Because there are so many instances where there is not a corresponding record for a birth, death or marriage date — either due to them being prior to 1809, he year in question is lost (1811), or perhaps there is a mistaken/variant in naming that makes it impossible to determine parentage, the following conventions are used.
- When a person is identified by a single record; the date is referenced as Abt. YYYY; for example Abt 1845
- When a person is identified by multiple records that have differing dates, or in the case of a death where record are missing, the date is referenced as Bet. YYYY – YYYY; for exampel Bet. 1775-1782
- When record identifies someone as dead but there is no corresponding record, the date is referenced as Bef. YYYY; for example Giuseppe Amato’s wife Rosaria Vernaglia predeceased him. He died in 1810, so her death record would be noted Bef. 1810
The 18 and 100 year rules
While there are many instances of marriages between minors or between an adult and a minor, I have chosen the convention of 18 years old for marriage. This manifests itself in how many of the birth and marriage dates are noted for people alive in the 1700s.
For example: Giuseppe Amato was born between 1777 and 1782. Applying the 18 year rule would make his parents birth dates as Bef. 1759 (18 years earlier than the earliest birth date) and their marriage Bef 1777; the year of the earliest birth date. The oldest child is always used in these calculations.
The 100 year rule comes into play with deaths. Because we do not display living people publicly, and privately only if there is demonstrable evidence that a particular user directly related, we assume that 100 years is a reasonable lifespan to assume. It won’t be perfect, but it’ll catch most.