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 352

District of Timaru Quarter ending 31 March 1913 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

3 January 1913

James Mathews
Mary Jane Cann

James Mathews
Mary Jane Cann
💍 1913/3929

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic Servant

25
28

Rosebrook
Gleniti

14 days
2 years

Chalmers Presbyterian Church, Timaru

13/3480

3 January 1913

Rev. A. Macaulay Caldwell, Presbyterian Minister

No	1
Date of Notice	3 January 1913
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Mathews	Mary Jane Cann
	💍 1913/3929
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic Servant
Age	25	28
Dwelling Place	Rosebrook	Gleniti
Length of Residence	14 days	2 years
Marriage Place	Chalmers Presbyterian Church, Timaru
Folio	13/3480
Consent
Date of Certificate	3 January 1913
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. Macaulay Caldwell, Presbyterian Minister

4 January 1913

James Forster
Clara Cartwright

James Forster
Clara Cartwright
💍 1913/47

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Household duties

34
29

Rosewill
Rosewill

18 months
6 weeks

Chalmers Presbyterian Church, Timaru

13/3481

4 January 1913

Rev. A. Macaulay Caldwell, Presbyterian Minister

No	2
Date of Notice	4 January 1913
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Forster	Clara Cartwright
	💍 1913/47
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Household duties
Age	34	29
Dwelling Place	Rosewill	Rosewill
Length of Residence	18 months	6 weeks
Marriage Place	Chalmers Presbyterian Church, Timaru
Folio	13/3481
Consent
Date of Certificate	4 January 1913
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. Macaulay Caldwell, Presbyterian Minister

8 January 1913

Frederick Henry Woods
Margaret Jane Georgina Todd

Frederick Henry Woods
Margaret Jane Georgenia Todd
💍 1913/2036

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic Servant

22
18

Washdyke
Washdyke

3 days
3 days

Dwellinghouse of Henry Todd, Washdyke

13/1549

Henry Todd, Father

8 January 1913

Rev. L. Hudson, Methodist Minister

No	3
Date of Notice	8 January 1913
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Frederick Henry Woods	Margaret Jane Georgina Todd
BDM Match (96%)	Frederick Henry Woods	Margaret Jane Georgenia Todd
	💍 1913/2036
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic Servant
Age	22	18
Dwelling Place	Washdyke	Washdyke
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	Dwellinghouse of Henry Todd, Washdyke
Folio	13/1549
Consent	Henry Todd, Father
Date of Certificate	8 January 1913
Officiating Minister	Rev. L. Hudson, Methodist Minister

11 January 1913

Sydney Henry Price
Ruby Amelia Edwards

Sydney Henry Price
Ruby Amelia Edwards
💍 1913/2037

Bachelor
Spinster

Chemist
Shop Assistant

22
23

Timaru
Timaru

1 1/2 years
23 years

Dwellinghouse of Rev. L. Hudson, Butler St., Timaru

13/1550

11 January 1913

Rev. L. Hudson, Methodist Minister

No	4
Date of Notice	11 January 1913
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Sydney Henry Price	Ruby Amelia Edwards
	💍 1913/2037
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Chemist	Shop Assistant
Age	22	23
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	1 1/2 years	23 years
Marriage Place	Dwellinghouse of Rev. L. Hudson, Butler St., Timaru
Folio	13/1550
Consent
Date of Certificate	11 January 1913
Officiating Minister	Rev. L. Hudson, Methodist Minister

13 January 1913

Cornelius Kennedy
Rose Mary O'Boyle

Cornelius Kennedy
Rose Mary O Boyle
💍 1913/2102

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Cook

48
32

St. Andrews
Timaru

20 years
4 days

Roman Catholic Church, Timaru

13/1567

13 January 1913

Dean Tubman, Roman Catholic Priest

No	5
Date of Notice	13 January 1913
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Cornelius Kennedy	Rose Mary O'Boyle
BDM Match (97%)	Cornelius Kennedy	Rose Mary O Boyle
	💍 1913/2102
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Cook
Age	48	32
Dwelling Place	St. Andrews	Timaru
Length of Residence	20 years	4 days
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Church, Timaru
Folio	13/1567
Consent
Date of Certificate	13 January 1913
Officiating Minister	Dean Tubman, Roman Catholic Priest

20 January 1913

Hugh Francis Latimer
Emily Bowles

Hugh Francis Latimer
Emily Cowles
💍 1913/3931

Bachelor
Spinster

Foreman
Housewife

23
23

Timaru
Timaru

22 years
3 years

Dwellinghouse of Rev. A. Macaulay Caldwell, Timaru

13/3482

20 January 1913

Rev. A. Macaulay Caldwell, Presbyterian Minister

No	6
Date of Notice	20 January 1913
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Hugh Francis Latimer	Emily Bowles
BDM Match (96%)	Hugh Francis Latimer	Emily Cowles
	💍 1913/3931
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Foreman	Housewife
Age	23	23
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	22 years	3 years
Marriage Place	Dwellinghouse of Rev. A. Macaulay Caldwell, Timaru
Folio	13/3482
Consent
Date of Certificate	20 January 1913
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. Macaulay Caldwell, Presbyterian Minister

31 January 1913

Henry George Scarf
Alice Ethel Soffe

Henry George Scarf
Alice Ethel Soffe
💍 1913/2113

Bachelor
Divorced

Butcher
Household duties

44
36

Timaru
Timaru

44 years
6 weeks

Congregational Church, Timaru

13/1534

31 January 1913

Rev. A. E. Hunt, Congregational Minister

No	7
Date of Notice	31 January 1913
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Henry George Scarf	Alice Ethel Soffe
	💍 1913/2113
Condition	Bachelor	Divorced
Profession	Butcher	Household duties
Age	44	36
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	44 years	6 weeks
Marriage Place	Congregational Church, Timaru
Folio	13/1534
Consent
Date of Certificate	31 January 1913
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. E. Hunt, Congregational Minister

25 January 1913

William McKinney
Harriett Ford Deans

William McKinney
Harriett Rosa Deans
💍 1913/2114

Divorced
Spinster

Drainage Foreman
Household duties

32
21

Timaru
Waimataitai

3 years
3 years

Dwellinghouse of John Deans, Waimataitai

13/1535

25 January 1913

Rev. A. E. Hunt, Congregational Minister

No	8
Date of Notice	25 January 1913
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William McKinney	Harriett Ford Deans
BDM Match (92%)	William McKinney	Harriett Rosa Deans
	💍 1913/2114
Condition	Divorced	Spinster
Profession	Drainage Foreman	Household duties
Age	32	21
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Waimataitai
Length of Residence	3 years	3 years
Marriage Place	Dwellinghouse of John Deans, Waimataitai
Folio	13/1535
Consent
Date of Certificate	25 January 1913
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. E. Hunt, Congregational 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).