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Dates - This Post
Family History Learning Moment
by Michael W. Dindinger, via email on 3 May 2020
Dates
OLD RULE -- The terms, “Infant,” “Child,” or “Deceased.” are acceptable entries in a death date field, if a death date is unknown. Use the code “Infant” for a stillborn. Use “Infant” for a young individual from birth to age 3. Use “Child” for someone aged 3-8. Use the code “Deceased” for anyone older than age 8, if you have no clue about the death date. Explain the circumstances and your reasoning in the research notes field. Document in the source field.
I DO NOT USE THIS RULE anymore. An example is that a ‘stillborn’ in this country is defined different than Europe where a stillborn can be up to three years old. It’s best to leave the entry blank and make note of your feelings in your notes for someone to better understand your actions. Rules are only as good as the majority of people are actually using the rules – best to ‘standardize’ just how you want to define your actions and then be consistent.
Back to Names
Back to Places
Dates - This Post
Family History Learning Momentby Michael W. Dindinger, via email on 3 May 2020
Dates
- The most readable and reliable format for presenting dates is day, month, year; this style is least likely to create confusion when entering, matching, or merging data.
- Some systems abbreviate months as: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec without a period. Enter days with double digits and present four digits for the year. I do not recommend using any abbreviations when possible.
- The older systems used the following - If a baptismal date is entered into the birth date field because an actual birth record is not available, then precede the date with a code of “bap” or “chr.” Explain this in the research notes field. Document the date in the source field. I now have come around with again no abbreviations and using my notes a lot for explaining my actions.
- Some software’s have a designated field for recording a baptismal or christening date. It is not necessary to code baptismal or christening dates when entered into a designated baptismal field or christening field. This is the best way. ·
OLD RULE -- The terms, “Infant,” “Child,” or “Deceased.” are acceptable entries in a death date field, if a death date is unknown. Use the code “Infant” for a stillborn. Use “Infant” for a young individual from birth to age 3. Use “Child” for someone aged 3-8. Use the code “Deceased” for anyone older than age 8, if you have no clue about the death date. Explain the circumstances and your reasoning in the research notes field. Document in the source field.
I DO NOT USE THIS RULE anymore. An example is that a ‘stillborn’ in this country is defined different than Europe where a stillborn can be up to three years old. It’s best to leave the entry blank and make note of your feelings in your notes for someone to better understand your actions. Rules are only as good as the majority of people are actually using the rules – best to ‘standardize’ just how you want to define your actions and then be consistent.
