The Math Can be Tricky

Unless you are a math whiz, which I am not, don’t be afraid to use a calculator on this step.  Especially since you are switching the ages to date ranges, it can be confusing.  On the children, often you will only have two or maybe three decades to compare.  If you don’t have any names, remember that a person will get ten years older with each census. 

Next, compare the dates to find their age range and put that in the last column.  Find the latest date they could have been born in the first part of the range, which in this case is 1775, and the earliest date in the second part of the range, which in this case is 1780. 

	1800	1810	1820	1830	1840	Range
Head
Spouse	1775-1794	1766-1784	1775-	1771-1780	1771-1780	1775-1780
Child 1
Child 2
Child 3

Doing this can narrow the age range of each person in their home from up to 20 years to within 5 years.  Now when you continue your research on this family, you will have a pretty accurate idea of the age of the family members.

Gathering the Pieces

Will this enable you to break through any brick walls?  Probably not.  Think of it as another piece of the puzzle that will tell you about your ancestors.  If you’ve done much research in this time period, you know that puzzle pieces can be hard to find.

Legal Ages

While you’re doing your further research, keep other age-related details in mind.  In this time period, twenty-one was the legal age for most areas.  Before that age they could not own property, pay taxes, and most men did not marry before twenty-one or even a few years later.  If one year a son shows up on the tax rolls next to his father, it could mean he recently turned twenty-one.  Likewise, most areas required a parent’s permission if a woman married below the age of eighteen.

These graphs can be confusing at first, but be patient and you’ll get the hang of them.  We’ll be glad to complete the graph and research for you. Just drop us a line today!