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 361

District of Timaru Quarter ending 30 June 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

24 April 1913

Frederic William Smith
Ellen Coopeman

Frederic William Smith
Ellen Copeman
💍 1913/3948

Bachelor
Spinster

Timber Stacker
Nil

39
33

Timaru
Timaru

2½ years
1 month

St. Mary's English Church, Timaru

13/3522

24 April 1913

Rev. T. E. Hawdon, Church of England Clergyman

No	58
Date of Notice	24 April 1913
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Frederic William Smith	Ellen Coopeman
BDM Match (96%)	Frederic William Smith	Ellen Copeman
	💍 1913/3948
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Timber Stacker	Nil
Age	39	33
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	2½ years	1 month
Marriage Place	St. Mary's English Church, Timaru
Folio	13/3522
Consent
Date of Certificate	24 April 1913
Officiating Minister	Rev. T. E. Hawdon, Church of England Clergyman

30 April 1913

William George Shaw
Mary Barton Amy Sadler

William George Shaw
Mary Barton Amy Saddler
💍 1913/3939

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic duties

25
21

Claremont
Claremont

3 days
3 days

Trinity Church, Timaru

13/3514

30 April 1913

Rev. John Craig, Presbyterian Minister

No	59
Date of Notice	30 April 1913
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William George Shaw	Mary Barton Amy Sadler
BDM Match (98%)	William George Shaw	Mary Barton Amy Saddler
	💍 1913/3939
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic duties
Age	25	21
Dwelling Place	Claremont	Claremont
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	Trinity Church, Timaru
Folio	13/3514
Consent
Date of Certificate	30 April 1913
Officiating Minister	Rev. John Craig, Presbyterian Minister

5 May 1913

Edwin John Williams
Mary Rose Smith

Edwin John Williams
Mary Rose Smith
💍 1913/4223

Bachelor
Spinster

Telegraphist
Domestic duties

28
24

Timaru
Timaru

9 years
9 years

Dwellinghouse of J. R. Smith, 149 North St., Timaru

13/3772

5 May 1913

Rev. A. Allen, Methodist Minister

No	60
Date of Notice	5 May 1913
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edwin John Williams	Mary Rose Smith
	💍 1913/4223
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Telegraphist	Domestic duties
Age	28	24
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	9 years	9 years
Marriage Place	Dwellinghouse of J. R. Smith, 149 North St., Timaru
Folio	13/3772
Consent
Date of Certificate	5 May 1913
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. Allen, Methodist Minister

6 May 1913

Arthur Herbert Kelly
Eliza Ann Wearing

Arthur Herbert Kelly
Eliza Ann Wearing
💍 1913/2953

Bachelor
Divorced

Labourer
Domestic duties

32
32

Timaru
Timaru

6 months
6 months

Registrar's Office, Timaru

13/2497

6 May 1913

Alex. Montgomery, Registrar

No	61
Date of Notice	6 May 1913
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Arthur Herbert Kelly	Eliza Ann Wearing
	💍 1913/2953
Condition	Bachelor	Divorced
Profession	Labourer	Domestic duties
Age	32	32
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	6 months	6 months
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office, Timaru
Folio	13/2497
Consent
Date of Certificate	6 May 1913
Officiating Minister	Alex. Montgomery, Registrar

8 May 1913

Alfred Rorer
Sophia Clark

Alfred Coker
Sophia Clark
💍 1913/3960

Bachelor
Spinster

Plasterer's Labourer
Tailoress

40
34

Timaru
Timaru

6 years
6 years

Manse of Rev. A. Macaulay Caldwell

13/3535

8 May 1913

Rev. A. Macaulay Caldwell, Presbyterian Minister

No	62
Date of Notice	8 May 1913
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Alfred Rorer	Sophia Clark
BDM Match (92%)	Alfred Coker	Sophia Clark
	💍 1913/3960
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Plasterer's Labourer	Tailoress
Age	40	34
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	6 years	6 years
Marriage Place	Manse of Rev. A. Macaulay Caldwell
Folio	13/3535
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 May 1913
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. Macaulay Caldwell, Presbyterian Minister

8 May 1913

Samuel Anderson
Violet Emily Cook

Samuel Anderson
Violet Emily Cooke
💍 1913/3927

Bachelor
Spinster

Linotype Operator
Clerk

27
22

Timaru
Timaru

19 years
22 years

Trinity, Timaru

13/3478

8 May 1913

Rev. L. Stinson, Minister

No	63
Date of Notice	8 May 1913
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Samuel Anderson	Violet Emily Cook
BDM Match (97%)	Samuel Anderson	Violet Emily Cooke
	💍 1913/3927
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Linotype Operator	Clerk
Age	27	22
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	19 years	22 years
Marriage Place	Trinity, Timaru
Folio	13/3478
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 May 1913
Officiating Minister	Rev. L. Stinson, Minister

12 May 1913

Joseph Hemsley Boaler
Eliza Ann Kelleher

Joseph Hemsley Boaler
Eliza Ann Kelland
💍 1913/3950

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Household duties

40
41

Timaru
Timaru

3 days
2 years

St. Mary's English Church, Timaru

13/3524

12 May 1913

Archdeacon Jacob, Church of England Clergyman

No	64
Date of Notice	12 May 1913
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Joseph Hemsley Boaler	Eliza Ann Kelleher
BDM Match (89%)	Joseph Hemsley Boaler	Eliza Ann Kelland
	💍 1913/3950
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Household duties
Age	40	41
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	3 days	2 years
Marriage Place	St. Mary's English Church, Timaru
Folio	13/3524
Consent
Date of Certificate	12 May 1913
Officiating Minister	Archdeacon Jacob, Church of England Clergyman

14 May 1913

Alexander Stuart McKay McCall
May Adella Watkins

Alexander Stuart McKay McCall
May Adella Watkins
💍 1913/3949

Bachelor
Spinster

Carpenter Joiner
Lady's Help

32
24

Timaru
Pareora

3 days
9 years

St. Mary's English Church, Timaru

13/3562

14 May 1913

Rev. A. B. Hawdon, Church of England Clergyman

No	65
Date of Notice	14 May 1913
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Alexander Stuart McKay McCall	May Adella Watkins
	💍 1913/3949
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carpenter Joiner	Lady's Help
Age	32	24
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Pareora
Length of Residence	3 days	9 years
Marriage Place	St. Mary's English Church, Timaru
Folio	13/3562
Consent
Date of Certificate	14 May 1913
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. B. Hawdon, Church of England Clergyman

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).