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 041

District of CHRISTCHURCH Quarter ending 31 March 1907 Registrar P.C. [illegible] Sphy

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

30 January 1907

John Alexander Donaldson
Ruby Nellie Turpneham

John Alexander Donaldson
Ruby Nellie Twyneham
💍 1907/1068

Bachelor
Spinster

Clerk

23
23

Christchurch
Christchurch

1 year
Life

Registrar's Office, Christchurch

07/1141

30 January 1907

Deputy Registrar Marriages

No	78
Date of Notice	30 January 1907
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Alexander Donaldson	Ruby Nellie Turpneham
BDM Match (93%)	John Alexander Donaldson	Ruby Nellie Twyneham
	💍 1907/1068
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Clerk
Age	23	23
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	1 year	Life
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office, Christchurch
Folio	07/1141
Consent
Date of Certificate	30 January 1907
Officiating Minister	Deputy Registrar Marriages

30 January 1907

William John Baker
Edith Phillips

William John Baker
Edith Phillips
💍 1907/1138

Bachelor
Spinster

Sawyer

26
19

New Brighton
New Brighton

6 months
3 days

House of Rev. R. Ready, Fitzgerald Ave, Christchurch

07/1219

James Phillips, Father

30 January 1907

Rev. R. Ready, Methodist

No	79
Date of Notice	30 January 1907
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William John Baker	Edith Phillips
	💍 1907/1138
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Sawyer
Age	26	19
Dwelling Place	New Brighton	New Brighton
Length of Residence	6 months	3 days
Marriage Place	House of Rev. R. Ready, Fitzgerald Ave, Christchurch
Folio	07/1219
Consent	James Phillips, Father
Date of Certificate	30 January 1907
Officiating Minister	Rev. R. Ready, Methodist

30 January 1907

Edward William Gribbin
Agnes Allison

Edward William Gribbin
Agnes Allison
💍 1907/1139

Widower
Spinster

Groom

36
27

Linwood
Addington

16 months
2 months

House of Rev. R. Ready, Fitzgerald Ave, Christchurch

07/1220

30 January 1907

Rev. R. Ready, Methodist

No	80
Date of Notice	30 January 1907
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edward William Gribbin	Agnes Allison
	💍 1907/1139
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Groom
Age	36	27
Dwelling Place	Linwood	Addington
Length of Residence	16 months	2 months
Marriage Place	House of Rev. R. Ready, Fitzgerald Ave, Christchurch
Folio	07/1220
Consent
Date of Certificate	30 January 1907
Officiating Minister	Rev. R. Ready, Methodist

30 January 1907

Francis Casper Chardon
Edith Sarah Cook

Francis Casper Chardon
Edith Sarah Cook
💍 1907/1049

Bachelor
Spinster

Engine driver

22
19

Christchurch
Christchurch

3 months
Life

Registrar's Office, Christchurch

07/1146

No one in colony to give consent

13 February 1907

Registrar Marriages

No	81
Date of Notice	30 January 1907
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Francis Casper Chardon	Edith Sarah Cook
	💍 1907/1049
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Engine driver
Age	22	19
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	3 months	Life
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office, Christchurch
Folio	07/1146
Consent	No one in colony to give consent
Date of Certificate	13 February 1907
Officiating Minister	Registrar Marriages

31 January 1907

William Robert Scope
Sarah Jane McLuskey

William Robert Scope
Sarah Jane McCloskey
💍 1907/1069

Widower
Spinster

Plasterer

47
28

Christchurch
Christchurch

Years
Years

Registrar's Office, Christchurch

07/1142

31 January 1907

Deputy Registrar Marriages

No	82
Date of Notice	31 January 1907
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Robert Scope	Sarah Jane McLuskey
BDM Match (93%)	William Robert Scope	Sarah Jane McCloskey
	💍 1907/1069
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Plasterer
Age	47	28
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	Years	Years
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office, Christchurch
Folio	07/1142
Consent
Date of Certificate	31 January 1907
Officiating Minister	Deputy Registrar Marriages

31 January 1907

Frederick John Tucker
Elizabeth Drew Fraser

Frederick John Tucker
Elizabeth Wren Fraser
💍 1907/1151

Bachelor
Spinster

Salesman

23
19

St. Albans
Woolston

Life
17 Years

House of Mr. Fraser, 4 Ensor's Rd, Woolston

07/1255

John Fraser, Father

31 January 1907

Rev. T. McDonald, Presbyterian

No	83
Date of Notice	31 January 1907
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Frederick John Tucker	Elizabeth Drew Fraser
BDM Match (95%)	Frederick John Tucker	Elizabeth Wren Fraser
	💍 1907/1151
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Salesman
Age	23	19
Dwelling Place	St. Albans	Woolston
Length of Residence	Life	17 Years
Marriage Place	House of Mr. Fraser, 4 Ensor's Rd, Woolston
Folio	07/1255
Consent	John Fraser, Father
Date of Certificate	31 January 1907
Officiating Minister	Rev. T. McDonald, Presbyterian

2 February 1907

Fredrick William Carmichael
Elizabeth Duggan

Fredrick William Carmichael
Elizabeth Dugan
💍 1907/1070

Bachelor
Spinster

Butcher

38
22

Christchurch
Christchurch

3 days
3 days

Registrar's Office, Christchurch

07/1143

2 February 1907

Deputy Registrar Marriages

No	84
Date of Notice	2 February 1907
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Fredrick William Carmichael	Elizabeth Duggan
BDM Match (97%)	Fredrick William Carmichael	Elizabeth Dugan
	💍 1907/1070
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Butcher
Age	38	22
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office, Christchurch
Folio	07/1143
Consent
Date of Certificate	2 February 1907
Officiating Minister	Deputy Registrar Marriages

4 February 1907

John Benson Blackburn
Kate Ethel Andrews

John Benson Blackburn
Kate Ethel Andrews
💍 1907/1226

Bachelor
Spinster

Conductor

24
21

Riccarton
Sydenham

Life
2 Years

St. Michael's, Christchurch

07/1330

4 February 1907

Rev. A. H. Averill, Anglican

No	85
Date of Notice	4 February 1907
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Benson Blackburn	Kate Ethel Andrews
	💍 1907/1226
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Conductor
Age	24	21
Dwelling Place	Riccarton	Sydenham
Length of Residence	Life	2 Years
Marriage Place	St. Michael's, Christchurch
Folio	07/1330
Consent
Date of Certificate	4 February 1907
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. H. Averill, 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).