|
Pages: [1]
|
 |
|
Author
|
Topic: Getting the year right pre-1752 (Read 200 times)
|
clickaway
RootsChat Member
 Offline
Posts: 143
|
In about 1751 or 1752, New Year's Day changed from March 25 to January 1.
I feel that has given confusion in parish register records published on the net.
The registers then were headed with a year, and then each individual entry the month and date, and there were generally listed from January to December - nothing special there!
But I have across examples where I have been given a year, and when I've checked the parish register its a year out!
So if I see a list of entries all under 1745 say, are the ones between January 1 and March 24 in the 'old' year or do they relate to what we'd now call 1746 - the new year? I'm assuming here that they're written from January to December.
I've also come across records for say 1731 which go from March 25 to March 24. In this case I assume a January entry we would transcribe as 1732?
Ray
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
Wiseman (Norfolk, London, Canada), Henderson (Manitoba, Canada) Crook (S. Devon, London, Ireland), Laskey (S. Devon and London), Richardson (Saffron Walden and London), Hall (Plymouth and Norfolk), Curd (Herts., London), Pettit, Pettitt, (all areas), Splatt (Devon, London, Surrey), East (Hertfordshire), Andrew (Herts.), Cluff (London), Nash (London), Plymley (Herts.), Packer (London), Leak (Norfolk), Allen (Norfolk)
|
|
|
Boongie Pam
Global Moderator
RootsChat Aristocrat
 Online
Posts: 2459
Lilian Palmer 1923 to 1987
|
Hiya Ray,
Here's a good little blurb on the calender change, though it is mainly about Scotland that didn't have the change as they were on the Gregorian since 1600.
http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/grosweb/grosweb.nsf/pages/opr
I don't think there is any unifying protocol followed when transcribing so some indexes may have adjusted the year from the Julian to the Gregorian. Ideally they should be the same as the record.
Pam
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
All census look up transcriptions are Crown Copyright
~~~~~~~~~~~
Dumfrieshire: Fallen, Fallon, Carruthers, Scott, Farish, Aitchison, Green, Ryecroft, Thomson, Stewart
Midlothian: Linn/d, Aitken, Martin
North Wales: Robins(on), Hughes, Parry, Jones
Cumberland: Lowther, Young, Steward, Miller
Somerset: Palmer, Cork, Greedy, Clothier
|
|
|
Chris in 1066Land
Global Moderator
RootsChat Marquessate
Offline
Posts: 5673
"Forever Searching, Forever Learning"
|
Hi there clickaway
I quite agree with you - pre 1751 register transcriptions on the net should have a note on them stating that the year went from 25th March to 24th March, NOT Jan to December as at present.
Just to explain this, up to 1751:
GREGORIAN / JULIAN CALENDARS
England – Old Style Julian Calendar
Continent – New Style Gregorian Calendar (1582)
+ Scotland in 1600
Old Style Calendar started on 25th March each year not 1st Jan –
“which is why a baby can be born in November and baptised in February the same year”. - Old Style Calendar out by 11 days in 1751
Chesterfield’s Act of 1751 corrected this
1750 commenced 25 March 1750 – ended 24 March 1750/1
1751 commenced 25 March 1751 – ended 31 December 1751
1752 commenced 1 January 1752 – 31st December 1752
with 11 September Days Missing.
Where I do research that takes me back before 1752, I always make a point of stressing the year change - but it is not made evident in some transcription work that is on the net
Chris in 1066Land
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
Little Nell
Global Moderator
RootsChat Marquessate
Offline
Posts: 6072
|
Clickaway,
It sure is difficult - it doesn't help when individual clerics do different things. I have found that some had already switched to the Gregorian calendar pre 1752 (not in Scotland) and started the year on 1 January, but just up the road, they were still on the Julian calendar. I always make it a task to check when looking at registers of this period and note it down in my research notes. It doesn't make life easy for us now if transcribers do not make it clear what they have done.
As with all secondary sources, whether it be a transcription in a library or an index on the net, check with the original just to be sure.
I've just realised - we're all singing from the same hymn sheet - pity our ancestors were not 
Nell
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
Nick Carver
RootsChat Aristocrat
Offline
Posts: 1246
|
I have transcribed our parish registers and was instructed to transcribe 'as is'. That is to say, a record for January 1730 follows records for December 1730. I think the theory is that people reading the transcription are aware of the reasons why this is done and that to unilaterally decide to use the year as we would today will lead to confusion. You can see the point, even if it doesn't make life easy for those of us that are new to this genealogical game.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
E Yorks - Carver, Steels, Cross, Maltby, Whiting, Moor, Laybourn
W Yorks - Wilkinson, Kershaw, Rawnsley, Shaw
Norfolk - Carver, Dowson
Cheshire - Berry, Cooper
Lincs - Berry
London/Ireland/Scotland/Lincs - Sullivan
Northumberland/Durham - Nicholson, Cuthbert, Turner, Robertson
Berks - May
Beds - Brownell
|
|
|
|
|
|
Pages: [1]
|
|
|
|
|
