Genealogy Chat

Does anyone know how the age on a death certificate is determined? I have a relative whose age changes in every census and is different again on his death certificate. In the 1881 census he was born in 1841, the 1901 census he was born in 1835 and his death record said 1832. Crista

You have to remember that in all 3 instances it was the responsibility of someone to give a year of birth which is never actually verified in any way - hence the muddle. Graham

I guess my question is, "how reliable is the death certificate?" I have found a baptism record for 1830 so I'll have to assume that's the most accurate indicator of his true date of birth. Crista

Crista The only problem could be that a baptism may not have taken place until 2 years after birth. Therefore the baptism and deathe certificate would tally. So I would be inclined to take that date. I have found the ages on census unreliable. I think people didn't pay as much attention to correct age as we do then. Ann Glos

Crista Also remember that the person registered is dead (awww - sorry!) so they cannot verify their own age. It is the person who reports the death who gives the age and other details. They may or may not be closely related. Like the census the age could be a year out depending which month the person died and which month they were born in. Like everything else we need corroborating evidence like birth & marriage certs. Vera, Manchester LAN

Hi Crista, I found the same on my Grandad's death cert. I knew his dob because he and my Gran brought me up, but when he died my Uncle Bill registered the death and guessed (wrongly) his age. Good luck Jim

Crista, Just to make a point about births and baptisms I found this entry in a parish register today. "18 May 1796 Mary daughter of Robert Johnson of Darlington, Weaver, baptised but born 26 January 1785. No reason was asigned for this omission when she was baptised either by her parents or sponsors tho' one was demanded" Beryl Darlington DUR

Don't forget that a lot of priests wouldn't marry people until they had proof of the baptism and it wasn't unknown for the baptism and marriage date to be the same year. Just when you thought it was safe to make an assumption - huh? Graham

Also, somethimes they waited until there were 2 or three children born, and got them all baptised at the same time. So the eldest may sometimes have been about 5 or 6 before they were baptised. Kim

In my experience it was very common for old men to exaggerate their ages, and it's not unusual to find 5 years or more added on towards the end of life. But it's much more unusual to find a man saying he's 40 when he's really 50, as it tends to be hard to reconcile that with the obvious ages of his offspring. You need to find him in the 1841 or 1851 census to verify that you've got the right baptism. Ages of children and young adults can't easily be too far off. Don't forget that if a child died, parents would sometimes use the same name again for a later child. My guess would be you'll probably find the 1881 census age is closest