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 940

District of Riverton Quarter ending 31 March 1913 Registrar A. Neile Macfarlane

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

882

14 January 1913

Andrew Williamson
Mary Rachel White

Andrew Williamson
Mary Rachel White
💍 1913/2318

Bachelor
Spinster

Engine driver
Domestic duties

29
27

Nevis, Central Otago
Riverton

3 days in Riverton
6 months

The Presbyterian Church, Riverton

13/1834

14 January 1913

Rev. G. A. Gray (Presbyterian)

No	882
Date of Notice	14 January 1913
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Andrew Williamson	Mary Rachel White
	💍 1913/2318
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Engine driver	Domestic duties
Age	29	27
Dwelling Place	Nevis, Central Otago	Riverton
Length of Residence	3 days in Riverton	6 months
Marriage Place	The Presbyterian Church, Riverton
Folio	13/1834
Consent
Date of Certificate	14 January 1913
Officiating Minister	Rev. G. A. Gray (Presbyterian)

883

21 January 1913

Thomas Middleton
Annie Nina Stevens

Thomas Middleton
Annie Nina Stevens
💍 1913/2320

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic duties

24
22

Waimahaka
Longwood, Riverton

3 days in Riverton
22 years

Private residence of Mr. Edward John Stevens, Longwood, Riverton

13/1836

21 January 1913

Rev. Jas. Morland (Church of England)

No	883
Date of Notice	21 January 1913
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Middleton	Annie Nina Stevens
	💍 1913/2320
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic duties
Age	24	22
Dwelling Place	Waimahaka	Longwood, Riverton
Length of Residence	3 days in Riverton	22 years
Marriage Place	Private residence of Mr. Edward John Stevens, Longwood, Riverton
Folio	13/1836
Consent
Date of Certificate	21 January 1913
Officiating Minister	Rev. Jas. Morland (Church of England)

884

21 January 1913

George Mackie Williamson
Sarah Elizabeth McBride

George Mackie Williamson
Sarah Elizabeth McBride
💍 1913/2319

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic duties

39
30

Waimatuku
Waimatuku

6 years
3 years

The private residence of Mr. James Williamson, Waimatuku

13/1835

21 January 1913

Rev. G. A. Gray (Presbyterian)

No	884
Date of Notice	21 January 1913
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Mackie Williamson	Sarah Elizabeth McBride
	💍 1913/2319
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic duties
Age	39	30
Dwelling Place	Waimatuku	Waimatuku
Length of Residence	6 years	3 years
Marriage Place	The private residence of Mr. James Williamson, Waimatuku
Folio	13/1835
Consent
Date of Certificate	21 January 1913
Officiating Minister	Rev. G. A. Gray (Presbyterian)

885

23 January 1913

Robert Thomas Smith
Grace Elizabeth Meek

Robert Thomas Smith
Elizabeth Grace Meek
💍 1913/4694

Bachelor
Spinster

Commercial Traveller
Domestic duties

31
30

3 days in Riverton
Fairfax

3 days
25 years

Private dwelling of Mr. Robert Meek, Fairfax

13/4495

22 January 1913

Rev. John Erwin (Presbyterian)

No	885
Date of Notice	23 January 1913
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Robert Thomas Smith	Grace Elizabeth Meek
BDM Match (70%)	Robert Thomas Smith	Elizabeth Grace Meek
	💍 1913/4694
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Commercial Traveller	Domestic duties
Age	31	30
Dwelling Place	3 days in Riverton	Fairfax
Length of Residence	3 days	25 years
Marriage Place	Private dwelling of Mr. Robert Meek, Fairfax
Folio	13/4495
Consent
Date of Certificate	22 January 1913
Officiating Minister	Rev. John Erwin (Presbyterian)

886

11 February 1913

Henry John Wilkinson
Mary Elizabeth Forbes

Henry John Wilkinson
Mary Elizabeth Forbes
💍 1913/2568

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic duties

27
29

Otautau
Riverton

3 days
10 years

The Catholic Church, Otautau

13/2113

11 February 1913

Rev. Patrick Murphy (Roman Catholic)

No	886
Date of Notice	11 February 1913
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Henry John Wilkinson	Mary Elizabeth Forbes
	💍 1913/2568
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic duties
Age	27	29
Dwelling Place	Otautau	Riverton
Length of Residence	3 days	10 years
Marriage Place	The Catholic Church, Otautau
Folio	13/2113
Consent
Date of Certificate	11 February 1913
Officiating Minister	Rev. Patrick Murphy (Roman Catholic)

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).