Greetings Listers I've just read, on an Internet site, a query about a family with the first child baptised on 16 Mar 1678. The respondent found the parents' marriage on 9 Dec 1678 and added the comment that 'the baptism is before the parents married'. Those who know about the earlier calendar will know that this is not so! 16 March 1678 is a tad over three months AFTER 9 Dec 1678 as the year went from 25th March to 24th March. The Calendar as we know it came into force in England on 1 Jan 1752, with that day being New Year's Day. Before that, 25th March was New Year's Day (if such was celebrated at that time). From this it can be seen that 1751 was only a bit over 9 months long. Dates like 16 Mar 1678 are often written 16 Mar 1678(9), indicating it was, for example, 1678 at the time but 1679 'new style' ie as we have it now. I hope this makes sense and can help a bit. There's a lot more to all this that someone may be able to add. Pam Australia.