Intentions to Marry, 1910 Canterbury, Otago, Chatham Islands

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840444, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

1910 is bound in three volumes - Auckland, Taranaki, Hawke's Bay (1910a), Wellington, Marlborough, Nelson, Westland (1910b), and Canterbury, Otago, Chatham Islands (1910c).

Page 260

District of Timaru Quarter ending 31 March 1910 Registrar Alexander 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

18 March 1910

Frank Chivers
Mary Meta Boatman

Frank Chivers
Mary Meta Coatman
💍 1910/1577

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic Duties

31 years
35 years

Beaconsfield, Timaru
Beaconsfield, Timaru

3 years
3 years

Anglican Church of St. Marks, Beaconsfield

10/1569

18 March 1910

Rev. J. H. G. Curnow, Church of England Clergyman

No	29
Date of Notice	18 March 1910
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Frank Chivers	Mary Meta Boatman
BDM Match (97%)	Frank Chivers	Mary Meta Coatman
	💍 1910/1577
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic Duties
Age	31 years	35 years
Dwelling Place	Beaconsfield, Timaru	Beaconsfield, Timaru
Length of Residence	3 years	3 years
Marriage Place	Anglican Church of St. Marks, Beaconsfield
Folio	10/1569
Consent
Date of Certificate	18 March 1910
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. H. G. Curnow, Church of England Clergyman

22 March 1910

Frederick Charles Williams
Mary Ann Reeves

Frederick Charles Williams
Mary Ann Reeves
💍 1910/2605

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic Servant

29 years
29 years

Waimataitai
Waimataitai

9 months
10 years

Dwellinghouse of Arthur Barnett, Waimataitai

10/1583

22 March 1910

Rev. Thomas Coatsworth, Primitive Methodist Minister

No	30
Date of Notice	22 March 1910
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Frederick Charles Williams	Mary Ann Reeves
	💍 1910/2605
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic Servant
Age	29 years	29 years
Dwelling Place	Waimataitai	Waimataitai
Length of Residence	9 months	10 years
Marriage Place	Dwellinghouse of Arthur Barnett, Waimataitai
Folio	10/1583
Consent
Date of Certificate	22 March 1910
Officiating Minister	Rev. Thomas Coatsworth, Primitive Methodist Minister

23 March 1910

Archibald Craig Hutton
Elizabeth Campbell

Archibald Craig Hutton
Elizabeth Campbell
💍 1910/1575

Bachelor
Spinster

Stock Buyer
Household Duties

30 years
26 years

Timaru
Pareora

3 days
26 years

Dwellinghouse of John Campbell, Pareora

10/1567

23 March 1910

Rev. J. H. G. Chapple, Presbyterian Minister

No	31
Date of Notice	23 March 1910
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Archibald Craig Hutton	Elizabeth Campbell
	💍 1910/1575
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Stock Buyer	Household Duties
Age	30 years	26 years
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Pareora
Length of Residence	3 days	26 years
Marriage Place	Dwellinghouse of John Campbell, Pareora
Folio	10/1567
Consent
Date of Certificate	23 March 1910
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. H. G. Chapple, Presbyterian Minister

23 March 1910

Harry Leicester Roberts
Louisa Segar

Harry Leicester Roberts
Louisa Segar
💍 1910/1579

Bachelor
Spinster

General Labourer
Shop Assistant

24 years
22 years

Timaru
Timaru

3 days
3 days

St. Mary's English Church, Timaru

10/1571

23 March 1910

Rev. S. I. Adams, Church of England Clergyman

No	32
Date of Notice	23 March 1910
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Harry Leicester Roberts	Louisa Segar
	💍 1910/1579
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	General Labourer	Shop Assistant
Age	24 years	22 years
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	St. Mary's English Church, Timaru
Folio	10/1571
Consent
Date of Certificate	23 March 1910
Officiating Minister	Rev. S. I. Adams, Church of England Clergyman

29 March 1910

James Robbie Hall
Henrietta Sinclair

James Robbie Hall
Henrietta Sinclair
💍 1910/2977

Bachelor
Spinster

Farm Servant
Domestic Duties

26 years
26 years

Timaru
Timaru

5 days
9 months

Chalmers Presbyterian Church, Timaru

10/3097

29 March 1910

Rev. A. Macaulay Caldwell, Presbyterian Minister

No	33
Date of Notice	29 March 1910
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Robbie Hall	Henrietta Sinclair
	💍 1910/2977
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farm Servant	Domestic Duties
Age	26 years	26 years
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	5 days	9 months
Marriage Place	Chalmers Presbyterian Church, Timaru
Folio	10/3097
Consent
Date of Certificate	29 March 1910
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. Macaulay Caldwell, Presbyterian Minister

30 March 1910

Walter Wise
Marie Louisa Sederman

Walter Wise
Maria Lousia Sederman
💍 1910/2976

Bachelor
Spinster

Tailor
Tailoress

34 years
32 years

Timaru
Timaru

3 days
9 months

Dwellinghouse of Rev. A. Macaulay Caldwell, Harper St., Timaru

10/3096

30 March 1910

Rev. A. Macaulay Caldwell, Presbyterian Minister

No	34
Date of Notice	30 March 1910
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Walter Wise	Marie Louisa Sederman
BDM Match (93%)	Walter Wise	Maria Lousia Sederman
	💍 1910/2976
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Tailor	Tailoress
Age	34 years	32 years
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	3 days	9 months
Marriage Place	Dwellinghouse of Rev. A. Macaulay Caldwell, Harper St., Timaru
Folio	10/3096
Consent
Date of Certificate	30 March 1910
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. Macaulay Caldwell, Presbyterian Minister

30 March 1910

Maurice Preston
Harriet Jane Gould

Maurice Preston
Harriet Jane Gould
💍 1910/1578

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Household Duties

30 years
20 years

Timaru
Pleasant Point

3 days
20 years

St. Mary's English Church, Timaru

10/1570

Jane Gould (Mother)

30 March 1910

Rev. J. H. G. Curnow, Church of England Clergyman

No	35
Date of Notice	30 March 1910
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Maurice Preston	Harriet Jane Gould
	💍 1910/1578
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Household Duties
Age	30 years	20 years
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Pleasant Point
Length of Residence	3 days	20 years
Marriage Place	St. Mary's English Church, Timaru
Folio	10/1570
Consent	Jane Gould (Mother)
Date of Certificate	30 March 1910
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. H. G. Curnow, Church of England Clergyman

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).