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 360

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

14 April 1913

James Swan
Marguerite May Low

James Linan
Marguerite May Low
💍 1913/3981

Bachelor
Spinster

Slaughterman
Domestic duties

28 years
24 years

Timaru
Timaru

5 years
1 year

Chalmers Presbyterian Church, Timaru

13/3532

14 April 1913

Rev. H. Macaulay Caldwell, Presbyterian Minister

No	50
Date of Notice	14 April 1913
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Swan	Marguerite May Low
BDM Match (86%)	James Linan	Marguerite May Low
	💍 1913/3981
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Slaughterman	Domestic duties
Age	28 years	24 years
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	5 years	1 year
Marriage Place	Chalmers Presbyterian Church, Timaru
Folio	13/3532
Consent
Date of Certificate	14 April 1913
Officiating Minister	Rev. H. Macaulay Caldwell, Presbyterian Minister

14 April 1913

Albert Smith
Agnes Black

Albert Smith
Agnes Black
💍 1913/3982

Bachelor
Spinster

Gardener
Domestic Servant

25 years
24 years

Gleniti
Gleniti

3 days
3 days

Dwellinghouse of Mrs. A. Black, Gleniti

13/3533

14 April 1913

Rev. H. Macaulay Caldwell, Presbyterian Minister

No	51
Date of Notice	14 April 1913
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Albert Smith	Agnes Black
	💍 1913/3982
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Gardener	Domestic Servant
Age	25 years	24 years
Dwelling Place	Gleniti	Gleniti
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	Dwellinghouse of Mrs. A. Black, Gleniti
Folio	13/3533
Consent
Date of Certificate	14 April 1913
Officiating Minister	Rev. H. Macaulay Caldwell, Presbyterian Minister

14 April 1913

Walter Collins
Mary Jane Shaw

Walter Collins
Mary Jane Shaw
💍 1913/3936

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic Servant

30 years
22 years

Timaru
Timaru

9 years
10 years

Manse of Rev. J. Stinson, Timaru

13/3511

14 April 1913

Rev. J. Stinson, Presbyterian Minister

No	52
Date of Notice	14 April 1913
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Walter Collins	Mary Jane Shaw
	💍 1913/3936
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic Servant
Age	30 years	22 years
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	9 years	10 years
Marriage Place	Manse of Rev. J. Stinson, Timaru
Folio	13/3511
Consent
Date of Certificate	14 April 1913
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Stinson, Presbyterian Minister

21 April 1913

Charles Forbes
Annie Willis Fairbairn

Charlie Forbes
Annie Willis Fairbairn
💍 1913/3909

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic Servant

24 years
25 years

Timaru
Timaru

4 years
2 years

Manse of Rev. J. Stinson, Timaru

13/3476

21 April 1913

Rev. J. Stinson, Presbyterian Minister

No	53
Date of Notice	21 April 1913
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Forbes	Annie Willis Fairbairn
BDM Match (93%)	Charlie Forbes	Annie Willis Fairbairn
	💍 1913/3909
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic Servant
Age	24 years	25 years
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	4 years	2 years
Marriage Place	Manse of Rev. J. Stinson, Timaru
Folio	13/3476
Consent
Date of Certificate	21 April 1913
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Stinson, Presbyterian Minister

22 April 1913

Caleb Dunn
Rose Edith Jenkins

Caleb Dunn
Rose Edith Jenkins
💍 1913/2952

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic duties

20 years
19 years

Timaru
Timaru

20 years
1 year

Registrar's Office, Timaru

13/2006

George Charles Jenkins (Father)

22 April 1913

Alex Montgomery, Registrar

No	54
Date of Notice	22 April 1913
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Caleb Dunn	Rose Edith Jenkins
	💍 1913/2952
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic duties
Age	20 years	19 years
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	20 years	1 year
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office, Timaru
Folio	13/2006
Consent	George Charles Jenkins (Father)
Date of Certificate	22 April 1913
Officiating Minister	Alex Montgomery, Registrar

23 April 1913

John James Christian
Maud Eva Quick

John James Christian
Maud Eva Quick
💍 1913/3941

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic Servant

24 years
18 years

Timaru
Timaru

24 years
4 years

Dwellinghouse of Thomas Quick, Baker St., Timaru

13/3516

Thomas Quick (Father)

23 April 1913

Rev. J. Leatherston, Methodist Minister

No	55
Date of Notice	23 April 1913
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John James Christian	Maud Eva Quick
	💍 1913/3941
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic Servant
Age	24 years	18 years
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	24 years	4 years
Marriage Place	Dwellinghouse of Thomas Quick, Baker St., Timaru
Folio	13/3516
Consent	Thomas Quick (Father)
Date of Certificate	23 April 1913
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Leatherston, Methodist Minister

23 April 1913

Sidney Roy Honeywell
Emily Priscilla Savage

Sidney Roy Honeywell
Emily Priscilla Savage
💍 1913/4001

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic duties

24 years
27 years

Timaru
Timaru

3 days
4 days

Trinity Presbyterian Church, Timaru

13/3475

23 April 1913

Rev. G. W. Wilson, Presbyterian Minister

No	56
Date of Notice	23 April 1913
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Sidney Roy Honeywell	Emily Priscilla Savage
	💍 1913/4001
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic duties
Age	24 years	27 years
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	3 days	4 days
Marriage Place	Trinity Presbyterian Church, Timaru
Folio	13/3475
Consent
Date of Certificate	23 April 1913
Officiating Minister	Rev. G. W. Wilson, Presbyterian Minister

23 April 1913

Arthur Philip Alan Nicholls
Ethel Harlaw Kerr

Arthur Philip Alan Nicholls
Ethel Harlan Kerr
💍 1913/3944

Bachelor
Spinster

Wool Merchant
Domestic duties

25 years
21 years

Timaru
Timaru

3 days
21 years

St. Mary's English Church, Timaru

13/3519

23 April 1913

Archdeacon Jacob, Church of England Clergyman

No	57
Date of Notice	23 April 1913
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Arthur Philip Alan Nicholls	Ethel Harlaw Kerr
BDM Match (97%)	Arthur Philip Alan Nicholls	Ethel Harlan Kerr
	💍 1913/3944
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Wool Merchant	Domestic duties
Age	25 years	21 years
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	3 days	21 years
Marriage Place	St. Mary's English Church, Timaru
Folio	13/3519
Consent
Date of Certificate	23 April 1913
Officiating Minister	Archdeacon Jacob, 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).