When I first started my family history research,
I quickly ran into some older date notations I didn’t understand. They were listed as two years instead of one. For example, I would see a birth listed as 21
January 1680/1. I had no clue what that
meant, and no one to ask.
I did, however, have the Internet and I assumed
that I would only be one of many amateurs who were confused by this, so I
looked at Ancestry.com, at the New England Historic Genealogical Society
website (AmericanAncestors.com) and other genealogy sites, thinking this would
surely be addressed in their FAQ section or on some “basics of research”
page. I was wrong – I could not find any
such explanation anywhere.
One depiction of a multi-year date from a Robert Hicks sketch. |
Another depiction from a William Mann sketch. |