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 274

District of Timaru Quarter ending 30 June 1909 Registrar Alex. Montgomery

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

6 April 1909

John Scott Guthrie
Margaret Roberts

John Scott Guthrie
Margaret Roberts
💍 1909/3776

Bachelor
Spinster

Plasterer
Domestic Servant

27 years
29 years

Timaru
Timaru

3 years
29 years

Dwellinghouse of Mrs Roberts, Engatua St.

09/5099

6 April 1909

Rev. E. E. Hunt, Congregational Minister

No	36
Date of Notice	6 April 1909
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Scott Guthrie	Margaret Roberts
	💍 1909/3776
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Plasterer	Domestic Servant
Age	27 years	29 years
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	3 years	29 years
Marriage Place	Dwellinghouse of Mrs Roberts, Engatua St.
Folio	09/5099
Consent
Date of Certificate	6 April 1909
Officiating Minister	Rev. E. E. Hunt, Congregational Minister

6 April 1909

Herbert Louis James Webb
Winifred Mary Ugg

Herbert Louis James Webb
Winifred Mary Ogg
💍 1909/2352

Bachelor
Spinster

Organist
Household duties

30 years
23 years

Timaru
Waimataitai

23 months
23 years

English Church, St. Mary's

09/3332

6 April 1909

Archdeacon H. W. Harper, Church of England Clergyman

No	37
Date of Notice	6 April 1909
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Herbert Louis James Webb	Winifred Mary Ugg
BDM Match (97%)	Herbert Louis James Webb	Winifred Mary Ogg
	💍 1909/2352
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Organist	Household duties
Age	30 years	23 years
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Waimataitai
Length of Residence	23 months	23 years
Marriage Place	English Church, St. Mary's
Folio	09/3332
Consent
Date of Certificate	6 April 1909
Officiating Minister	Archdeacon H. W. Harper, Church of England Clergyman

8 April 1909

Samuel Cague
Hilda Clara Williams

Samuel Cague
Hilda Clara Williams
💍 1909/2358

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic Duties

28 years
22

St. Andrews
St. Andrews

28 years
22 years

English Church, St. Andrews

09/3320

8 April 1909

Rev. L. E. Brady, Church of England Clergyman

No	38
Date of Notice	8 April 1909
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Samuel Cague	Hilda Clara Williams
BDM Match (98%)	Samuel Cague	Hilda Clara Williams
	💍 1909/2358
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic Duties
Age	28 years	22
Dwelling Place	St. Andrews	St. Andrews
Length of Residence	28 years	22 years
Marriage Place	English Church, St. Andrews
Folio	09/3320
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 April 1909
Officiating Minister	Rev. L. E. Brady, Church of England Clergyman

8 April 1909

George Bowker Goodman
Selina Willmot Goodman

George Bowker
Selina Willmot Goodman
💍 1909/2353

Bachelor
Widow

Land Agent
Household Duties

32
45

Timaru
Timaru

4 years
15 years

St. Mary's Schoolroom, Bank St, Timaru

09/3933

8 April 1909

Archdeacon H. W. Harper, Church of England Clergyman

No	39
Date of Notice	8 April 1909
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Bowker Goodman	Selina Willmot Goodman
BDM Match (81%)	George Bowker	Selina Willmot Goodman
	💍 1909/2353
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Land Agent	Household Duties
Age	32	45
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	4 years	15 years
Marriage Place	St. Mary's Schoolroom, Bank St, Timaru
Folio	09/3933
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 April 1909
Officiating Minister	Archdeacon H. W. Harper, Church of England Clergyman

13 April 1909

Willie Osmond Lawrence Gardner
Margaret McClatchy

Willie Osmond Lawson Gardiner
Margrete McClatchy
💍 1909/2337

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Household Duties

30 years
23

Timaru
Timaru

4 days
23 years

Dwellinghouse of Mrs Margaret McClatchy

09/3316

13 April 1909

Rev. S. Buchanan, Independent Free Church Minister

No	40
Date of Notice	13 April 1909
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Willie Osmond Lawrence Gardner	Margaret McClatchy
BDM Match (86%)	Willie Osmond Lawson Gardiner	Margrete McClatchy
	💍 1909/2337
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Household Duties
Age	30 years	23
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	4 days	23 years
Marriage Place	Dwellinghouse of Mrs Margaret McClatchy
Folio	09/3316
Consent
Date of Certificate	13 April 1909
Officiating Minister	Rev. S. Buchanan, Independent Free Church Minister

13 April 1909

Alexander Earl
Annie Dandie

Alexander Earl
Annie Dandie
💍 1909/2338

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Household Duties

32 years
31

Timaru
Timaru

4 days
3 months

Residence of John Davidson, Trafalgar St, Timaru

09/3317

13 April 1909

Rev. S. Buchanan, Independent Free Church Minister

No	41
Date of Notice	13 April 1909
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Alexander Earl	Annie Dandie
	💍 1909/2338
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Household Duties
Age	32 years	31
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	4 days	3 months
Marriage Place	Residence of John Davidson, Trafalgar St, Timaru
Folio	09/3317
Consent
Date of Certificate	13 April 1909
Officiating Minister	Rev. S. Buchanan, Independent Free Church Minister

14 April 1909

Daniel Michael Pierce
Elizabeth Dawson

Daniel Michael Pierce
Elizabeth Dawson
💍 1909/3773

Bachelor
Spinster

Cordial Manufacturer
Assistant Domestic Servant

26 years
25

Timaru
Timaru

26 years
25 years

Roman Catholic Church, Timaru

09/5096

14 April 1909

Rev. John Tubman, Roman Catholic Priest

No	42
Date of Notice	14 April 1909
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Daniel Michael Pierce	Elizabeth Dawson
	💍 1909/3773
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Cordial Manufacturer	Assistant Domestic Servant
Age	26 years	25
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	26 years	25 years
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Church, Timaru
Folio	09/5096
Consent
Date of Certificate	14 April 1909
Officiating Minister	Rev. John Tubman, Roman Catholic Priest

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).