Dates

[catkin19]

This may be terribly elementary, but how accurate were people in the 19th/early 20th centuries about things like dates of birth etc? I have an ancestor whose d.o.b. varies from 1853 to 1855 depending on which source you're looking at..............clearly they can't all be correct. Maybe it didn't really matter how old people were once they were adult? I think the date of birth on his gravestone is wrong but it was probably put up by in-laws who might have known when his birthday was and roughly his age but not the exact year. any thoughts?

[Mumsie2131]

Overall age wasn't as important to our ancestors as it is to us we need D of B for so many things now - as you say once you were an adult that was all that mattered - although I think sometimes they lied for one reason or another, knew they'd lied but couldn't remember what they'd said. !!!!!!!

[Nick29]

You also have to appreciate that many couldn't read or write, and when something doesn't get written down, it's liable to be forgotten or changed.

[c-side]

You're also right about gravestone dates - or dates on any other death record for that matter.  Ages and dates were (and still are) provided by family/friend who may not know the exact information.

Christine