Dates and Ages
Birth dates often vary in different records. The dates are usually within one or two years unless a ten year mistake occurs (e.g. 46 instead of 56) or a confusion between numbers occurs. The following numbers are sometimes mis-transcribed.
- “3”, *8”, & “5”
- “1” and “7”
Remember that for many census records, the age is the age on the date of the census. So if they were born in a later month, they may appear to be a year younger than you expect.
Quaker Dates
Quaker dates start from March 1st. Quaker records frequently refer to a month number, such as 8th month. The 8th month would be the 8th month from March 1st.
More recent records may use conventional dating. Also check to see if a date has been converted to a conventional date.