Intentions to Marry, 1911 Canterbury, Otago, Chatham Islands

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840447, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

1911 is bound in three volumes - Auckland, Taranaki, (1911a), Hawke's Bay, Wellington, Marlborough, Nelson, Westland (1911b), and Canterbury, Otago, Chatham Islands (1911c).

Page 150

District of Geraldine Quarter ending 31 March 1911 Registrar Agnes Andrews

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

844

1 January 1911

Joseph Patrick Smith
Agnes Tostin Watson

Joseph Patrick Smith
Agness Foster Watson
💍 1911/2148

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Tailoress

36
36

Geraldine
Geraldine

3 days

The House of Mr Walter Watson, Geraldine

11/1601

1 January 1911

Rev. George H. Mann, Primitive Methodist

No	844
Date of Notice	1 January 1911
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Joseph Patrick Smith	Agnes Tostin Watson
BDM Match (90%)	Joseph Patrick Smith	Agness Foster Watson
	💍 1911/2148
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Tailoress
Age	36	36
Dwelling Place	Geraldine	Geraldine
Length of Residence	3 days
Marriage Place	The House of Mr Walter Watson, Geraldine
Folio	11/1601
Consent
Date of Certificate	1 January 1911
Officiating Minister	Rev. George H. Mann, Primitive Methodist

845

20 January 1911

William Fredrick Rickman
Larina Ross Squire

William Frederick Rickman
Lavinia Ross Squire
💍 1911/1865

Bachelor
Spinster

Storekeeper
Domestic Duties

28
27

Woodbury
Woodbury

1 year
27 years

St. Thomas Church, Woodbury

11/1418

20 January 1911

Rev. Staples Hamilton, Church of England

No	845
Date of Notice	20 January 1911
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Fredrick Rickman	Larina Ross Squire
BDM Match (93%)	William Frederick Rickman	Lavinia Ross Squire
	💍 1911/1865
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Storekeeper	Domestic Duties
Age	28	27
Dwelling Place	Woodbury	Woodbury
Length of Residence	1 year	27 years
Marriage Place	St. Thomas Church, Woodbury
Folio	11/1418
Consent
Date of Certificate	20 January 1911
Officiating Minister	Rev. Staples Hamilton, Church of England

846

21 January 1911

John McDonald
Elizabeth Thornley

John McDonald
Elizabeth Thornley
💍 1911/1750

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic Duties

33
28

Orari Bridge
Orari Bridge

33 years
1 year

Presbyterian Church, Geraldine

11/1322

21 January 1911

Rev. C. Bruce Todd, Presbyterian

No	846
Date of Notice	21 January 1911
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John McDonald	Elizabeth Thornley
	💍 1911/1750
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic Duties
Age	33	28
Dwelling Place	Orari Bridge	Orari Bridge
Length of Residence	33 years	1 year
Marriage Place	Presbyterian Church, Geraldine
Folio	11/1322
Consent
Date of Certificate	21 January 1911
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Bruce Todd, Presbyterian

847

28 January 1911

John Alexander Macmillan
Alice Edith McColl

John Alexander Macmillan
Alice Edith McColl
💍 1911/1751

Bachelor
Spinster

Stock Agent
Domestic Duties

26
22

Geraldine
Geraldine

18 years
3 years

Presbyterian Church, Geraldine

11/1323

28 January 1911

Rev. C. Bruce Todd, Presbyterian

No	847
Date of Notice	28 January 1911
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Alexander Macmillan	Alice Edith McColl
	💍 1911/1751
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Stock Agent	Domestic Duties
Age	26	22
Dwelling Place	Geraldine	Geraldine
Length of Residence	18 years	3 years
Marriage Place	Presbyterian Church, Geraldine
Folio	11/1323
Consent
Date of Certificate	28 January 1911
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Bruce Todd, Presbyterian

848

14 February 1911

Henry Foley Bennett
Margaret Edith Olive Bates

Henry Foley Bennett
Margaret Edith Olive Bates
💍 1911/1752

Bachelor
Spinster

Stock Agent
Book-keeper

27
21

Geraldine
Woodbury Road

3 days
21 years

Presbyterian Church, Geraldine

11/1324

14 February 1911

Rev. C. Bruce Todd, Presbyterian

No	848
Date of Notice	14 February 1911
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Henry Foley Bennett	Margaret Edith Olive Bates
	💍 1911/1752
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Stock Agent	Book-keeper
Age	27	21
Dwelling Place	Geraldine	Woodbury Road
Length of Residence	3 days	21 years
Marriage Place	Presbyterian Church, Geraldine
Folio	11/1324
Consent
Date of Certificate	14 February 1911
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Bruce Todd, Presbyterian

849

18 February 1911

William Campbell Cormack
Helen Henry

William Campbell Cormack
Helen Heney
💍 1911/1753

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic Servant

28
25

Woodbury
Woodbury

28 years
25 years

The Home of Mr John Henry, Woodbury

11/1325

18 February 1911

Rev. C. Bruce Todd, Presbyterian

No	849
Date of Notice	18 February 1911
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Campbell Cormack	Helen Henry
BDM Match (95%)	William Campbell Cormack	Helen Heney
	💍 1911/1753
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic Servant
Age	28	25
Dwelling Place	Woodbury	Woodbury
Length of Residence	28 years	25 years
Marriage Place	The Home of Mr John Henry, Woodbury
Folio	11/1325
Consent
Date of Certificate	18 February 1911
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Bruce Todd, Presbyterian

850

21 February 1911

John Nelson
Ada Mary Rose Keen

John Heron
Ada Mary Reeve Keen
💍 1911/1866

Bachelor
Spinster

Carrier
Cook

26
20

Temuka
Woodbury

17 years
20 years

St. Mary's Church, Temuka

11/1419

William Keen, father

21 February 1911

Rev. I. Hamilton, Church of England

No	850
Date of Notice	21 February 1911
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Nelson	Ada Mary Rose Keen
BDM Match (78%)	John Heron	Ada Mary Reeve Keen
	💍 1911/1866
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carrier	Cook
Age	26	20
Dwelling Place	Temuka	Woodbury
Length of Residence	17 years	20 years
Marriage Place	St. Mary's Church, Temuka
Folio	11/1419
Consent	William Keen, father
Date of Certificate	21 February 1911
Officiating Minister	Rev. I. Hamilton, Church of England

851

21 March 1911

Frederick Patrick
Jenny Fox

Frederick Patrick
Jenny Fox
💍 1911/398

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic Duties

29
23

Gapes' Valley
Gapes' Valley

29 years
9 years

Registrar's Office, Geraldine

11/1369

21 March 1911

A. Andrews, Registrar

No	851
Date of Notice	21 March 1911
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Frederick Patrick	Jenny Fox
	💍 1911/398
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic Duties
Age	29	23
Dwelling Place	Gapes' Valley	Gapes' Valley
Length of Residence	29 years	9 years
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office, Geraldine
Folio	11/1369
Consent
Date of Certificate	21 March 1911
Officiating Minister	A. Andrews, Registrar

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).