I have the same problem with ancestors in England and Wales. It's due to the fact of illiteracy rather than rural life. When you think of it...... how could you possibly keep a track of dates? There was only the written word.In England I found a husband gain 2 years on his wife over 10 years. regards,Kevin. > > I was surprised to find wildly differing birthdates for Irish immigrant > ancestors, but Radford and Betit's excellent Genealogist's Guide to Discovering > Your Irish Ancestors said they often didn't know the year they were born. It > just wasn't important in rural Ireland. Radford and Betit said Irish > immigrants sometimes were 5, 10, or 15 years off their actual birth year, although > the day and date were often more accurate. From censuses, tombstones, local > histories, etc. I found birth years for an my Irish ancestors would range from > 9 to 17 years, like 1813 to 1830. When one applied for a Civil War pension, > the pension examiner said he "could not tell his age. We should judge him > 52." Combine that with the fact that they kept using the same first names > over and over (there were five Michael McMahons in a New Hampshire town of 1700 > people), and it's no wonder we have such a hard time finding them. > Robin in Maryland > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to IRL-CORK-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > www.ancestralservices.co.uk ----------------------------------------------------------------- Find the home of your dreams with eircom net property Sign up for email alerts now http://www.eircom.net/propertyalerts