Figuring birth date

[KennyH]

My grandmother's great-great-grandfather has the attached tombstone. I have heard there is something with dates though. Can I just use his age on tombstone and work back? He was born in Ireland according to the census and his death certificate but no birthdate given. Only his age is given.  He died in Castalia, Erie County, Ohio, USA.

Ken Hawk
Ohio and Pennsylvania families:
Buttermore/Bodamer
Zickefoose
Welch
Beatty
McNutt
Michael
Longer
Timmons

[mckha489]

81 years, 1 month  & 3 days. That’s very specific!  I would anticipate you could rely on that being pretty close to the truth.

[Rosinish]

I agree with mckha as many of us have to rely on ages on census' which can be out a good bit.

Annie

[maddys52]

Not sure about Ireland, the only "thing" to be aware of in dates that I am aware of that comes up quite often is the change to beginning of the new year which occurred in 1752 -

"The changeover involved a series of steps:

 -   December 31, 1750 was followed by January 1, 1750 (under the "Old Style" calendar, December was the 10th month and January the 11th)
 -   March 24, 1750 was followed by March 25, 1751 (March 25 was the first day of the "Old Style" year)
 -   December 31, 1751 was followed by January 1, 1752 (the switch from March 25 to January 1 as the first day of the year)
 -   September 2, 1752 was followed by September 14, 1752 (drop of 11 days to conform to the Gregorian calendar)"

But based on the dates on your tombstone, this shouldn't be an issue.

(I also have a tombstone inscription in my tree as detailed as this, though the person was in his 100s.  )

[Maiden Stone]

It's specific anyway.
How did they calculate a month though? 30 days? 4 weeks? The same date the previous month? Results are 3 different dates.

[mckha489]

That’s why I said “pretty close to the truth” as opposed to “accurate”. 

[Guy Etchells]

It could be out by many many years!

What do you know about the tombstone?
Was it erected close to the date of the subject's burial?
What do you know about the stonemason?
Was he known for his accuracy or was he the cheapest around who thought any marker is better than no marker?
What do you know about the person who commissioned the stone?
How well did he or she know the deceased?
How rational was he or she when he or she commisioned the stone?
Did he or she know how old he or she was?
Did he or she or the stonemason consult birth records before calculating the date?

The above are just some of the considerations that could effect the accuracy of the details let alone the date given.
Cheers
Guy

[Andrew Tarr]

It could be out by many many years!

That's being a bit gloomy, Guy    The data given may be erroneous for all sorts of reasons, but all one can do is take it at face value.  Reading the death as 1891, I would subtract 81 years, one month  and 13 days : 7 March 1810 ?

[Guy Etchells]

It could be out by many many years!

That's being a bit gloomy, Guy    The data given may be erroneous for all sorts of reasons, but all one can do is take it at face value.  Reading the death as 1891, I would subtract 81 years, one month  and 13 days : 7 March 1810 ?

I agree, I was giving the worst case scenario. In such instances I would note the birth as cir. 1810 until I found additional evidence of the exact date such as a baptism giving the date of birth.
Cheers
Guy