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 283

District of Timaru Quarter ending 30 June 1911 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

1 April 1911

Clarence Henry Bonnington
Annie Williams

Clarence Henry Bonnington
Annie Williams
💍 1911/4435

Widower
Spinster

Wheelwright
Domestic duties

30 years
24 years

St Andrews
St Andrews

18 months
24 years

Presbyterian Church St Andrews

11/4201

1 April 1911

Rev. A. S. Morrison, Presbyterian Minister

No	35
Date of Notice	1 April 1911
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Clarence Henry Bonnington	Annie Williams
	💍 1911/4435
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Wheelwright	Domestic duties
Age	30 years	24 years
Dwelling Place	St Andrews	St Andrews
Length of Residence	18 months	24 years
Marriage Place	Presbyterian Church St Andrews
Folio	11/4201
Consent
Date of Certificate	1 April 1911
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. S. Morrison, Presbyterian Minister

1 April 1911

David Buchanan Ramsay
Elizabeth Mathews

David Buchanan Ramsay
Elizabeth Mathews
💍 1911/3673

Bachelor
Spinster

Painter
Domestic duties

23 years
26 years

Gleniti
Gleniti

5 years
26 years

Chalmers Presbyterian Church, Timaru

11/3401

1 April 1911

Rev. A. Macaulay Caldwell, Presbyterian Minister

No	36
Date of Notice	1 April 1911
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	David Buchanan Ramsay	Elizabeth Mathews
	💍 1911/3673
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Painter	Domestic duties
Age	23 years	26 years
Dwelling Place	Gleniti	Gleniti
Length of Residence	5 years	26 years
Marriage Place	Chalmers Presbyterian Church, Timaru
Folio	11/3401
Consent
Date of Certificate	1 April 1911
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. Macaulay Caldwell, Presbyterian Minister

4 April 1911

Louis Edyvean
Eleanor Gould

Louis Edymean
Eleanor Gould
💍 1911/3674

Bachelor
Spinster

Cycle Mechanic
Milliner

21 years
21 years

Timaru
Timaru

6 years
14 years

Dwellinghouse of Mrs Gould, Bank St, Timaru

11/3402

4 April 1911

Rev. A. Macaulay Caldwell, Presbyterian Minister

No	37
Date of Notice	4 April 1911
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Louis Edyvean	Eleanor Gould
BDM Match (96%)	Louis Edymean	Eleanor Gould
	💍 1911/3674
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Cycle Mechanic	Milliner
Age	21 years	21 years
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	6 years	14 years
Marriage Place	Dwellinghouse of Mrs Gould, Bank St, Timaru
Folio	11/3402
Consent
Date of Certificate	4 April 1911
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. Macaulay Caldwell, Presbyterian Minister

4 April 1911

Andrew Paton Fullerton
Lellie Colles Huggins

Andrew Paton Fullerton
Nellie Collis Huggins
💍 1911/6220

Bachelor
Spinster

Metal Worker
Shop Assistant

39 years
24 years

Port Chalmers
Waimataitai, Timaru

39 years
24 years

Dwellinghouse of Mr C. J. Huggins, Waimataitai, Timaru

11/6111

4 April 1911

Rev. C. E. Hunt, Congregational Minister

No	38
Date of Notice	4 April 1911
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Andrew Paton Fullerton	Lellie Colles Huggins
BDM Match (95%)	Andrew Paton Fullerton	Nellie Collis Huggins
	💍 1911/6220
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Metal Worker	Shop Assistant
Age	39 years	24 years
Dwelling Place	Port Chalmers	Waimataitai, Timaru
Length of Residence	39 years	24 years
Marriage Place	Dwellinghouse of Mr C. J. Huggins, Waimataitai, Timaru
Folio	11/6111
Consent
Date of Certificate	4 April 1911
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. E. Hunt, Congregational Minister

5 April 1911

Edward Ayers
Agnes Lingie Rennie

Edward Ayers
Agnes Linzie Rennie
💍 1911/3820

Bachelor
Spinster

Carter
Domestic Servant

21 years
21 years

Timaru
Timaru

3 months
3 months

Dwellinghouse of John McNamara, Maltby Avenue, Timaru

11/3526

5 April 1911

Rev. W. Baumber, Wesleyan Minister

No	39
Date of Notice	5 April 1911
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edward Ayers	Agnes Lingie Rennie
BDM Match (97%)	Edward Ayers	Agnes Linzie Rennie
	💍 1911/3820
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carter	Domestic Servant
Age	21 years	21 years
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	3 months	3 months
Marriage Place	Dwellinghouse of John McNamara, Maltby Avenue, Timaru
Folio	11/3526
Consent
Date of Certificate	5 April 1911
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. Baumber, Wesleyan Minister

8 April 1911

William Thomas Constantine Libby
Isabel Mabel Cockburn

William Thomas Constantine Sibly
Isabel Mabel Cockburn
💍 1911/4432

Bachelor
Spinster

Draper
Milliner

33 years
25 years

Timaru
Waimate

4 years
8 days

Dwellinghouse of Peter Grant, Waimate

11/4199

8 April 1911

Rev. A. S. Morrison, Presbyterian Minister

No	40
Date of Notice	8 April 1911
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Thomas Constantine Libby	Isabel Mabel Cockburn
BDM Match (97%)	William Thomas Constantine Sibly	Isabel Mabel Cockburn
	💍 1911/4432
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Draper	Milliner
Age	33 years	25 years
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Waimate
Length of Residence	4 years	8 days
Marriage Place	Dwellinghouse of Peter Grant, Waimate
Folio	11/4199
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 April 1911
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. S. Morrison, Presbyterian Minister

8 April 1911

Atholl Richard Butcher
Fanny Eliza Dewar Tomlinson

Attroll Richard Butcher
Fannie Eliza Dewar Tomlinson
💍 1911/3675

Bachelor
Spinster

Coach Painter
Domestic duties

26 years
24 years

Timaru
Timaru

20 months
24 years

Presbyterian Church, Timaru

11/3403

8 April 1911

Rev. A. Macaulay Caldwell, Presbyterian Minister

No	41
Date of Notice	8 April 1911
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Atholl Richard Butcher	Fanny Eliza Dewar Tomlinson
BDM Match (92%)	Attroll Richard Butcher	Fannie Eliza Dewar Tomlinson
	💍 1911/3675
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Coach Painter	Domestic duties
Age	26 years	24 years
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	20 months	24 years
Marriage Place	Presbyterian Church, Timaru
Folio	11/3403
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 April 1911
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. Macaulay Caldwell, Presbyterian Minister

8 April 1911

George Frederick Sapwell
Kate Grieson

George Frederick Sapwell
Kate Ericson
💍 1911/8879

Bachelor
Spinster

Joiner & Carpenter
Domestic duties

31 years
30 years

Timaru
Timaru

4 years
4 years

Dwellinghouse of John Grieson, Le Cren St, Timaru

11/3834

8 April 1911

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

No	42
Date of Notice	8 April 1911
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Frederick Sapwell	Kate Grieson
BDM Match (92%)	George Frederick Sapwell	Kate Ericson
	💍 1911/8879
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Joiner & Carpenter	Domestic duties
Age	31 years	30 years
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	4 years	4 years
Marriage Place	Dwellinghouse of John Grieson, Le Cren St, Timaru
Folio	11/3834
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 April 1911
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. H. G. Chapple, Unitarian Minister

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).