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 780

District of Tokomairiro Quarter ending 30 September 1910 Registrar P D Maguire

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

143

12 July 1910

Archibald Boaden Lake Burn
Mabel Herbertson Waters

Archibald Boaden Lake Burn
Mabel Herbertson Waters
💍 1910/4918

Bachelor
Spinster

Hairdresser
Domestic Duties

24
22

Dunedin
Milburn

6 Months
7 Years

Presbyterian Church

10/5091

12 July 1910

Rev W H Howes

No	143
Date of Notice	12 July 1910
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Archibald Boaden Lake Burn	Mabel Herbertson Waters
	💍 1910/4918
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Hairdresser	Domestic Duties
Age	24	22
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Milburn
Length of Residence	6 Months	7 Years
Marriage Place	Presbyterian Church
Folio	10/5091
Consent
Date of Certificate	12 July 1910
Officiating Minister	Rev W H Howes

144

22 July 1910

John O'Connor
Ellen Cuttance

John OConnor
Ellen Cuttance
💍 1910/4921

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Dom. Duties

28
26

Glenore
Milton

28 Years
3 Years

House of Mr H Cuttance, Awamunga, Milton

10/5094

22 July 1910

Rev M Howard

No	144
Date of Notice	22 July 1910
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John O'Connor	Ellen Cuttance
BDM Match (96%)	John OConnor	Ellen Cuttance
	💍 1910/4921
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Dom. Duties
Age	28	26
Dwelling Place	Glenore	Milton
Length of Residence	28 Years	3 Years
Marriage Place	House of Mr H Cuttance, Awamunga, Milton
Folio	10/5094
Consent
Date of Certificate	22 July 1910
Officiating Minister	Rev M Howard

145

8 August 1910

Richard Neville Parker Adam
Mary Jane Fryer

Richard Neville Parker Adam
Mary Jane Fryer
💍 1910/8093

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Dom Duties

27
19

Milton
Clarendon

6 Years
19 Years

House of Mr S Fryer, Clarendon

10/5233

Samuel Fryer, Father

8 August 1910

Rev R Fairmaid

No	145
Date of Notice	8 August 1910
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Richard Neville Parker Adam	Mary Jane Fryer
	💍 1910/8093
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Dom Duties
Age	27	19
Dwelling Place	Milton	Clarendon
Length of Residence	6 Years	19 Years
Marriage Place	House of Mr S Fryer, Clarendon
Folio	10/5233
Consent	Samuel Fryer, Father
Date of Certificate	8 August 1910
Officiating Minister	Rev R Fairmaid

146

9 August 1910

James Andrew Smaill
Elizabeth Scott Hamilton

James Andrew Smaill
Elizabeth Scott Hamilton
💍 1910/5126

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Dom Duties

36
30

Milton
Clarksville

3 Days
10 Years

House of Mrs J B Hamiltons, Clarksville

10/5285

9 August 1910

Rev G Miller

No	146
Date of Notice	9 August 1910
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Andrew Smaill	Elizabeth Scott Hamilton
	💍 1910/5126
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Dom Duties
Age	36	30
Dwelling Place	Milton	Clarksville
Length of Residence	3 Days	10 Years
Marriage Place	House of Mrs J B Hamiltons, Clarksville
Folio	10/5285
Consent
Date of Certificate	9 August 1910
Officiating Minister	Rev G Miller

147

30 August 1910

William Fritzjames Munro
Jane McGill

William Fritz James Munro
Jane McGill
💍 1910/5127

Bachelor
Spinster

Teacher
Dom Duties

29
20

Dunedin
Milton

25 Years
20 Years

Presbyterian Church, Milton

10/5286

David McGill, Father

30 August 1910

Rev G Miller

No	147
Date of Notice	30 August 1910
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Fritzjames Munro	Jane McGill
BDM Match (96%)	William Fritz James Munro	Jane McGill
	💍 1910/5127
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Teacher	Dom Duties
Age	29	20
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Milton
Length of Residence	25 Years	20 Years
Marriage Place	Presbyterian Church, Milton
Folio	10/5286
Consent	David McGill, Father
Date of Certificate	30 August 1910
Officiating Minister	Rev G Miller

148

7 September 1910

William Patrick Corbett
Mary Ellen Josephine Athy

William Patrick Corbett
Mary Ellen Josephine Athy
💍 1910/7710

Bachelor
Spinster

Agent
Dom Duties

28
32

Milton
Milton

5 Years
32 Years

House of Mr J McLeans, Milton

10/8091

7 September 1910

Rev M Howard

No	148
Date of Notice	7 September 1910
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Patrick Corbett	Mary Ellen Josephine Athy
	💍 1910/7710
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Agent	Dom Duties
Age	28	32
Dwelling Place	Milton	Milton
Length of Residence	5 Years	32 Years
Marriage Place	House of Mr J McLeans, Milton
Folio	10/8091
Consent
Date of Certificate	7 September 1910
Officiating Minister	Rev M Howard

149

19 September 1910

Thomas John Sherborne
Stepina Janet Chalmers

Thomas John Sherborne
Septina Janet Chalmers
💍 1910/5128

Bachelor
Spinster

Foreman
Dom Duties

27
32

Gore
Gore

10 Years
1 Year

Presbyterian Church, Milton

10/5284

19 September 1910

Rev G Miller

No	149
Date of Notice	19 September 1910
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas John Sherborne	Stepina Janet Chalmers
BDM Match (95%)	Thomas John Sherborne	Septina Janet Chalmers
	💍 1910/5128
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Foreman	Dom Duties
Age	27	32
Dwelling Place	Gore	Gore
Length of Residence	10 Years	1 Year
Marriage Place	Presbyterian Church, Milton
Folio	10/5284
Consent
Date of Certificate	19 September 1910
Officiating Minister	Rev G Miller

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).