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 688

District of Oamaru Quarter ending 30 September 1909 Registrar Augustus

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

2787

10 August 1909

Kenneth McLean
Mary Eliza Duncrop

Kenneth McLeary
Mary Eliza Moscrop
💍 1909/4302

Bachelor
Spinster

Accountant
Tailoress

23
23

Oamaru
Oamaru

3 days
23 years

In the Wesleyan Church

09/5616

10 August 1909

Rev. T. H. Griffin

No	2787
Date of Notice	10 August 1909
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Kenneth McLean	Mary Eliza Duncrop
BDM Match (85%)	Kenneth McLeary	Mary Eliza Moscrop
	💍 1909/4302
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Accountant	Tailoress
Age	23	23
Dwelling Place	Oamaru	Oamaru
Length of Residence	3 days	23 years
Marriage Place	In the Wesleyan Church
Folio	09/5616
Consent
Date of Certificate	10 August 1909
Officiating Minister	Rev. T. H. Griffin

2788

10 August 1909

Herbert Johnston
Mary Jane Mahoney

Herbert Johnston
Mary Jane Mahoney
💍 1909/4282

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer

28
27

Usual, Churchhill, Waikato. Present, Whitstone
Whitstone

3 days
27 years

In the residence of Mr. Jno. Denis Mahoney, Whitstone

09/5620

10 August 1909

Rev. Jas. Standring

No	2788
Date of Notice	10 August 1909
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Herbert Johnston	Mary Jane Mahoney
	💍 1909/4282
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	28	27
Dwelling Place	Usual, Churchhill, Waikato. Present, Whitstone	Whitstone
Length of Residence	3 days	27 years
Marriage Place	In the residence of Mr. Jno. Denis Mahoney, Whitstone
Folio	09/5620
Consent
Date of Certificate	10 August 1909
Officiating Minister	Rev. Jas. Standring

2789

25 August 1909

Charles Thomas Cleverley
Elizabeth Jane Shadwell

Charles Thomas Cleverley
Elizabeth Jane Shadwell
💍 1909/4289

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer

26
20

Oamaru
Oamaru

4 years
2 years

In the office of the Registrar of Marriages, Oamaru

09/5627

Edward Shadwell, Father

25 August 1909

A. A. Main, Registrar

No	2789
Date of Notice	25 August 1909
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Thomas Cleverley	Elizabeth Jane Shadwell
	💍 1909/4289
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer
Age	26	20
Dwelling Place	Oamaru	Oamaru
Length of Residence	4 years	2 years
Marriage Place	In the office of the Registrar of Marriages, Oamaru
Folio	09/5627
Consent	Edward Shadwell, Father
Date of Certificate	25 August 1909
Officiating Minister	A. A. Main, Registrar

2790

28 August 1909

Albert Manuel Harris
Margaret Brown

Albert Manuel Harris
Margaret Brown
💍 1909/4290

Bachelor
Spinster

Builder & Farmer
Saleswoman

27
28

Usual, Tauranga. Present, Oamaru
Oamaru

3 days
28 years

In the Anglican Church (St. Luke's), Oamaru

09/5628

28 August 1909

Rev. J. G. S. Bartlett

No	2790
Date of Notice	28 August 1909
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Albert Manuel Harris	Margaret Brown
	💍 1909/4290
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Builder & Farmer	Saleswoman
Age	27	28
Dwelling Place	Usual, Tauranga. Present, Oamaru	Oamaru
Length of Residence	3 days	28 years
Marriage Place	In the Anglican Church (St. Luke's), Oamaru
Folio	09/5628
Consent
Date of Certificate	28 August 1909
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. G. S. Bartlett

2791

31 August 1909

Albert Robbie
Mary Jane Thompson

Albert Robbie
Mary Jane Thompson
💍 1909/4283

Bachelor
Spinster

Creamery Manager

33
30

Ngapara
Ngapara

5 years
30 years

In the residence of Mr. John Thompson, Ngapara

09/5621

31 August 1909

Rev. James Standring

No	2791
Date of Notice	31 August 1909
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Albert Robbie	Mary Jane Thompson
	💍 1909/4283
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Creamery Manager
Age	33	30
Dwelling Place	Ngapara	Ngapara
Length of Residence	5 years	30 years
Marriage Place	In the residence of Mr. John Thompson, Ngapara
Folio	09/5621
Consent
Date of Certificate	31 August 1909
Officiating Minister	Rev. James Standring

2792

6 September 1909

Alexander Sinclair
Elsie Elizabeth Smith

Alexander Sinclair
Elsie Elizabeth Smith
💍 1909/4284

Bachelor
Spinster

Storeman

29
18

Oamaru
Oamaru

2 years
9 years

In the residence of Mr. David G. Smith, Hull Street, Oamaru

09/5622

David Gordon Smith, Father

6 September 1909

Rev. Wm. Wright

No	2792
Date of Notice	6 September 1909
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Alexander Sinclair	Elsie Elizabeth Smith
	💍 1909/4284
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Storeman
Age	29	18
Dwelling Place	Oamaru	Oamaru
Length of Residence	2 years	9 years
Marriage Place	In the residence of Mr. David G. Smith, Hull Street, Oamaru
Folio	09/5622
Consent	David Gordon Smith, Father
Date of Certificate	6 September 1909
Officiating Minister	Rev. Wm. Wright

2793

6 September 1909

Alfred Hardy Couch
Catherine Gemmell

Alfred Hardy Couch
Catherine Gemmell
💍 1909/4303

Bachelor
Spinster

Methodist Minister
Dressmaker

23
37

Usual, East Oxford, North Canterbury. Present, Oamaru
Oamaru

6 days
about 30 years

In the residence of Mr. J. H. Irvine, Thames Street, Oamaru

09/5617

6 September 1909

Rev. T. H. Griffin

No	2793
Date of Notice	6 September 1909
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Alfred Hardy Couch	Catherine Gemmell
	💍 1909/4303
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Methodist Minister	Dressmaker
Age	23	37
Dwelling Place	Usual, East Oxford, North Canterbury. Present, Oamaru	Oamaru
Length of Residence	6 days	about 30 years
Marriage Place	In the residence of Mr. J. H. Irvine, Thames Street, Oamaru
Folio	09/5617
Consent
Date of Certificate	6 September 1909
Officiating Minister	Rev. T. H. Griffin

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).