Intentions to Marry, 1913 Canterbury, Otago, Southland, Chatham Islands

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840453, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

1913 is bound in three volumes - Auckland, Taranaki (1913a), Hawke's Bay, Wellington, Marlborough, Nelson, Westland (1913b), and Canterbury, Otago, Southland, Chatham Islands (1913c).

Page 035

District of Christchurch Quarter ending 31 March '.1913.' Registrar Frank Evans

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

13 January '.1913.'

Alexander Dickson
Nellie Maud Samuels

Alexander Dickson
Nellie Maud Samuels
💍 1913/4617

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer

32
25

Christchurch
Christchurch

1 week
5 years

St. Michael Church Christchurch

'.13.'/4219

13 January '.1913.'

Rev. H.W. Burton

No	25
Date of Notice	13 January '.1913.'
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Alexander Dickson	Nellie Maud Samuels
	💍 1913/4617
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	32	25
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	1 week	5 years
Marriage Place	St. Michael Church Christchurch
Folio	'.13.'/4219
Consent
Date of Certificate	13 January '.1913.'
Officiating Minister	Rev. H.W. Burton

14 January '.1913.'

William Gaskell
Emma Louisa Lake

William Garkell
Emma Louisa Lake
💍 1913/2407

Bachelor
Spinster

Carter
Dressmaker

24
20

Upper Riccarton
Upper Riccarton

18 years
20 years

St. Peters Church Upper Riccarton

'.13.'/1873

Elizabeth Ann Lake, mother

14 January '.1913.'

Rev. H.T. York

No	26
Date of Notice	14 January '.1913.'
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Gaskell	Emma Louisa Lake
BDM Match (97%)	William Garkell	Emma Louisa Lake
	💍 1913/2407
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carter	Dressmaker
Age	24	20
Dwelling Place	Upper Riccarton	Upper Riccarton
Length of Residence	18 years	20 years
Marriage Place	St. Peters Church Upper Riccarton
Folio	'.13.'/1873
Consent	Elizabeth Ann Lake, mother
Date of Certificate	14 January '.1913.'
Officiating Minister	Rev. H.T. York

14 January '.1913.'

Harold Norman Biggins
Evelyn Rose Bryenton

Harold Norman Biggins
Evelyn Rose Bryenton
💍 1913/4145

Bachelor
Spinster

Linotype Engineer
Waitress

21
21

Merivale
Merivale

18 years
Life

House of H.N. Biggins, 12 Andover St. Merivale

'.13.'/3694

14 January '.1913.'

Mr. R. Settie

No	27
Date of Notice	14 January '.1913.'
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Harold Norman Biggins	Evelyn Rose Bryenton
	💍 1913/4145
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Linotype Engineer	Waitress
Age	21	21
Dwelling Place	Merivale	Merivale
Length of Residence	18 years	Life
Marriage Place	House of H.N. Biggins, 12 Andover St. Merivale
Folio	'.13.'/3694
Consent
Date of Certificate	14 January '.1913.'
Officiating Minister	Mr. R. Settie

15 January '.1913.'

Charles Bertram Garratt (Commonly known as Charles Bertram Lindroos)
Edith Mary Allen

Charles Bertram Lindroos
Edith May Allen
💍 1913/1963

Bachelor
Spinster

Butcher
Housekeeper

29
37

Sumner
Sumner

Life
15 years

All Saints' Church Sumner

'.13.'/1378

15 January '.1913.'

Rev. H.S. Leach

No	28
Date of Notice	15 January '.1913.'
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Bertram Garratt (Commonly known as Charles Bertram Lindroos)	Edith Mary Allen
BDM Match (65%)	Charles Bertram Lindroos	Edith May Allen
	💍 1913/1963
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Butcher	Housekeeper
Age	29	37
Dwelling Place	Sumner	Sumner
Length of Residence	Life	15 years
Marriage Place	All Saints' Church Sumner
Folio	'.13.'/1378
Consent
Date of Certificate	15 January '.1913.'
Officiating Minister	Rev. H.S. Leach

15 January '.1913.'

George Bayntun Starky
Helen Mary Dorothea Bruce Gosset

George Bayntun Starky
Helen Mary Dorothea Bruce Gosset
💍 1913/1914

Bachelor
Spinster

Sheep Farmer

30
32

Papanui
Papanui

10.5 months
10 years

St. Mary's Church Merivale

'.13.'/1429

15 January '.1913.'

Rev. C.H. Gosset

No	29
Date of Notice	15 January '.1913.'
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Bayntun Starky	Helen Mary Dorothea Bruce Gosset
	💍 1913/1914
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Sheep Farmer
Age	30	32
Dwelling Place	Papanui	Papanui
Length of Residence	10.5 months	10 years
Marriage Place	St. Mary's Church Merivale
Folio	'.13.'/1429
Consent
Date of Certificate	15 January '.1913.'
Officiating Minister	Rev. C.H. Gosset

16 January '.1913.'

Peter Gow Leay Mackenzie
Alice Gow

Peter Gow Leary MacKenzie
Alice Gow
💍 1913/1831

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer

25
31

Christchurch
Christchurch

5 days
3 days

Knox Church Christchurch

'.13.'/1344

16 January '.1913.'

Rev. R. Cowen

No	30
Date of Notice	16 January '.1913.'
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Peter Gow Leay Mackenzie	Alice Gow
BDM Match (96%)	Peter Gow Leary MacKenzie	Alice Gow
	💍 1913/1831
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	25	31
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	5 days	3 days
Marriage Place	Knox Church Christchurch
Folio	'.13.'/1344
Consent
Date of Certificate	16 January '.1913.'
Officiating Minister	Rev. R. Cowen

These records have been automatically transcribed and must be verified using the page image (below)

100% Contrast

100% Brightness

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).