09 December 2014

Age on a Date?

If your ancestor states that he is aged 60 on 2 April 1900, that doesn't mean he was born in 1840.

Someone who says he was 60 on 2 April could have:

  • just turned 60 on 2 April, making his date of birth 2 April 1840
  • getting ready to turn 61 on 3 April, making his date of birth 3 April 1839.
Or anywhere in between.

That is assuming an age of 60 on 2 April 1900 was correct.

The accuracy of his age is another story altogether.

2 comments:

  1. MarkDecember 9, 2014 at 10:00 AM

    Excellent "tip of the day". Finding the correct birth date can help narrow down the exact age. You're correct that they might just be getting ready to turn a year old on the date after you met with them.

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  2. AnonymousDecember 9, 2014 at 4:29 PM

    Be aware that FamilySearch subtracts the age given in the census from the census year to calculate the birth year. Wish all the census forms were as in 1900 when it asked Month and Year of birth!

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