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 060

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

157

5 March 1913

James Duncan McMullan
Elsie Elizabeth Martin

James Duncan McMullan
Elsie Elizabeth Martin
💍 1913/4499

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic duties

28
20

Christchurch
Christchurch

3 days
3 days

Wesley Church, Fitzgerald St., Christchurch

13/4150

Dinah Maria Martin, mother

5 March 1913

Rev. W. A. Sinclair

No	157
Date of Notice	5 March 1913
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Duncan McMullan	Elsie Elizabeth Martin
	💍 1913/4499
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic duties
Age	28	20
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	Wesley Church, Fitzgerald St., Christchurch
Folio	13/4150
Consent	Dinah Maria Martin, mother
Date of Certificate	5 March 1913
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. A. Sinclair

158

5 March 1913

Ernest Stocks
Lily Gertrude Musson

Ernest Stocks
Ivy Gertrude Musson
💍 1913/1880

Bachelor
Spinster

Cabinet maker
Machinist

24
19

Christchurch
Christchurch

Life
10 months

St. Luke's Church, Christchurch

13/1401

Thomas Musson, Father

5 March 1913

Rev. W. W. Sedgwick

No	158
Date of Notice	5 March 1913
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Ernest Stocks	Lily Gertrude Musson
BDM Match (93%)	Ernest Stocks	Ivy Gertrude Musson
	💍 1913/1880
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Cabinet maker	Machinist
Age	24	19
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	Life	10 months
Marriage Place	St. Luke's Church, Christchurch
Folio	13/1401
Consent	Thomas Musson, Father
Date of Certificate	5 March 1913
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. W. Sedgwick

159

6 March 1913

Frank William Mundy
Violet Bailey

Frank William Mundy
Violet Bailey
💍 1913/2343

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer, General
Servant

24
19

Christchurch
Christchurch

Life
2 weeks

St. Andrew's Church, Christchurch

13/1910

William Bailey, Father

6 March 1913

Rev. J. McKenzie

No	159
Date of Notice	6 March 1913
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Frank William Mundy	Violet Bailey
	💍 1913/2343
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer, General	Servant
Age	24	19
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	Life	2 weeks
Marriage Place	St. Andrew's Church, Christchurch
Folio	13/1910
Consent	William Bailey, Father
Date of Certificate	6 March 1913
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. McKenzie

160

6 March 1913

Julius Adolph Albert Caesar
Violet King Gardner

Julius Adolph Albert Caesar
Violet King Gardner
💍 1913/1989

Widower
Spinster

Gentleman

49
38

Christchurch
Christchurch

3 days
9 years

English Church, Riccarton

13/1454

6 March 1913

Rev. J. de B. Galway

No	160
Date of Notice	6 March 1913
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Julius Adolph Albert Caesar	Violet King Gardner
	💍 1913/1989
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Gentleman
Age	49	38
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	3 days	9 years
Marriage Place	English Church, Riccarton
Folio	13/1454
Consent
Date of Certificate	6 March 1913
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. de B. Galway

161

6 March 1913

Albert Massey Sugden
Fanny Martin

Albert Masey Sugden
Fanny Martin
💍 1913/4137

Bachelor
Spinster

Motor Mechanic
Dressmaker

27
25

Richmond
Woolston

Life
Life

St. John's Church, Woolston

13/3687

6 March 1913

Rev. W. H. Orbell

No	161
Date of Notice	6 March 1913
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Albert Massey Sugden	Fanny Martin
BDM Match (98%)	Albert Masey Sugden	Fanny Martin
	💍 1913/4137
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Motor Mechanic	Dressmaker
Age	27	25
Dwelling Place	Richmond	Woolston
Length of Residence	Life	Life
Marriage Place	St. John's Church, Woolston
Folio	13/3687
Consent
Date of Certificate	6 March 1913
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. H. Orbell

162

7 March 1913

William Richard Lilley
Ruby May Priestnall

William Richard Lilley
Ruby May Priestnall
💍 1913/4507

Bachelor
Spinster

Letter Carrier

21
20

Sydenham
Linwood

Life
Life

Wesleyan Church, East Belt, Christchurch

13/4151

Edward Priestnall, Father

7 March 1913

Rev. W. A. Sinclair

No	162
Date of Notice	7 March 1913
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Richard Lilley	Ruby May Priestnall
	💍 1913/4507
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Letter Carrier
Age	21	20
Dwelling Place	Sydenham	Linwood
Length of Residence	Life	Life
Marriage Place	Wesleyan Church, East Belt, Christchurch
Folio	13/4151
Consent	Edward Priestnall, Father
Date of Certificate	7 March 1913
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. A. Sinclair

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).