Seems like I read recently on this list that someone found the age of an ancestor from a stone and it was written in year, months and days old. Found this information today on a research page. Hope it helps someone. Barb Thomas bthomas@wport.com Association of Gravestone Studies http://www.berkshire.net/ags/ To ascertain a birth date from a tombstone: e.g. (d. May 6, 1889, aged 71 years, 7 months, 9 days) Use the 8870 system:Write date as 18890506(for died 1889, 05th month, 06th day)& subtract 710709 (for 71 years, 07 months, 09 days) 18890506 - 710709 = 18189797 - 8870 = 18170927 Answer: means born 1817, 09th month, 27th day