Hello, Is there any way to calculate the approximate year of birth from the confirmation date of a child? I am speaking about an established Swiss German family, the SHOWMANs, of Old Frederick/Shenandoah county. A daughter, Elisabetha SCHAUMANN is shown to be confirmed at the Reformed Zion-Pine Church near Edinburgh on 24 Sep 1796, and admitted into communion the following day. This family was associated with the Zion-Pine Church (both the Reformed and Lutheran "sides"!) for several years, so can I assume they followed any sort of traditional dates for confirmation, and thereby figure the approximate birthyear? I have been told that the church records were kept in High (literary) German, hence Schaumann in records and Showman in popular use. I would naturally welcome, and share, any additional information about Elizabeth SHOWMAN, and other Swiss German families associated with the Showman line: KAUFFMANN, ZEIGLER, RINKER, FADELY/FA"DELE/FADLEY, HALLER/HOLLAR, and STONEBURNER/STEINBRENNER. Alternate spellings for Showman (originally from PA by way of MD) include: SHOEMAN, SHUMAN, SHOMAN, and later SHERMAN. Thanks, Rick - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - John Richard (Rick) Carpenter, Jr. Sam Houston Press, Sam Houston State University 409.294.1856 Huntsville TX 77341-2326 gra_jrc@shsu.edu ==== OLD-FREDERICK-CO-VA Mailing List ==== Visit the Frederick County,VA USGenWeb Home Page! http://www.rootsweb.com/~vafreder/frederic.htm