Intentions to Marry, 1914 Canterbury, Otago, Southland, Chatham Island

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840456, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

1914 is bound in three volumes - Auckland, Taranaki (1914a), Wellington, Hawke's Bay, Marlborough, Nelson, Westland (1914b), and Canterbury, Otago, Southland, Chatham Islands (1914c).

Page 2119

District of Christchurch Quarter ending 30 June 1914 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

380

9 May 1914

Thomas John Guest
Eliza Williamson

Thomas John Guest
Eliza Williamson
💍 1914/754

Bachelor
Widow 27-9-1913

Telegraph Lineman

38
44

Motukarara
Christchurch

10 months
13 years

Registrar's Office Christchurch

3445

9 May 1914

Registrar

No	380
Date of Notice	9 May 1914
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas John Guest	Eliza Williamson
	💍 1914/754
Condition	Bachelor	Widow 27-9-1913
Profession	Telegraph Lineman
Age	38	44
Dwelling Place	Motukarara	Christchurch
Length of Residence	10 months	13 years
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office Christchurch
Folio	3445
Consent
Date of Certificate	9 May 1914
Officiating Minister	Registrar

381

11 May 1914

James Connor
Jessie Margaret Morrison

James Connor
Jessie Margaret Morrison
💍 1914/8909

Bachelor
Divorced Decree Abs. 24.9.1913

Principal Technical College
Florist

25
32

Cashmere
Cashmere

3 days
8 days

St. Andrew's Church Christchurch

3481

11 May 1914

Rev. G. Lindsay

No	381
Date of Notice	11 May 1914
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Connor	Jessie Margaret Morrison
	💍 1914/8909
Condition	Bachelor	Divorced Decree Abs. 24.9.1913
Profession	Principal Technical College	Florist
Age	25	32
Dwelling Place	Cashmere	Cashmere
Length of Residence	3 days	8 days
Marriage Place	St. Andrew's Church Christchurch
Folio	3481
Consent
Date of Certificate	11 May 1914
Officiating Minister	Rev. G. Lindsay

382

11 May 1914

Ernest Greenaway
Sarah Anne Bryan

Ernest Greenaway
Sarah Ann Bryan
💍 1914/6036

Widower 20.12.1910
Spinster

Gardener

36
32

Linwood
Christchurch

5 years
5 years

St. John's Church Latimer Square Christchurch

3596

11 May 1914

Rev. P. J. Cocks

No	382
Date of Notice	11 May 1914
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Ernest Greenaway	Sarah Anne Bryan
BDM Match (97%)	Ernest Greenaway	Sarah Ann Bryan
	💍 1914/6036
Condition	Widower 20.12.1910	Spinster
Profession	Gardener
Age	36	32
Dwelling Place	Linwood	Christchurch
Length of Residence	5 years	5 years
Marriage Place	St. John's Church Latimer Square Christchurch
Folio	3596
Consent
Date of Certificate	11 May 1914
Officiating Minister	Rev. P. J. Cocks

383

11 May 1914

Frank Netherton Lawrence
Helen Maltman Pearson

Frank Netherton Lawrence
Helen Maltman Pearson
💍 1914/6071

Bachelor
Spinster

Clerk

25
25

Christchurch
Christchurch

25 years
25 years

Knox Church Christchurch

3608

11 May 1914

Rev. R. Erwin

No	383
Date of Notice	11 May 1914
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Frank Netherton Lawrence	Helen Maltman Pearson
	💍 1914/6071
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Clerk
Age	25	25
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	25 years	25 years
Marriage Place	Knox Church Christchurch
Folio	3608
Consent
Date of Certificate	11 May 1914
Officiating Minister	Rev. R. Erwin

384

11 May 1914

Alexander Hamilton Oates Irvine
Vera Muriel Bright

Alexander Hamilton Oates Irvine
Vera Muriel Bright
💍 1914/5842

Bachelor
Spinster

Motor Agent
Milliner

27
23

Carterton
Papanui

3 years
2 years

St. Paul's Church Papanui

3354

11 May 1914

Rev. W. H. Orbell

No	384
Date of Notice	11 May 1914
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Alexander Hamilton Oates Irvine	Vera Muriel Bright
	💍 1914/5842
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Motor Agent	Milliner
Age	27	23
Dwelling Place	Carterton	Papanui
Length of Residence	3 years	2 years
Marriage Place	St. Paul's Church Papanui
Folio	3354
Consent
Date of Certificate	11 May 1914
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. H. Orbell

385

11 May 1914

Albert John Lilley
Sarah Todd

Albert John Lilley
Sarah Todd
💍 1914/6037

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer

28
32

Christchurch
Christchurch

8 months
2 weeks

Salvation Army Hall, Fitzgerald Ave. Linwood

3597

11 May 1914

Staff. Capt. D. A. Gunn

No	385
Date of Notice	11 May 1914
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Albert John Lilley	Sarah Todd
	💍 1914/6037
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer
Age	28	32
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	8 months	2 weeks
Marriage Place	Salvation Army Hall, Fitzgerald Ave. Linwood
Folio	3597
Consent
Date of Certificate	11 May 1914
Officiating Minister	Staff. Capt. D. A. Gunn

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).