If a gravestone says that a person died in the 30th year of his age, how old was the person? Since a person's first year is before they reach one year old, then during a person's 30th year they should only be age 29. I am wondering how this has been applied in the past when stones were carved. Today I saw a stone on the internet that said that the person died "IN HIS 87. YEAR". I know for a fact that he was 87 when he died. If a stone said that a person was 50 years old, that is not being questioned in this email. If it says, "in his 50th year" or "in the 50th year of her age", then I don't know the intended meaning. Does anyone know of cases in which the person's real age was one less than the number shown on the stone? Cliff Lamere