Author Topic: Confused by dates when year started in March in early 18th Century  (Read 665 times)

Offline JanPennington

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Confused by dates when year started in March in early 18th Century
« on: Monday 07 January 19 14:01 GMT (UK) »
Hi
I understand about the changing of beginning of the year from March to January 1st and using notations such as 14 Mar1730/31 to indicate that at the time a record was written it would have been the last few months of 1730 but according to current ideas we call would call it 1731.
But....
I have found an ancestor in a tree I am researching and Find My Past gives his baptism date as 19 Feb 1727 as this a transcription and I haven't yet found an image from the parish register I am not sure whether this date is old style or new style.
Today on peerage.com I found this gentleman and his date of birth is given as 17 Feb 1729.  I am pretty certain it the same person as other family members and dates match.  Also family stories suggest they were descended from Robert II of Scotland and this man is from that line.
He is Rev George Lyon born in Blairgowrie, Perthshire.
Any suggestions please
Jan
Tomlinson, Gash, Faulkner, Dickinson, Dawson - Lincolnshire
Toms, Street, Witt, Harris, Foot(e) - Hampshire

Offline ColC

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Re: Confused by dates when year started in March in early 18th Century
« Reply #1 on: Monday 07 January 19 14:16 GMT (UK) »
You can see the original record on Scotlands People.

GEORGE LYON
JAMES LYON/ALISONE GILLESPY
19/02/1727 Blairgowrie

Colin
Clarke, Trickett, Orton, Lawless, Norton, Detheridge, Kirby, Goodfellow, Wagstaff, Lowe, etc.

Offline JenB

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Re: Confused by dates when year started in March in early 18th Century
« Reply #2 on: Monday 07 January 19 14:29 GMT (UK) »
I have found an ancestor in a tree I am researching and Find My Past gives his baptism date as 19 Feb 1727 as this a transcription and I haven't yet found an image from the parish register I am not sure whether this date is old style or new style.

It seems that in Scotland the change to the Gregorian Calendar took place in 1600, by order of James VI
https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/research/record-guides/old-parish-registers/change-in-calendar

This being a Scottish record you could assume that this is a 'new style' date.
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Offline JanPennington

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Re: Confused by dates when year started in March in early 18th Century
« Reply #3 on: Monday 07 January 19 17:24 GMT (UK) »
Thank you both for your input - I will have to put some money on my Scotlands People account and look for the parish record.
So if the year started on January 1 in Scotland since 1600 -( must have been confusing for people travelling between Scotland and England)  I wonder where The Peerage got a date of birth in 1729?  Possibly a badly written record somewhere or was someone giving the wrong year deliberately or by mistake..  Still some work for me to do.
Jan
Tomlinson, Gash, Faulkner, Dickinson, Dawson - Lincolnshire
Toms, Street, Witt, Harris, Foot(e) - Hampshire