Intentions to Marry, 1908 Canterbury, Otago, Chatham Islands

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840438, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

1908 is bound in three volumes - Auckland, Taranaki, Hawke's Bay (1908a), Wellington, Marlborough, Nelson, Westland (1908b), and Canterbury, Otago, Chatham Islands (1908c).

Page 462

District of Dunedin Quarter ending 31 December 1908 Registrar Henry Maxwell

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

517

21 October 1908

Albert Edward Brookes
Daisy Burns

Albert Edward Brookes
Daisy Burns
💍 1908/3101

Bachelor
Spinster

Dairyman
Factory Hand

22 years
21 years

Maori Hill
Dunedin

12 months
21 years

In the office of the Registrar of Marriages, Dunedin

08/7899

21 October 1908

H. Maxwell

No	517
Date of Notice	21 October 1908
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Albert Edward Brookes	Daisy Burns
	💍 1908/3101
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Dairyman	Factory Hand
Age	22 years	21 years
Dwelling Place	Maori Hill	Dunedin
Length of Residence	12 months	21 years
Marriage Place	In the office of the Registrar of Marriages, Dunedin
Folio	08/7899
Consent
Date of Certificate	21 October 1908
Officiating Minister	H. Maxwell

518

22 October 1908

Frederick John Watson
Eva Elizabeth Wilson

Frederick John Watson
Eva Elizabeth Wilson
💍 1908/3162

Bachelor
Spinster

Machinist

22 years
19 years

Caversham
South Dunedin

9 years
3 years

In the house of Mr. R. Wilson, 10 Helena Street, Dunedin

08/7961

Robert Wilson, father

22 October 1908

Rev. D. Dutton

No	518
Date of Notice	22 October 1908
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Frederick John Watson	Eva Elizabeth Wilson
	💍 1908/3162
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Machinist
Age	22 years	19 years
Dwelling Place	Caversham	South Dunedin
Length of Residence	9 years	3 years
Marriage Place	In the house of Mr. R. Wilson, 10 Helena Street, Dunedin
Folio	08/7961
Consent	Robert Wilson, father
Date of Certificate	22 October 1908
Officiating Minister	Rev. D. Dutton

519

22 October 1908

William Ernest McDougall
Josephine Daisy Carrington

William Ernest McDougall
Josephine Daisy Carrington
💍 1908/3180

Bachelor
Spinster

Carpenter
Dressmaker

25 years
22 years

Roslyn
Dunedin

8 years
22 years

In the Trinity Methodist Church, Dunedin

08/8003

22 October 1908

Rev. C. O. Blamires

No	519
Date of Notice	22 October 1908
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Ernest McDougall	Josephine Daisy Carrington
	💍 1908/3180
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carpenter	Dressmaker
Age	25 years	22 years
Dwelling Place	Roslyn	Dunedin
Length of Residence	8 years	22 years
Marriage Place	In the Trinity Methodist Church, Dunedin
Folio	08/8003
Consent
Date of Certificate	22 October 1908
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. O. Blamires

520

22 October 1908

Charles Newman Draper
Ivy Aileen Quilter

Bachelor
Spinster

Auctioneer

34 years
21 years

Dunedin
Dunedin

9 months
2 years

In All Saints Church, Dunedin

not solemnised see letter

22 October 1908

Rev. A. R. Fitchett

No	520
Date of Notice	22 October 1908
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Newman Draper	Ivy Aileen Quilter
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Auctioneer
Age	34 years	21 years
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	9 months	2 years
Marriage Place	In All Saints Church, Dunedin
Folio	not solemnised see letter
Consent
Date of Certificate	22 October 1908
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. R. Fitchett

521

24 October 1908

Howard Alexander Mills
Elsie Agnes Spence

Howard Alexander Mills
Elsie Agnes Spence
💍 1908/3163

Bachelor
Spinster

Slater

21 years
21 years

Dunedin
Dunedin

2 months
3 days

In the house of Mr. R. R. Waddell, 100 High Street, Dunedin

08/7962

24 October 1908

Rev. R. Waddell

No	521
Date of Notice	24 October 1908
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Howard Alexander Mills	Elsie Agnes Spence
	💍 1908/3163
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Slater
Age	21 years	21 years
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	2 months	3 days
Marriage Place	In the house of Mr. R. R. Waddell, 100 High Street, Dunedin
Folio	08/7962
Consent
Date of Certificate	24 October 1908
Officiating Minister	Rev. R. Waddell

522

24 October 1908

John Hall
Eliza Margaret Fox

John Hall
Eliza Margaret Fox
💍 1908/3199

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer

33 years
29 years

Dunedin
Dunedin

6 days
2 years

In the Primitive Methodist Church, Dunedin

08/8023

24 October 1908

Rev. W. Laycock

No	522
Date of Notice	24 October 1908
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Hall	Eliza Margaret Fox
	💍 1908/3199
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer
Age	33 years	29 years
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	6 days	2 years
Marriage Place	In the Primitive Methodist Church, Dunedin
Folio	08/8023
Consent
Date of Certificate	24 October 1908
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. Laycock

523

24 October 1908

John Cowan Weir
Isabella Ken McCartney

John Cowan Neir
Isabella Kerr McCartney
💍 1908/3513

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer

24 years
22 years

Sandymount
Portobello

24 years
2 years

In the house of Mr. W. S. McCartney, Portobello

08/8333

24 October 1908

Rev. J. Erwin

No	523
Date of Notice	24 October 1908
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Cowan Weir	Isabella Ken McCartney
BDM Match (92%)	John Cowan Neir	Isabella Kerr McCartney
	💍 1908/3513
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	24 years	22 years
Dwelling Place	Sandymount	Portobello
Length of Residence	24 years	2 years
Marriage Place	In the house of Mr. W. S. McCartney, Portobello
Folio	08/8333
Consent
Date of Certificate	24 October 1908
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Erwin

524

24 October 1908

Francis William Taylor
Margaret Jane McLennan

Francis William Taylor
Margaret Jane McLennan
💍 1908/3164

Bachelor
Spinster

Carter
Factory Hand

24 years
21 years

Dunedin
Dunedin

7 years
21 years

In Knox Church Vestry, Dunedin

08/7963

24 October 1908

Rev. W. Hewitson

No	524
Date of Notice	24 October 1908
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Francis William Taylor	Margaret Jane McLennan
	💍 1908/3164
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carter	Factory Hand
Age	24 years	21 years
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	7 years	21 years
Marriage Place	In Knox Church Vestry, Dunedin
Folio	08/7963
Consent
Date of Certificate	24 October 1908
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. Hewitson

525

26 October 1908

Vivian Simeon Jacobs
Mona Isobel Smith

Vivian Simeon Jacobs
Mona Isabel Smith
💍 1908/3103

Bachelor
Spinster

Warehouseman

26 years
23 years

Dunedin
Dunedin

26 years
2 1/2 years

In the office of the Registrar of Marriages, Dunedin

08/7900

26 October 1908

H. Maxwell

No	525
Date of Notice	26 October 1908
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Vivian Simeon Jacobs	Mona Isobel Smith
BDM Match (97%)	Vivian Simeon Jacobs	Mona Isabel Smith
	💍 1908/3103
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Warehouseman
Age	26 years	23 years
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	26 years	2 1/2 years
Marriage Place	In the office of the Registrar of Marriages, Dunedin
Folio	08/7900
Consent
Date of Certificate	26 October 1908
Officiating Minister	H. Maxwell

These records have been automatically transcribed and must be verified using the page image (below)

100% Contrast

100% Brightness

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).