Intentions to Marry, 1912 Canterbury, Otago, Southland, Chatham Islands

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840450, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

1912 is bound in three volumes - Auckland, Taranaki, Gisborne (1912a), Hawke's Bay, Wellington, Marlborough, Nelson, Westland (1912b), and Canterbury, Otago, Southland, Chatham Islands (1912c).

Page 331

District of Timaru Quarter ending 30 June 1912 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

15 April 1912

John Lea Sage
Ethel Francisca Harris

John Lea Page
Ethel Francisca Harris
💍 1912/3778

Bachelor
Spinster

Clerk
Nurse

36 years
30 years

Timaru
Timaru

5 years
30 years

Residence of S. Harris Buchanan St. Timaru

12/3612

15 April 1912

Rev. L. Hudson Methodist Minister

No	41
Date of Notice	15 April 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Lea Sage	Ethel Francisca Harris
BDM Match (96%)	John Lea Page	Ethel Francisca Harris
	💍 1912/3778
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Clerk	Nurse
Age	36 years	30 years
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	5 years	30 years
Marriage Place	Residence of S. Harris Buchanan St. Timaru
Folio	12/3612
Consent
Date of Certificate	15 April 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev. L. Hudson Methodist Minister

15 April 1912

John Cotter
Dagmar Annis Harris

John Cotter
Dagmar Annie Harris
💍 1912/3779

Bachelor
Spinster

Clerk
Household Duties

31 years
31 years

Timaru
Timaru

3 years
31 years

Residence of S. Harris Buchanan St. Timaru

12/3613

15 April 1912

Rev. L. Hudson Methodist Minister

No	42
Date of Notice	15 April 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Cotter	Dagmar Annis Harris
BDM Match (97%)	John Cotter	Dagmar Annie Harris
	💍 1912/3779
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Clerk	Household Duties
Age	31 years	31 years
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	3 years	31 years
Marriage Place	Residence of S. Harris Buchanan St. Timaru
Folio	12/3613
Consent
Date of Certificate	15 April 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev. L. Hudson Methodist Minister

16 April 1912

William Lawson
Rhoda McQueen

William Lawson
Rhoda McQueen
💍 1912/3790

Widower
Widow

Labourer
Household Duties

44 years
52 years

Timaru
Timaru

6 weeks
2 weeks

Dwellinghouse of Rev. A. E. Hunt Timaru

12/3623

16 April 1912

Rev. A. E. Hunt. Congregational Minister

No	43
Date of Notice	16 April 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Lawson	Rhoda McQueen
	💍 1912/3790
Condition	Widower	Widow
Profession	Labourer	Household Duties
Age	44 years	52 years
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	6 weeks	2 weeks
Marriage Place	Dwellinghouse of Rev. A. E. Hunt Timaru
Folio	12/3623
Consent
Date of Certificate	16 April 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. E. Hunt. Congregational Minister

17 April 1912

John Leddy
Mary Slone

John Liddy
Mary Hone
💍 1912/3788

Bachelor
Spinster

Storeman
Domestic Duties

24 years
23 years

Timaru
Claremont

3 days
23 years

Roman Catholic Church. Timaru.

12/3621

17 April 1912

Rev. M. Murphy Roman Catholic Priest

No	44
Date of Notice	17 April 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Leddy	Mary Slone
BDM Match (85%)	John Liddy	Mary Hone
	💍 1912/3788
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Storeman	Domestic Duties
Age	24 years	23 years
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Claremont
Length of Residence	3 days	23 years
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Church. Timaru.
Folio	12/3621
Consent
Date of Certificate	17 April 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev. M. Murphy Roman Catholic Priest

18 April 1912

Oliver Jacob Young
Isabella Jane Walker

Oliver Jacob Young
Isabella Jane Walker
💍 1912/39

Widower
Spinster

Baker
Nurse

39 years
28 years

Timaru
Timaru

9 years
15 years

Dwellinghouse of Oliver Jacob Young 54 Theodocia St. Timaru

12/3649

18 April 1912

Rev. J of G. Chapple Unitarian Minister

No	45
Date of Notice	18 April 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Oliver Jacob Young	Isabella Jane Walker
	💍 1912/39
	💍 1912/39
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Baker	Nurse
Age	39 years	28 years
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	9 years	15 years
Marriage Place	Dwellinghouse of Oliver Jacob Young 54 Theodocia St. Timaru
Folio	12/3649
Consent
Date of Certificate	18 April 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev. J of G. Chapple Unitarian Minister

20 April 1912

Charles Ernest Leslie
Maud Gill

Charles Ernest Leslie
Maud Gill
💍 1912/3856

Bachelor
Spinster

Carpenter
Domestic Duties

23 years
25 years

Timaru
Timaru

23 years
20 years

Dwellinghouse of Mr W. Ramsay Avenue Rd Timaru

12/3640

20 April 1912

Rev. T. Stinson Presbyterian Minister

No	46
Date of Notice	20 April 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Ernest Leslie	Maud Gill
	💍 1912/3856
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carpenter	Domestic Duties
Age	23 years	25 years
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	23 years	20 years
Marriage Place	Dwellinghouse of Mr W. Ramsay Avenue Rd Timaru
Folio	12/3640
Consent
Date of Certificate	20 April 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev. T. Stinson Presbyterian Minister

22 April 1912

Hugh Brosnahan
Mary Beatrice Gosling

Hugh Brosnahan
Mary Beatrice Josling
💍 1912/6400

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Dressmaker

31 years
31 years

Temuka
Levels

3 days
31 years

Roman Catholic Church. Temuka

12/16088

22 April 1912

Rev. F. Kerley Roman Catholic Priest

No	47
Date of Notice	22 April 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Hugh Brosnahan	Mary Beatrice Gosling
BDM Match (98%)	Hugh Brosnahan	Mary Beatrice Josling
	💍 1912/6400
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Dressmaker
Age	31 years	31 years
Dwelling Place	Temuka	Levels
Length of Residence	3 days	31 years
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Church. Temuka
Folio	12/16088
Consent
Date of Certificate	22 April 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev. F. 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).