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FAUST FAMILY TREE
The state of
Pennsylvania is holding two unclaimed life insurance
policies for the descendents of
Nora Faust, born late
1800's. One is a Metropolitan Life policy; I don't know
what the other is or the amounts. The information is
online at the Pennsylvania Treasurer's website under unclaimed
property listings.
Historical
Notes: Calendars and their History
The following
article was written and donated by Lee I. Reber of Las Vegas,
Nevada, to shed light on the question of calendar years in
genealogies. It attempts to explain why you see dates
written as 1619/20, as well as other discrepancies found in old
European dates.
Historical
Note:
At
times, when researching multiple sources in the first half of
the 18th century, a difference of 10 or 11 days will be observed
between two records of the same event, and sometimes even the
year will be uncertain. These differences are caused by the
change over from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar. The
German Protestant states adopted the Gregorian calendar in
1699/1700, and the immigrants probably brought their calendar
with them, but England and the colonies did not make the change
until 1752. (The day after 2 Sept was 14 Sept in 1752.) Thus,
the two calendars were probably in use simultaneously in the
German areas of PA in the 1st half of the 18th century.
To
make matters worse, New Years Day also changed from March 25th
to Jan 1st. (For example, the Julian calendar marked the new
year by advancing from March 24th, 1750 to March 25th, 1751.)
Thus, Elizabeth Weber’s [1] birthday is given as Feb 1742/43,
most likely indicating she was born in 1742 according to the
Julian calendar and 1743 according to the Gregorian, with the
day of the month lost in the confusion and, thus, even the month
in doubt. It follows that the people who were born in PA in the
first half of the 18th century and lived to a ripe old age could
not have known accurately their birth date (year, in some cases;
month, in others) unless the type of calendar used to mark their
birth was also recorded.
For
another example, and the one which led to this investigation,
Maria Eva Bast's [2] date of baptism is listed as 15 Feb 1751 in
one record, 25 Feb 1751 in another. If the difference is caused
by the use of the two calendars, the difference ought to be
eleven days instead of ten, and the year should be uncertain in
addition. To illustrate, it seems the date ought to be 15 Feb
1751 (Julian) or 25 Feb 1752 (Gregorian), ignoring the
discrepancy of one day. However, several other conclusions are
possible, so this is one date which will never be resolved with
certainty.
Out
of curiosity, searches were performed on the CD, 'Birth Index
for Southeastern PA' (aka Humphrey), for children born or
baptized on 'the days that never were'. An example or examples
were found for every day except the 5th and 10th of Sept, 1752.
These findings reinforce the contention that dates prior to 1753
should viewed as being rather 'rubbery' because we have no idea
which calendar the recorder was using unless it was an official,
colonial record.
Conceptually,
for the immigrants born in Germany after 1700 who died in PA
after 1753, there should be no difficulty concerning dates
because both places were using the Gregorian calendar at the
time of the events. However, it appears the confusion caused by
the change over was so universal that even these people were
impacted.
In
conclusion, the evidence indicates that both calendars were in
use in PA in the early 1700s so dates for that period must be
accepted with an open mind. The actual period of time, as it
concerns us, can be narrowed further from about 1710 to 1760,
the period of greatest immigration for our ancestors. After
being born and reared under the Gregorian calendar, it seems
natural that they continued to use it following immigration, at
least in some cases. At the same time, though, the official
colonial records were kept using the Julian calendar until Sept
1752. The differences between the two calendars are not trivial
and should be kept in mind when pondering the mysteries
surrounding the dates of some events prior to 1753, and it now
appears (in 2003) that this note of caution inexplicably applies
even to earlier centuries when all of Christendom was using the
Julian calendar.
[1]
The wife of George Reber, the oldest son of Johann Leonhardt
Reber.
[2]
The wife of Adam Reber, the second son of Johann Leonhardt Reber.
Lee I. Reber, Las Vegas, NV
Native of Schuylkill Haven, PA9
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This page last updated
22 July 2008
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