This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: thoraway Surnames: Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.scan-balt.norway.counties.oppland/3321.1.1.3.1.1.2/mb.ashx Message Board Post: Allan, I would not assume they "lied". The birth years as calculated from each entry could leave you with approximate birth years from 1812-1814 for him and from 1814-1817 for her. Depending on what day of the year you ask me how old I am you'll get different answers too. April 8th I have one answer - April 10th I have another -- both correct. Also some years I don't seem to accurately remember how old I am, some numbers just didn't stick in my mind. So answers within a year or two either way seem quite reasonable. If my birth record were online (it is not) and you knew WHERE to look it would narrow down the search to a reasonable time period and a limited number of pages to search through. Same for the rural areas of Norway - much more challenging in the larger cities. It would only be difficult to find the birth records if - - the parish were very very large and had many many records for each year; - there happened to be quite a few babies given the same name in that parish in that time span; or - if the handwriting is just plain awful. I really am trying to encourage you to try these things for yourself. It can take some study and some practice but the rewards are HUGE! Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.