Just been adding up some dates of my great grandparents based on documents found on the internet in an effort to calculate their ages at the time of their deaths. I am hoping a fresh pair or eyes might spot something that is not correct, and/or anyone who is researching the same line that have more accurate details. Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
I have not been able to find an exact birth date for MICHAEL DOLAN of Arm, Ballinapark, Roscommon or his wife MARY ANNE (BROWNE) DOLAN of Brownhill, townland of Lissalway, Roscommon to confirm their correct age at their time of death. The earliest documents are their marriage certificate, dated 10th June 1880, which lists Michael as 26 years old and Mary Anne as 24 years old at that time. If this were correct, and allowing for a year either way depending on a birthday before or after that date, Michael would have been born in 1854 and Mary Anne in 1856 (two years difference in age).(two years difference in age).
In the Census of Ireland taken on the 31st March 1901, both of them were listed as being 40 years of age, indicating that Michael and Mary Anne would have been both born in 1861 (no difference in age).
Ten years later in the Census of Ireland taken on the 2nd April 1911, Michael was listed as 58 years old and Mary Anne as 55 years old. If this were correct, and again allowing for a year either way, Michael would have been born in 1853 and Mary Anne in 1856 (three years difference in age).
In the column “completed years of marriage” they wrote 30 years, which would be 1881, just one year more than the date on their actual marriage certificate. As the marriage certificate is a legal docment and the date registered four days later on the 14th June 1880, it would be fair to say that on the 1911 census form, Michael put 30 years married as a round figure. Their first born child, Peter Dolan, was born in 1881.
The Old Age Pensions Act 1908 introduced a non-contributory pension for ‘eligible’ people aged 70 and over. It came into law in January 1909 in Ireland and as a result, there were a lot of intentional mis-reporting or “age-heaping”, apparently expecting this to help secure an earlier claim for a pension, which certainly accounts for the larger discrepancies in age, and the 6 year increase, as Michael and Mary Anne also took advantage of gaining an allowance once they reached 70, in a time where birth certificates, or documented proof of age, were not required.
When Michael died on the 10th October 1938, he was listed as being 92 years old, which would mean he was born in 1846 and when Mary Anne died on the 14th March 1937 she was listed as 74 years of age on her death certificate, which means she would have been born in 1863, presuming these ages are correct and again allowing for one year. However such details are not always accurate as birth certificates and such documents were not freely available to compare and often the family, or those who were present at death, were never exactly sure of the correct age of their parents and the age on the death certificate was more assumed than exact. The headstone in Castlerea Graveyard bears no age either but the above age gap of 17 years is certainly incorrect.
