Saturday I was at a cemetery in Lewes Del. There was a tombstone there with the persons date of birth as February 30 ,1760. Was that a legitimate date at one time? I know that there was some sort of thing that happened with the calendar when it was changed from Julian to Gregorian ?? but I don't think it would have resulted in something like this . I am pretty sure this date was a goof . Can anyone enlighten me on this? Thanks, Bill Neville

February 30 has happened only three times in human history - in Sweden, in the year 1712; Finland, which at that time was part of Sweden; the Soviet Union, who declared that every month had 30 days and the remaining 5 or 6 days were monthless holidays. The Swedish/Finland thing had to do with the change from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar. That date corresponded to the Julian calendar February 29 and the Gregorian calender March 11. The Swedes finally changed over to the Gregorian calendar in 1753. So, to answer your question, the headstone is wrong. Maybe it's a replaced stone and someone misread the date. Carolyn Cooper ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bill Neville" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, June 21, 2004 4:46 AM Subject: [SC] FEBURARY 30TH. > Saturday I was at a cemetery in Lewes Del. There was a tombstone there with the persons date of birth as February 30 ,1760. Was that a legitimate date at one time? I know that there was some sort of thing that happened with the calendar when it was changed from Julian to Gregorian ?? but I don't think it would have resulted in something like this . I am pretty sure this date was a goof . Can anyone enlighten me on this? > > Thanks, > Bill Neville > > > ==== SCROOTS Mailing List ==== > SCRoots Message Archives > http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/SCROOTS > > ============================== > Gain access to over two billion names including the new Immigration > Collection with an Ancestry.com free trial. Click to learn more. > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=4930&sourceid=1237 > >

If I may add my 2 cents worth: Maybe not; you need to remember that Delaware was settled by Swedes and was under Swedish rule from 1638 to 1655, when the Dutch took it over. (Resulting in a power struggle between the Dutch and English, until the latter finally established their claim to the colony.) Swedish Lutheran colonists built Fort Christina, near Wilmington in 1638. Although it never contained more than 200 people, it became the first permanent European settlement in Delaware. Maybe it was just a matter of a latter day immigrant from Sweden adhering to the "old" calendar that they were used to? JIM MOORE ----- Original Message ----- From: "Carolyn Cooper" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, June 21, 2004 7:55 PM Subject: Re: [SC] FEBURARY 30TH. > February 30 has happened only three times in human history - in Sweden, in > the year 1712; Finland, which at that time was part of Sweden; the Soviet > Union, who declared that every month had 30 days and the remaining 5 or 6 > days were monthless holidays. The Swedish/Finland thing had to do with the > change from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar. That date > corresponded to the Julian calendar February 29 and the Gregorian calender > March 11. The Swedes finally changed over to the Gregorian calendar in > 1753. So, to answer your question, the headstone is wrong. Maybe it's a > replaced stone and someone misread the date. > > Carolyn Cooper > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Bill Neville" <[email protected]> > To: <[email protected]> > Sent: Monday, June 21, 2004 4:46 AM > Subject: [SC] FEBURARY 30TH. > > > > Saturday I was at a cemetery in Lewes Del. There was a tombstone there > with the persons date of birth as February 30 ,1760. Was that a legitimate > date at one time? I know that there was some sort of thing that happened > with the calendar when it was changed from Julian to Gregorian ?? but I > don't think it would have resulted in something like this . I am pretty sure > this date was a goof . Can anyone enlighten me on this? > > > > > Thanks, > > > Bill Neville > > > > > > ==== SCROOTS Mailing List ==== > > SCRoots Message Archives > > http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/SCROOTS > > > > ============================== > > Gain access to over two billion names including the new Immigration > > Collection with an Ancestry.com free trial. Click to learn more. > > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=4930&sourceid=1237 > > > > > > > > ==== SCROOTS Mailing List ==== > SC Archives: http://www.state.sc.us/scdah/ > > ============================== > You can manage your RootsWeb-Review subscription from > http://newsletters.rootsweb.com/ > >