[Ger-Poland-Volhynia] KRUGER - HUFF (Gulewo)

[Greg Mason]

on 12/19/01 9:51 AM, John Marsch at jmarsch at t2.net wrote:

> To add to Jerry's comments, it has been my experience that our
> ancestors were pretty cavalier about the accuracy of dates even with their
> own age and  wedding anniversaries.
> I base this observation primarily from Polish records I am presently
> preparing for the SGGEE Research Database where the recorded age of an
> individual can vary up 6 or 8 years from one event to another.  Probably the
> most accurate and dependable date, as Jerry points out,  is a birth date on
> the original record, assuming it has been recorded within a span of a few
> days of the actual event.
> 
> John Marsch
> 
> ---------------------------------------
> 
>> At 07:47 PM 18/12/2001 -0700, you wrote:
>>> I am somewhat puzzled over a birthdate I show for Augustyne Kruger born in
>>> Bycz - November 15, 1861.
>>> The information I received from the SGGEE ged shows a birth date of
> December
>>> 9, 1861.  Would this be a baptism date?
>> 
>> As Rose suggested, you need to look at the original record.  And perhaps
>> you need to question the source for both dates.  For example, parts of the
>> SGGEE ged are from extractions while other parts are from data submitted by
>> other members.  Similarly, did the Nov 15 date come from a record or from
>> family practice.
>> 
>> The rule of thumb is, the closer you get to the original date with a
>> written record, the more accurate it is likely to be.  So a birth date on
>> an infant baptism record is likely to be more accurate than one on a
>> wedding record.  A birth date recorded in a diary the day after a birth is
>> likely to be more accurate than the civil registration record created a
>> couple of weeks later.  And so on.
>> 
>> The difference in dates is too great in this case but another factor might
>> be the Gregorian calender vs. Julian.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Jerry Frank - Calgary, Alberta
>> jkfrank at shaw.ca
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Another addition to John's and Jerry's comments, both of which I agree with:

In researching Polish parish records I have experienced two other situations
which may contribute to the discrepancy:  The subjects and/or the parents of
the subject, may not have been literate in Polish, hence they didn't know
what was recorded.  Additionally, many of the relatives I have been
researching lived in remote villages in which the recordings were made at
the parish church whenever the Pastor happened to visit.  This could be
weeks or months after the event. This problem with dates, etc, is an
interesting situation, to which there is no concrete answer.  Best wishes on
solving your question.  Greg Mason