Intentions to Marry, 1909 Canterbury, Otago, Chatham Islands

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840441, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

1909 is bound in three volumes - Auckland, Taranaki, Hawke's Bay (1909a), Wellington, Marlborough, Nelson, Westland (1909b), and Canterbury, Otago, Chatham Islands (1909c).

Page 583

District of Invercargill Quarter ending 31 March 1909 Registrar John Gaunson Petrie

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

26 February 1909

William Pattinson McCauley
Marguerite Patricia Kelly

William Patterson McCanley
Marguerite Patricia Kelly
💍 1909/7364

Bachelor
Spinster

Shepherd
Domestic

20
22

Wallacetown
Wallacetown

3 days
3 days

Roman Catholic Church, Tyne Street, Invercargill

09/1724

26 February 1909

Very Rev. Dean Burke V.F.

No	25
Date of Notice	26 February 1909
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Pattinson McCauley	Marguerite Patricia Kelly
BDM Match (94%)	William Patterson McCanley	Marguerite Patricia Kelly
	💍 1909/7364
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Shepherd	Domestic
Age	20	22
Dwelling Place	Wallacetown	Wallacetown
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Church, Tyne Street, Invercargill
Folio	09/1724
Consent
Date of Certificate	26 February 1909
Officiating Minister	Very Rev. Dean Burke V.F.

1 March 1909

Samuel Burns
Jane Sutherland Campbell

Samuel Burns
Jane Dempster Sutherland
💍 1909/6766

Bachelor
Spinster

Wool-classer
Domestic

38
20

Kensington
Runswick

12 years
20 years

Residence of William Sutherland, Runswick

09/1707

1 March 1909

Rev. J. Cumming

No	26
Date of Notice	1 March 1909
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Samuel Burns	Jane Sutherland Campbell
BDM Match (63%)	Samuel Burns	Jane Dempster Sutherland
	💍 1909/6766
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Wool-classer	Domestic
Age	38	20
Dwelling Place	Kensington	Runswick
Length of Residence	12 years	20 years
Marriage Place	Residence of William Sutherland, Runswick
Folio	09/1707
Consent
Date of Certificate	1 March 1909
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Cumming

8 March 1909

Peter Godfrey Craig
Sarah Edith Brazier

Peter Godfrey Craig
Sarah Edith Brazier
💍 1909/7248

Bachelor
Spinster

Engineer
Domestic

23
21

Esk Street
Esk Street

3 years
3 months

Presbyterian Church, Esk Street

09/1583

8 March 1909

Rev. R. M. Ryburn

No	27
Date of Notice	8 March 1909
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Peter Godfrey Craig	Sarah Edith Brazier
	💍 1909/7248
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Engineer	Domestic
Age	23	21
Dwelling Place	Esk Street	Esk Street
Length of Residence	3 years	3 months
Marriage Place	Presbyterian Church, Esk Street
Folio	09/1583
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 March 1909
Officiating Minister	Rev. R. M. Ryburn

9 March 1909

George Patnell Mooney
Eliza Ruth Wilson

George Patrick Mooney
Eliza Ruth Wilson
💍 1909/7265

Bachelor
Spinster

Railway Station Master
Domestic

41
27

Waianiwa
Waianiwa

3 days
27 years

Residence of Thomas Nelson, Waianiwa

09/1622

9 March 1909

Rev. A. S. Kirkland

No	28
Date of Notice	9 March 1909
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Patnell Mooney	Eliza Ruth Wilson
BDM Match (91%)	George Patrick Mooney	Eliza Ruth Wilson
	💍 1909/7265
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Railway Station Master	Domestic
Age	41	27
Dwelling Place	Waianiwa	Waianiwa
Length of Residence	3 days	27 years
Marriage Place	Residence of Thomas Nelson, Waianiwa
Folio	09/1622
Consent
Date of Certificate	9 March 1909
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. S. Kirkland

9 March 1909

Dickson Jardine
Mary Glendining Eviere

Dickson Jardine
Mary Glendinning Grieve
💍 1909/6705

Bachelor
Spinster

Runholder
Domestic

30
31

Waianiwa
Waianiwa

5 days
31 years

Residence of John George, Meadow Park, Waianiwa

09/1450

9 March 1909

Rev. Henry J. Barton

No	29
Date of Notice	9 March 1909
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Dickson Jardine	Mary Glendining Eviere
BDM Match (91%)	Dickson Jardine	Mary Glendinning Grieve
	💍 1909/6705
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Runholder	Domestic
Age	30	31
Dwelling Place	Waianiwa	Waianiwa
Length of Residence	5 days	31 years
Marriage Place	Residence of John George, Meadow Park, Waianiwa
Folio	09/1450
Consent
Date of Certificate	9 March 1909
Officiating Minister	Rev. Henry J. Barton

10 March 1909

Mungo McPherson Robertson
Mary Maloney

Mungo McPherson Robertson
Mary Maloney
💍 1909/7187

Bachelor
Spinster

Railway Porter
Domestic

22
25

Nairn
Nairn

3 days
3 days

Office of the Registrar of Marriages, Invercargill

09/1477

10 March 1909

Registrar of Marriages, Invercargill

No	30
Date of Notice	10 March 1909
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Mungo McPherson Robertson	Mary Maloney
	💍 1909/7187
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Railway Porter	Domestic
Age	22	25
Dwelling Place	Nairn	Nairn
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	Office of the Registrar of Marriages, Invercargill
Folio	09/1477
Consent
Date of Certificate	10 March 1909
Officiating Minister	Registrar of Marriages, Invercargill

12 March 1909

John Michael Millar
Bertha Flora Goldthorp

John Michael Millar
Bertha Flora Goldthorpe
💍 1909/4016

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic

37
22

Esk Street
Esk Street

3 days
3 days

Wesleyan Church, Esk Street

09/5376

12 March 1909

Rev. A. Mitchell

No	31
Date of Notice	12 March 1909
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Michael Millar	Bertha Flora Goldthorp
BDM Match (98%)	John Michael Millar	Bertha Flora Goldthorpe
	💍 1909/4016
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic
Age	37	22
Dwelling Place	Esk Street	Esk Street
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	Wesleyan Church, Esk Street
Folio	09/5376
Consent
Date of Certificate	12 March 1909
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. Mitchell

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).