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 115

District of Christchurch Quarter ending 30 June 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

461

6 June 1913

William Armistrong Kerr
Jemima Anderson

William Armstrong Kerr
Jemima Anderson
💍 1913/2685

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer

34
39

Sydenham
Christchurch

16 days
3 years

Registrar's Office, Christchurch

13/2306

6 June 1913

Registrar

No	461
Date of Notice	6 June 1913
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Armistrong Kerr	Jemima Anderson
BDM Match (98%)	William Armstrong Kerr	Jemima Anderson
	💍 1913/2685
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer
Age	34	39
Dwelling Place	Sydenham	Christchurch
Length of Residence	16 days	3 years
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office, Christchurch
Folio	13/2306
Consent
Date of Certificate	6 June 1913
Officiating Minister	Registrar

462

6 June 1913

Walter John Spencer Moir
Mabel Grace Clarke

Walter John Spencer Moir
Mabel Grace Clarke
💍 1913/4193

Bachelor
Spinster

Baker
Milliner

21
18

Linwood
Christchurch

Life
13 years

Baptist Church, Oxford Terrace, Christchurch

13/3668

William Frederick Clarke, Father

6 June 1913

Rev. J. J. North

No	462
Date of Notice	6 June 1913
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Walter John Spencer Moir	Mabel Grace Clarke
	💍 1913/4193
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Baker	Milliner
Age	21	18
Dwelling Place	Linwood	Christchurch
Length of Residence	Life	13 years
Marriage Place	Baptist Church, Oxford Terrace, Christchurch
Folio	13/3668
Consent	William Frederick Clarke, Father
Date of Certificate	6 June 1913
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. J. North

463

6 June 1913

Thomas Andrew Carlton
Rosa Regia Simpson

Thomas Andrew Carlton
Rosa Kezia Simpson
💍 1913/6439

Bachelor
Spinster

Insurance Agent
Saleswoman

21
23

Christchurch
Christchurch

3 years
1 1/2 years

Primitive Methodist Church, Cambridge Terrace, Christchurch

13/6027

6 June 1913

Rev. B. Metson

No	463
Date of Notice	6 June 1913
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Andrew Carlton	Rosa Regia Simpson
BDM Match (94%)	Thomas Andrew Carlton	Rosa Kezia Simpson
	💍 1913/6439
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Insurance Agent	Saleswoman
Age	21	23
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	3 years	1 1/2 years
Marriage Place	Primitive Methodist Church, Cambridge Terrace, Christchurch
Folio	13/6027
Consent
Date of Certificate	6 June 1913
Officiating Minister	Rev. B. Metson

464

7 June 1913

Samuel Ballagh
Sarah Ann Porter

Samuel Ballagh
Sarah Ann Porter
💍 1913/6440

Bachelor
Divorced (Decree absolute 26-4-1913)

Farmer

48
41

Christchurch
Christchurch

8 days
20 years

Methodist Church, Cambridge Terrace, Christchurch

13/6028

7 June 1913

Rev. B. Metson

No	464
Date of Notice	7 June 1913
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Samuel Ballagh	Sarah Ann Porter
	💍 1913/6440
Condition	Bachelor	Divorced (Decree absolute 26-4-1913)
Profession	Farmer
Age	48	41
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	8 days	20 years
Marriage Place	Methodist Church, Cambridge Terrace, Christchurch
Folio	13/6028
Consent
Date of Certificate	7 June 1913
Officiating Minister	Rev. B. Metson

465

9 June 1913

Charles John Hadley
Ellen Hawke

Charles John Hadley
Ellen Hawke
💍 1913/4126

Bachelor
Spinster

Timber Worker
Dressmaker

20
20

Papanui
Papanui

6 years
15 years

House of Mr. R. W. Hawke, Pagues Road, Papanui

13/3702

James Hadley, Father; Richard Wilson Hawke, Father

9 June 1913

Rev. A. H. Couch

No	465
Date of Notice	9 June 1913
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles John Hadley	Ellen Hawke
	💍 1913/4126
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Timber Worker	Dressmaker
Age	20	20
Dwelling Place	Papanui	Papanui
Length of Residence	6 years	15 years
Marriage Place	House of Mr. R. W. Hawke, Pagues Road, Papanui
Folio	13/3702
Consent	James Hadley, Father; Richard Wilson Hawke, Father
Date of Certificate	9 June 1913
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. H. Couch

466

9 June 1913

Albert Henry Chapman
Jessie Bowie Douglas

Albert Henry Chapman
Jessie Bowie Douglas
💍 1913/4192

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer

21
21

Lincoln
Lincoln

12 years
18 months

Presbyterian Manse, Lincoln

13/3667

9 June 1913

S. E. Hill

No	466
Date of Notice	9 June 1913
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Albert Henry Chapman	Jessie Bowie Douglas
	💍 1913/4192
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer
Age	21	21
Dwelling Place	Lincoln	Lincoln
Length of Residence	12 years	18 months
Marriage Place	Presbyterian Manse, Lincoln
Folio	13/3667
Consent
Date of Certificate	9 June 1913
Officiating Minister	S. E. Hill

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).