I am having a problem with establishing a birth date for my gggrandfather (John Thomas Mellor) who lived in Jersey City Heights until shortly before his death in 1901. All the records here (death certificate, obituaries, tombstone) indicate he was born in England in 1820. However, records in England indicate that 1820 is the birth date of his father and that he was born in 1837. Was it common practice for someone coming to the US to change their date of birth to appear older, and for what purpose? Using 1837 instead of 1820 would mean he was 17 when my ggrandmother was born and 11 years younger than his wife - not impossible, of course, but.... Wendy Schmoyer