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 257

District of Timaru Quarter ending 31 March 1910 Registrar Alex. R. M. Gourley

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

24 January 1910

Grant Findlay
Rosina Vincent

Frank Findlay
Rosina Vincent
💍 1910/1573

Bachelor
Spinster

Pastry Cook
Milliner

25
21

Timaru
Timaru

3 weeks
21 years

Primitive Methodist Church, Timaru

10/1565

24 January 1910

Rev. J. Olphert, Primitive Methodist Minister

No	4
Date of Notice	24 January 1910
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Grant Findlay	Rosina Vincent
BDM Match (92%)	Frank Findlay	Rosina Vincent
	💍 1910/1573
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Pastry Cook	Milliner
Age	25	21
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	3 weeks	21 years
Marriage Place	Primitive Methodist Church, Timaru
Folio	10/1565
Consent
Date of Certificate	24 January 1910
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Olphert, Primitive Methodist Minister

25 January 1910

Charles Robert MacLean
Eliza Agnes Sullivan

Charles Robert MacLean
Eliza Agnes Sullivan
💍 1910/6174

Bachelor
Spinster

Compositor
Housemaid

36
24

Timaru
Timaru

4 days
2 months

Roman Catholic Church, Timaru

10/6001

25 January 1910

Rev. J. Lubman, Roman Catholic Priest

No	8
Date of Notice	25 January 1910
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Robert MacLean	Eliza Agnes Sullivan
	💍 1910/6174
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Compositor	Housemaid
Age	36	24
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	4 days	2 months
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Church, Timaru
Folio	10/6001
Consent
Date of Certificate	25 January 1910
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Lubman, Roman Catholic Priest

25 January 1910

Robert Autten Patrick Watt
Ethel May Geraldine Watt

Robert Aitken Patrick
Ethel May Geraldine Watt
💍 1910/2969

Bachelor
Spinster

Painter & Paper hanger
Domestic Duties

31
25

Christchurch
Washdyke

10 years
8 months

Residence of James Watt, Washdyke

10/3090

25 January 1910

Rev. A. Macaulay, Caldwell, Presbyterian Minister

No	9
Date of Notice	25 January 1910
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Robert Autten Patrick Watt	Ethel May Geraldine Watt
BDM Match (87%)	Robert Aitken Patrick	Ethel May Geraldine Watt
	💍 1910/2969
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Painter & Paper hanger	Domestic Duties
Age	31	25
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Washdyke
Length of Residence	10 years	8 months
Marriage Place	Residence of James Watt, Washdyke
Folio	10/3090
Consent
Date of Certificate	25 January 1910
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. Macaulay, Caldwell, Presbyterian Minister

1 February 1910

Frederick Henry Dephoff
Jeanie Murdoch

Frederick Henry Dephoff
Jeanie Murdoch
💍 1910/2970

Bachelor
Spinster

Telegraphist
Household Duties

24
24

Timaru
Timaru

3 days
24 years

Dwellinghouse of Geo. J. Murdoch, Latter St., Timaru

10/3091

1 February 1910

Rev. A. Macaulay, Caldwell, Presbyterian Minister

No	10
Date of Notice	1 February 1910
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Frederick Henry Dephoff	Jeanie Murdoch
	💍 1910/2970
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Telegraphist	Household Duties
Age	24	24
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	3 days	24 years
Marriage Place	Dwellinghouse of Geo. J. Murdoch, Latter St., Timaru
Folio	10/3091
Consent
Date of Certificate	1 February 1910
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. Macaulay, Caldwell, Presbyterian Minister

1 February 1910

Arthur Frederick Dean McAteig
Amelia Annie Connor

Arthur Frederick Dean Making
Amelia Annie OConnor
💍 1910/6175

Bachelor
Spinster

Wool Sorter
Domestic Duties

26
26

Timaru
Timaru

5 months
26 years

Roman Catholic Church, Timaru

10/6002

1 February 1910

Rev. John Lubman, Roman Catholic Priest

No	11
Date of Notice	1 February 1910
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Arthur Frederick Dean McAteig	Amelia Annie Connor
BDM Match (89%)	Arthur Frederick Dean Making	Amelia Annie OConnor
	💍 1910/6175
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Wool Sorter	Domestic Duties
Age	26	26
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	5 months	26 years
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Church, Timaru
Folio	10/6002
Consent
Date of Certificate	1 February 1910
Officiating Minister	Rev. John Lubman, Roman Catholic Priest

2 February 1910

Patrick John Cavanagh
Catherine Theresa Pearce

Patrick John Cavanagh
Catherine Theresa Pearce
💍 1910/6177

Bachelor
Spinster

Engineer
Domestic Duties

30
21

Timaru
Timaru

3 years
21 years

Roman Catholic Church, Timaru

10/6004

2 February 1910

Rev. Francis Kerley, Roman Catholic Priest

No	12
Date of Notice	2 February 1910
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Patrick John Cavanagh	Catherine Theresa Pearce
	💍 1910/6177
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Engineer	Domestic Duties
Age	30	21
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	3 years	21 years
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Church, Timaru
Folio	10/6004
Consent
Date of Certificate	2 February 1910
Officiating Minister	Rev. Francis Kerley, Roman Catholic Priest

4 February 1910

Edward Ambrose Slowey
Annie Maud Carmody

Edward Ambrose Slowey
Annie Maud Carmody
💍 1910/6176

Bachelor
Spinster

Railway Engine Driver
Milliner

34
23

Timaru
Timaru

9 months
1 year 5 months

Roman Catholic Church, Timaru

10/6003

4 February 1910

Rev. Francis Kerley, Roman Catholic Priest

No	13
Date of Notice	4 February 1910
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edward Ambrose Slowey	Annie Maud Carmody
	💍 1910/6176
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Railway Engine Driver	Milliner
Age	34	23
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	9 months	1 year 5 months
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Church, Timaru
Folio	10/6003
Consent
Date of Certificate	4 February 1910
Officiating Minister	Rev. Francis Kerley, 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).