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 156

District of Christchurch Quarter ending 30 September '.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

684

22 September '.1913.'

John Hudson Fisher
Margaret Young

John Hudson Fisher
Margaret Young
💍 1913/5873

Bachelor
Spinster

Clerk
Housekeeper

33
34

Opawa near Christchurch
Opawa near Christchurch

3 days
18 years

Roman Catholic Cathedral, Barbadoes St., Christchurch

'.13.'/5631

22 September '.1913.'

Rev. J. C. Murphy

No	684
Date of Notice	22 September '.1913.'
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Hudson Fisher	Margaret Young
	💍 1913/5873
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Clerk	Housekeeper
Age	33	34
Dwelling Place	Opawa near Christchurch	Opawa near Christchurch
Length of Residence	3 days	18 years
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Cathedral, Barbadoes St., Christchurch
Folio	'.13.'/5631
Consent
Date of Certificate	22 September '.1913.'
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. C. Murphy

685

23 September '.1913.'

Thomas Edwin Kilworth
Elizabeth Butler

Thomas Edwin Kilworth
Elizabeth Butler
💍 1913/5007

Widower
Widow

Builder & Engineer

67
60

Fendalton
Fendalton

3 weeks
12 months

Registrar's Office, Christchurch

'.13.'/4676

23 September '.1913.'

Registrar

No	685
Date of Notice	23 September '.1913.'
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Edwin Kilworth	Elizabeth Butler
	💍 1913/5007
Condition	Widower	Widow
Profession	Builder & Engineer
Age	67	60
Dwelling Place	Fendalton	Fendalton
Length of Residence	3 weeks	12 months
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office, Christchurch
Folio	'.13.'/4676
Consent
Date of Certificate	23 September '.1913.'
Officiating Minister	Registrar

686

23 September '.1913.'

Vernon Harcourt Coleman
Claudia May Monica Dumphy

Vernon Harcourt Coleman
Claudia May Monica Dunphy
💍 1913/8397

Bachelor
Spinster

Steward
Dressmaker

29
21

Christchurch
Christchurch

12 months
Life

Roman Catholic Cathedral, Christchurch

8163

23 September '.1913.'

Rev. M. O'Boyle

No	686
Date of Notice	23 September '.1913.'
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Vernon Harcourt Coleman	Claudia May Monica Dumphy
BDM Match (98%)	Vernon Harcourt Coleman	Claudia May Monica Dunphy
	💍 1913/8397
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Steward	Dressmaker
Age	29	21
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	12 months	Life
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Cathedral, Christchurch
Folio	8163
Consent
Date of Certificate	23 September '.1913.'
Officiating Minister	Rev. M. O'Boyle

687

23 September '.1913.'

Arthur Theodore Hinton
Sarah Bland Walker

Arthur Theodore Hinton
Sarah Bland Walker
💍 1913/5883

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer

25
28

Templeton
Springston

25 years
25 years

Wesleyan Church, Springston

'.13.'/5641

23 September '.1913.'

Rev. C. E. Penney

No	687
Date of Notice	23 September '.1913.'
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Arthur Theodore Hinton	Sarah Bland Walker
	💍 1913/5883
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	25	28
Dwelling Place	Templeton	Springston
Length of Residence	25 years	25 years
Marriage Place	Wesleyan Church, Springston
Folio	'.13.'/5641
Consent
Date of Certificate	23 September '.1913.'
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. E. Penney

688

23 September '.1913.'

Francis Thomas Sisson
Ivy McMillan

Francis Thomas Sisson
Ivy McIlroy
💍 1913/5875

Bachelor
Spinster

Orchardist
Dressmaker

22
21

Papanui
Papanui

20 years
Life

St. Mary's Church, Manchester St., Christchurch

'.13.'/5633

23 September '.1913.'

Rev. F. Hills

No	688
Date of Notice	23 September '.1913.'
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Francis Thomas Sisson	Ivy McMillan
BDM Match (79%)	Francis Thomas Sisson	Ivy McIlroy
	💍 1913/5875
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Orchardist	Dressmaker
Age	22	21
Dwelling Place	Papanui	Papanui
Length of Residence	20 years	Life
Marriage Place	St. Mary's Church, Manchester St., Christchurch
Folio	'.13.'/5633
Consent
Date of Certificate	23 September '.1913.'
Officiating Minister	Rev. F. Hills

689

23 September '.1913.'

John William Thomson
Phoebe Plant

John William Thomson
Phoebe Plant
💍 1913/6103

Bachelor
Spinster

Warehouseman

27
30

Redcliffs
Redcliffs

25 years
4 years

St. Marks Church, Opawa

'.13.'/5687

23 September '.1913.'

Rev. H. Williams

No	689
Date of Notice	23 September '.1913.'
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John William Thomson	Phoebe Plant
	💍 1913/6103
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Warehouseman
Age	27	30
Dwelling Place	Redcliffs	Redcliffs
Length of Residence	25 years	4 years
Marriage Place	St. Marks Church, Opawa
Folio	'.13.'/5687
Consent
Date of Certificate	23 September '.1913.'
Officiating Minister	Rev. H. Williams

These records have been automatically transcribed and must be verified using the page image (below)

100% Contrast

100% Brightness

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).