Murphy
Elizabeth Latchford

George Murphy
Elizabeth Latchford
💍 1907/7990

Bachelor
Spinster

Farm Labourer
Domestic Servant

26
25

Boggyburn
Boggyburn

8 months
7 years

The Roman Catholic Church, Winton

07/8086

2 November 1907

Rev. P. O'Neill, Roman Catholic

No	17
Date of Notice	2 November 1907
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Murphy	Elizabeth Latchford
	💍 1907/7990
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farm Labourer	Domestic Servant
Age	26	25
Dwelling Place	Boggyburn	Boggyburn
Length of Residence	8 months	7 years
Marriage Place	The Roman Catholic Church, Winton
Folio	07/8086
Consent
Date of Certificate	2 November 1907
Officiating Minister	Rev. P. O'Neill, Roman Catholic

12 November 1907

Edward John Dwyer
Ellen Frances O'Connell

Edward John Dwyer
Ellen Frances O'Connell
💍 1907/7991

Bachelor
Spinster

Dredge Hand

23
19

Kanana
Kanana

3 days
9 months

House of Mr. Jeremiah Wm. O'Connell, Kanana

07/8087

Jeremiah Wm. O'Connell (Father)

12 November 1907

Rev. P. O'Neill, Roman Catholic

No	18
Date of Notice	12 November 1907
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edward John Dwyer	Ellen Frances O'Connell
	💍 1907/7991
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Dredge Hand
Age	23	19
Dwelling Place	Kanana	Kanana
Length of Residence	3 days	9 months
Marriage Place	House of Mr. Jeremiah Wm. O'Connell, Kanana
Folio	07/8087
Consent	Jeremiah Wm. O'Connell (Father)
Date of Certificate	12 November 1907
Officiating Minister	Rev. P. O'Neill, Roman Catholic

28 November 1907

James Goode McHurick
Jane Goode Hamilton

James Goode McIlwrick
Jane Goode Hamilton
💍 1907/7989

Bachelor
Spinster

Engine Driver

29
30

Forest Hill
Forest Hill

6 years
30 years

House of Mr. John Hamilton, Forest Hill

07/8085

28 November 1907

Rev. A. K. Ross, Presbyterian

No	19
Date of Notice	28 November 1907
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Goode McHurick	Jane Goode Hamilton
BDM Match (93%)	James Goode McIlwrick	Jane Goode Hamilton
	💍 1907/7989
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Engine Driver
Age	29	30
Dwelling Place	Forest Hill	Forest Hill
Length of Residence	6 years	30 years
Marriage Place	House of Mr. John Hamilton, Forest Hill
Folio	07/8085
Consent
Date of Certificate	28 November 1907
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. K. Ross, Presbyterian

4 December 1907

Andrew Jasperson
Emily Margaret Ruth Lane

Andrew Jasperson
Emily Margaret Ruth Lane
💍 1907/7993

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic Servant

26
21

Winton
Winton

10 years
1 1/2 years

House of Mr. George Popehagen, East Winton

07/8089

4 December 1907

Rev. W. T. Hooper, Methodist

No	20
Date of Notice	4 December 1907
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Andrew Jasperson	Emily Margaret Ruth Lane
	💍 1907/7993
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic Servant
Age	26	21
Dwelling Place	Winton	Winton
Length of Residence	10 years	1 1/2 years
Marriage Place	House of Mr. George Popehagen, East Winton
Folio	07/8089
Consent
Date of Certificate	4 December 1907
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. T. Hooper, Methodist

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).