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 466

District of Dunedin Quarter ending 31 December 1908

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

542

3 November 1908

Michael O'Connell
Agnes Scanlan

Michael OConnell
Agnes Scanlan
💍 1908/3539

Bachelor
Spinster

Draper

29 years
29 years

St. Kilda
St. Kilda

3 days
13 years

St. Patrick's Basilica, South Dunedin

08/8368

3 November 1908

Rev. M. Howard

No	542
Date of Notice	3 November 1908
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Michael O'Connell	Agnes Scanlan
BDM Match (97%)	Michael OConnell	Agnes Scanlan
	💍 1908/3539
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Draper
Age	29 years	29 years
Dwelling Place	St. Kilda	St. Kilda
Length of Residence	3 days	13 years
Marriage Place	St. Patrick's Basilica, South Dunedin
Folio	08/8368
Consent
Date of Certificate	3 November 1908
Officiating Minister	Rev. M. Howard

543

3 November 1908

William Henry Penson
Ella Susannah Holsted

William Henry Penton
Ella Susannah Holsted
💍 1908/3200

Bachelor
Spinster

Painter

23 years
22 years

Caversham
Caversham

9 months
12 months

In the house of Mr. W. Holsted, 22 King Edward Street, Caversham

08/8024

3 November 1908

Rev. Wm. Laycock

No	543
Date of Notice	3 November 1908
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Henry Penson	Ella Susannah Holsted
BDM Match (98%)	William Henry Penton	Ella Susannah Holsted
	💍 1908/3200
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Painter
Age	23 years	22 years
Dwelling Place	Caversham	Caversham
Length of Residence	9 months	12 months
Marriage Place	In the house of Mr. W. Holsted, 22 King Edward Street, Caversham
Folio	08/8024
Consent
Date of Certificate	3 November 1908
Officiating Minister	Rev. Wm. Laycock

544

4 November 1908

Thomas John Vine
Blanche Eleanor Archer

Thomas John Vine Lawer
Blanch Eleanor Archer
💍 1908/3540

Bachelor
Spinster

Law Clerk

22 years
21 years

Dunedin
Caversham

3 days
3 days

In the house of Mr. Sheaton, 148 Main South Road, Caversham

08/8369

4 November 1908

Rev. M. Howard

No	544
Date of Notice	4 November 1908
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas John Vine	Blanche Eleanor Archer
BDM Match (84%)	Thomas John Vine Lawer	Blanch Eleanor Archer
	💍 1908/3540
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Law Clerk
Age	22 years	21 years
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Caversham
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	In the house of Mr. Sheaton, 148 Main South Road, Caversham
Folio	08/8369
Consent
Date of Certificate	4 November 1908
Officiating Minister	Rev. M. Howard

545

4 November 1908

Maurice Kinnelly
Elizabeth Emily Pyna

Maurice Kennelly
Elizabeth Emily Pym
💍 1908/3541

Bachelor
Spinster

Yardman

24 years
23 years

South Dunedin
South Dunedin

21 years
4 years

St. Patrick's Basilica, South Dunedin

08/8370

4 November 1908

Rev. M. Howard

No	545
Date of Notice	4 November 1908
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Maurice Kinnelly	Elizabeth Emily Pyna
BDM Match (92%)	Maurice Kennelly	Elizabeth Emily Pym
	💍 1908/3541
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Yardman
Age	24 years	23 years
Dwelling Place	South Dunedin	South Dunedin
Length of Residence	21 years	4 years
Marriage Place	St. Patrick's Basilica, South Dunedin
Folio	08/8370
Consent
Date of Certificate	4 November 1908
Officiating Minister	Rev. M. Howard

546

4 November 1908

James Aitken
Omelani Isabella Margaret Elizabeth Aitken

Bachelor
Spinster

Carrier
Laundress

28 years
25 years

Dunedin
North East Valley

28 years
25 years

In the office of the Registrar, 25 Rattray Street, Dunedin

08/7907

4 November 1908

H. Maxwell

No	546
Date of Notice	4 November 1908
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Aitken	Omelani Isabella Margaret Elizabeth Aitken
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carrier	Laundress
Age	28 years	25 years
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	North East Valley
Length of Residence	28 years	25 years
Marriage Place	In the office of the Registrar, 25 Rattray Street, Dunedin
Folio	08/7907
Consent
Date of Certificate	4 November 1908
Officiating Minister	H. Maxwell

547

6 November 1908

John Edgar Moultrey
Winifred Ella McFie

John Elder Moultray
Winifred Helen McFie
💍 1908/3594

Bachelor
Spinster

Artist

45 years
27 years

Dunedin
Waikouaiti

24 years
24 years

In the house of Mr. J. E. Moultrey, 61 Frederick Street, Dunedin

08/8334

6 November 1908

Rev. S. J. Campbell

No	547
Date of Notice	6 November 1908
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Edgar Moultrey	Winifred Ella McFie
BDM Match (79%)	John Elder Moultray	Winifred Helen McFie
	💍 1908/3594
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Artist
Age	45 years	27 years
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Waikouaiti
Length of Residence	24 years	24 years
Marriage Place	In the house of Mr. J. E. Moultrey, 61 Frederick Street, Dunedin
Folio	08/8334
Consent
Date of Certificate	6 November 1908
Officiating Minister	Rev. S. J. Campbell

548

6 November 1908

Edward John Comer
Margaret Bryans

Edward John Comer
Margaret Bryant
💍 1908/3195

Bachelor
Spinster

Clerk

41 years
25 years

Dunedin
Kaikorai Valley

3 years
25 years

St. Joseph's Cathedral, Dunedin

08/7994

6 November 1908

Rev. J. Coffey

No	548
Date of Notice	6 November 1908
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edward John Comer	Margaret Bryans
BDM Match (97%)	Edward John Comer	Margaret Bryant
	💍 1908/3195
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Clerk
Age	41 years	25 years
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Kaikorai Valley
Length of Residence	3 years	25 years
Marriage Place	St. Joseph's Cathedral, Dunedin
Folio	08/7994
Consent
Date of Certificate	6 November 1908
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Coffey

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).