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 332

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

2 April 1912

John Shore Junr
Louie Shears

John Shore
Louie Shears
💍 1912/3857

Bachelor
Spinster

Grain Sampler
Domestic Duties

25 years
24 years

Timaru
Timaru

12 months
24 years

Manse of Rev. J. Stinson Timaru

12/3641

2 April 1912

Rev. J. Stinson Presbyterian Minister

No	48
Date of Notice	2 April 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Shore Junr	Louie Shears
BDM Match (83%)	John Shore	Louie Shears
	💍 1912/3857
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Grain Sampler	Domestic Duties
Age	25 years	24 years
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	12 months	24 years
Marriage Place	Manse of Rev. J. Stinson Timaru
Folio	12/3641
Consent
Date of Certificate	2 April 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Stinson Presbyterian Minister

23 April 1912

James Balfour
Emma Jane Helland

James Balfour
Emma Jane Kelland
💍 1912/3797

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic Duties

32 years
31 years

Timaru
Timaru

3 days
31 years

Dwellinghouse of Edwin Helland "Northdown" Timaru

12/3607

23 April 1912

Archdeacon Jacob Anglican Minister

No	49
Date of Notice	23 April 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Balfour	Emma Jane Helland
BDM Match (97%)	James Balfour	Emma Jane Kelland
	💍 1912/3797
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic Duties
Age	32 years	31 years
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	3 days	31 years
Marriage Place	Dwellinghouse of Edwin Helland "Northdown" Timaru
Folio	12/3607
Consent
Date of Certificate	23 April 1912
Officiating Minister	Archdeacon Jacob Anglican Minister

26 April 1912

Thomas David Burnett
Agnes Ellen Little

Thomas David Burnett
Agnes Ellen Little
💍 1912/3872

Bachelor
Spinster

Sheep Farmer
Domestic Duties

34 years
26 years

Timaru
Timaru

3 days
3 days

Chalmers Church. Timaru

12/3632

26 April 1912

Rev. A. Macaulay Caldwell Presbyterian Minister

No	50
Date of Notice	26 April 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas David Burnett	Agnes Ellen Little
	💍 1912/3872
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Sheep Farmer	Domestic Duties
Age	34 years	26 years
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	Chalmers Church. Timaru
Folio	12/3632
Consent
Date of Certificate	26 April 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. Macaulay Caldwell Presbyterian Minister

1 May 1912

Frank Amas
Mary Diggles

Frank Amas
Mary Diggles
💍 1912/3864

Bachelor
Spinster

Carpenter
Domestic Servant

24 years
22 years

Timaru
Timaru

18 months
3 days

Dwellinghouse of Rev. J. H. G. Chapple Waiti Rd Timaru

12/3647

1 May 1912

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

No	51
Date of Notice	1 May 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Frank Amas	Mary Diggles
	💍 1912/3864
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carpenter	Domestic Servant
Age	24 years	22 years
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	18 months	3 days
Marriage Place	Dwellinghouse of Rev. J. H. G. Chapple Waiti Rd Timaru
Folio	12/3647
Consent
Date of Certificate	1 May 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. H. G. Chapple. Unitarian Minister

9 May 1912

Robert Waugh
Mary Jane Lewis

Robert Waugh
Mary Jane Lewis
💍 1912/3855

Bachelor
Widow

Butcher
Household duties

39 years
39 years

Timaru
Timaru

2 years
5 years

Manse of Rev. J. Stinson Timaru

12/3639

9 May 1912

Rev. J. Stinson Presbyterian Minister

No	52
Date of Notice	9 May 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Robert Waugh	Mary Jane Lewis
	💍 1912/3855
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Butcher	Household duties
Age	39 years	39 years
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	2 years	5 years
Marriage Place	Manse of Rev. J. Stinson Timaru
Folio	12/3639
Consent
Date of Certificate	9 May 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Stinson Presbyterian Minister

11 May 1912

John Kennedy
Margaret White

John Kennedy
Margaret White
💍 1912/2388

Bachelor
Spinster

Cleaner N.Z.R.
Household Duties

21 years
24 years

Timaru
Timaru

1 week
2 1/2 years

Registrar's Office. Timaru

12/2128

11 May 1912

Alex Montgomery Registrar

No	53
Date of Notice	11 May 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Kennedy	Margaret White
	💍 1912/2388
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Cleaner N.Z.R.	Household Duties
Age	21 years	24 years
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	1 week	2 1/2 years
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office. Timaru
Folio	12/2128
Consent
Date of Certificate	11 May 1912
Officiating Minister	Alex Montgomery Registrar

11 May 1912

Henry Barker
Mary Grindell

Henry Barker
Mary Grindell
💍 1912/2389

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic Servant

24 years
26 years

Timaru
Timaru

2 1/2 years
4 months

Registrar's Office Timaru

12/2129

11 May 1912

Alex Montgomery Registrar

No	54
Date of Notice	11 May 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Henry Barker	Mary Grindell
	💍 1912/2389
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic Servant
Age	24 years	26 years
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	2 1/2 years	4 months
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office Timaru
Folio	12/2129
Consent
Date of Certificate	11 May 1912
Officiating Minister	Alex Montgomery Registrar

15 May 1912

Henry Leslie Anderson
Ethel Maud Charter

Henry Leslie Anderson
Ethel Maud Charter
💍 1912/3863

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Milliner

23 years
22 years

Timaru
Timaru

4 days
3 years

Trinity Presbyterian Church. Timaru

12/3646

15 May 1912

Rev. J. Stinson Presbyterian Minister

No	55
Date of Notice	15 May 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Henry Leslie Anderson	Ethel Maud Charter
	💍 1912/3863
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Milliner
Age	23 years	22 years
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	4 days	3 years
Marriage Place	Trinity Presbyterian Church. Timaru
Folio	12/3646
Consent
Date of Certificate	15 May 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Stinson Presbyterian 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).