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 456

District of Dunedin Quarter ending 31 March 1902

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

156

26 March 1902

John Lush
Vida Clarke Miller Finlay

John Lusk
Vida Clarke Miller Vinlay
💍 1912/4238

Bachelor
Spinster

Dentist

34 years
20 years

North East Valley, Dunedin
Dunedin

3 days
3 years

In the house of W & S Watson, 780 George Street, Dunedin

12/4080

Robert Miller Finlay, father

26 March 1902

I. K. McIntyre

No	156
Date of Notice	26 March 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Lush	Vida Clarke Miller Finlay
BDM Match (92%)	John Lusk	Vida Clarke Miller Vinlay
	💍 1912/4238
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Dentist
Age	34 years	20 years
Dwelling Place	North East Valley, Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	3 days	3 years
Marriage Place	In the house of W & S Watson, 780 George Street, Dunedin
Folio	12/4080
Consent	Robert Miller Finlay, father
Date of Certificate	26 March 1902
Officiating Minister	I. K. McIntyre

157

26 March 1902

David Martin Mitchell
Emma Jane Greaves

David Martin Mitchell
Emma Jane Greaves
💍 1912/4405

Bachelor
Spinster

Frenchpolisher

22 years
19 years

Dunedin
Caversham

22 years
2 years

In the Presbyterian Church, Caversham

12/3997

Nathan Greaves, father

26 March 1902

D. Dutton

No	157
Date of Notice	26 March 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	David Martin Mitchell	Emma Jane Greaves
	💍 1912/4405
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Frenchpolisher
Age	22 years	19 years
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Caversham
Length of Residence	22 years	2 years
Marriage Place	In the Presbyterian Church, Caversham
Folio	12/3997
Consent	Nathan Greaves, father
Date of Certificate	26 March 1902
Officiating Minister	D. Dutton

158

26 March 1902

John Wilson
Ruth Dale

John Wilson
Ruth Dale
💍 1912/4446

Bachelor
Spinster

Grocer

21 years
19 years

Dunedin
Dunedin

20 years
19 years

In the house of Mr. T. J. Dale, 466 Leith Street, Dunedin

12/4314

Thomas Alexander Dale, father

26 March 1902

R. C. Davies

No	158
Date of Notice	26 March 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Wilson	Ruth Dale
	💍 1912/4446
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Grocer
Age	21 years	19 years
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	20 years	19 years
Marriage Place	In the house of Mr. T. J. Dale, 466 Leith Street, Dunedin
Folio	12/4314
Consent	Thomas Alexander Dale, father
Date of Certificate	26 March 1902
Officiating Minister	R. C. Davies

159

27 March 1902

John Thomas Simpson
Mary Ellen Harrison

John Thomas Simpson
Mary Ellen Harrison
💍 1912/4528

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer

30 years
32 years

Green Island
Green Island

3 years
25 years

In the house of W. A. R. Harrison, Green Island

12/4296

27 March 1902

R. Waddell

No	159
Date of Notice	27 March 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Thomas Simpson	Mary Ellen Harrison
	💍 1912/4528
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	30 years	32 years
Dwelling Place	Green Island	Green Island
Length of Residence	3 years	25 years
Marriage Place	In the house of W. A. R. Harrison, Green Island
Folio	12/4296
Consent
Date of Certificate	27 March 1902
Officiating Minister	R. Waddell

160

27 March 1902

Arthur Coxhead
Margaret Thomson

Arthur Coxhead
Margaret Thomson
💍 1912/4323

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Nurse

32 years
32 years

Dunedin
Green Island

3 days
32 years

In the house of Mr. W. W. Thomson, Green Island

12/4190

27 March 1902

J. Kilpatrick

No	160
Date of Notice	27 March 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Arthur Coxhead	Margaret Thomson
	💍 1912/4323
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Nurse
Age	32 years	32 years
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Green Island
Length of Residence	3 days	32 years
Marriage Place	In the house of Mr. W. W. Thomson, Green Island
Folio	12/4190
Consent
Date of Certificate	27 March 1902
Officiating Minister	J. Kilpatrick

161

27 March 1902

George William Collie
Henrietta Close

George William Collie
Henrietta Close
💍 1912/4341

Bachelor
Spinster

Commercial Traveller

27 years
24 years

St. Kilda
St. Kilda

24 years
9 years

In the Presbyterian Church, South Dunedin

12/4185

27 March 1902

R. Fairmaid

No	161
Date of Notice	27 March 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George William Collie	Henrietta Close
	💍 1912/4341
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Commercial Traveller
Age	27 years	24 years
Dwelling Place	St. Kilda	St. Kilda
Length of Residence	24 years	9 years
Marriage Place	In the Presbyterian Church, South Dunedin
Folio	12/4185
Consent
Date of Certificate	27 March 1902
Officiating Minister	R. Fairmaid

162

27 March 1902

Edward Bridges
Mabel Vaughan Hudson

Edward Bridges
Mabel Vaughan Hudson
💍 1912/3832

Bachelor
Spinster

Tram Conductor

32 years
30 years

North East Valley
Andersons Bay

8 years
7 years

In the house of Mr. W. A. E. Boulton, 48 Chambers Street, North East Valley

12/3668

27 March 1902

A. Cameron

No	162
Date of Notice	27 March 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edward Bridges	Mabel Vaughan Hudson
	💍 1912/3832
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Tram Conductor
Age	32 years	30 years
Dwelling Place	North East Valley	Andersons Bay
Length of Residence	8 years	7 years
Marriage Place	In the house of Mr. W. A. E. Boulton, 48 Chambers Street, North East Valley
Folio	12/3668
Consent
Date of Certificate	27 March 1902
Officiating Minister	A. Cameron

163

27 March 1902

George Frederick Crowther
Jane Pearson Hartley

George Frederick Crowther
Jane Pearson Hartley
💍 1912/2941

Bachelor
Spinster

Cycle Mechanic

33 years
34 years

Maori Hill
Dunedin

26 years
5 years

In the house of Mr. E. Hartley, 25 Howe Street, Dunedin

12/2790

27 March 1902

P. W. Fairclough

No	163
Date of Notice	27 March 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Frederick Crowther	Jane Pearson Hartley
	💍 1912/2941
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Cycle Mechanic
Age	33 years	34 years
Dwelling Place	Maori Hill	Dunedin
Length of Residence	26 years	5 years
Marriage Place	In the house of Mr. E. Hartley, 25 Howe Street, Dunedin
Folio	12/2790
Consent
Date of Certificate	27 March 1902
Officiating Minister	P. W. Fairclough

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).