Genealogy Chat

I have just recieved my Gt Nan's Birth Certificate and her age does not match up to her Marriage Certificate, its out by a year. I'm certain this is my Gt Nan as I've searched for other Lilian May Bassetts born 1892, her Dads name matches to the Marraige Cert. Could the ages be out or is she not my Gt Nan?

It's very common for names to be incorrect on certificates - one of my grt grandfathers chopped 10 years off his age when he married his second, and much younger, wife!! Sometimes it wasn't done purposely, though.

The ages could easily be 'out'. Does the mother's name on the birth cert match the one with the family in 1901? Reg

Yes her Mothers name matches up a s well.

One of the first things you learn about tracing ancestors is that they lied about their ages - or just didn't keep track. My great grandfather was 8, 15, 24, 40 and 46 on successive censuses and not one of these ages was correct. Andrew.

Another thing, when the age is out specifically by one year and the person is saying they are one year older than you know them to be.........It was very common to describe your age as ''in my 25th year'' or ''in the 25th year of my age''......therefore the person was 24 in our eyes, but 25 would be written. Of course, sometimes people said they were over 21 when they were not, for the purposes of marriage! Merry

Silly thought Barbara - she didn't get married that year before her birthday did she - i.e. it would then say 24 not 25???????? Just a thought. Looby

Just to be different, I've got one who's age is given as 20 when he was actually 21 (and only a month before his 22nd birthday). Given the issue about parental consent, you'd think he'd know, wouldn't you. It looks like both parents were deceased by then, so presumably no one to ask anyway. So why didn't he just say he was 21?

If there was no one to ask and the person declared they were under 21, then they had to go to court for permission. As you say, why not just lie? (esp when it wasn't a lie ! LOL) Merry

Merry, precisely! It was by banns. There is nothing on the cert about 'with the consent of parents' I tend to think he probably DID say 21 but it was written down incorrectly, and he didn't notice.