NYC-ROOTS-L Archives

Archiver > NYC-ROOTS > 2000-04 > 0954613280


From: Charles Sullivan <>
Subject: Re: [NYC] Fw: Ages and Dates etc
Date: Sat, 01 Apr 2000 13:21:20 -0500
In-Reply-To: <004601bf9c14$94a0ac20$4264f0d8@default>


Probably because nobody was ever asked for a birth YEAR in those days;
it was always AGE. This of course changed every year, and unless one
celebrated birthdays (which is apparently a relatively recent custom
among the masses), it would have to be calculated or estimated on the
spur of the moment.

Regards,
Charles Sullivan

At 11:57 AM 04/01/2000 -0800, bullydog wrote:
>This might explain why I have March 22, 1875, 1878, 1879, 1882 and 1885 from
>Athlone, Ireland, for my great-grandfather Joseph Coughlin's birth year on
>the US documents I've collected so far.
>The part I don't understand is why he didn't pick one year and stick with
>it. Has anyone else had this problem to this extent? - Mary
>http://www.irishroots.net/
> Ages and Dates etc
>Ages and dates of birth given on records and gravestones are often
>approximate to within ten years either way. In most families a child was
>born every year or so and the exact birth dates of each were seldom
>remembered. As the child got older, its precise year of birth was often
>forgotten, the child grew up without knowing exactly how old he/she was, and
>his/her age was often underestimated. Once a person was visibly old, his/her
>age could often be overestimated. Therefore, an age can generally be taken
>to be correct to within ten years either way. Dates of birth were frequently
>made up upon coming into contact with the first official who required to
>record it.
>
>Often 17th March (St. Patrick's Day, or 4th July (Independence Day) were
>adopted as "birthdays."
>
>.
>
>
>==== NYC-ROOTS Mailing List ====
>NYC-ROOTS list website -
>http://www2.netdoor.com/~cch/lists/NYC-ROOTS.htm


This thread: