Because I posted the above note about dates, I thought I might as well include below a little more about dates which will be included in a revision to my memo.
Dates in England prior to 1752 can be confusing and ambiguous. See the Lancashire Online Parish Clerks Project:
"Prior to 1752, the Julian calendar was in use in England. In this calendar, the new year began on 25 March each year, so 31 Dec would be followed by 1 Jan of the same year, and 24 Mar would be followed by 25 Mar the following year. This applied up to 31 Dec 1751, after which the Gregorian calendar was adopted. 31 Dec 1751 was followed by 1 Jan 1752."
To solve this problem, the Lancashire Online Parish Clerks Project uses a dual date for the period from 1 January to 24 March of each year:
"To avoid any ambiguity, we record dates between 1 Jan and 24 Mar of each year prior to 1752 as dual dates. So for example, 31 Dec 1746 is followed by 1 Jan 1746/7, 2 Jan 1746/7 and so on until 24 Mar 1746/7, then 25 Mar 1747."
The Alumni Cantabrigienses used a similar system but said:
"Sometimes, however, this is not possible, and then we have to leave the exact date ambiguous. Thus, when any one is said, in these volumes, to have died 'Feb. 15, 1615,' it is meant that we simply do not know whether this should stand 1614-5, or 1615-6. A number of these puzzles have been left us, the Dictionary of National Biography itself being a not-infrequent offender."
In addition, determining what year written in a church record was actually intended can also pose issues. The Lancashire Online Parish Clerks Project describes the problem as follows:
"Sometimes the minister would not record the change of year correctly, forgetting to do it until a few days later. The information presented on our website will normally reflect the change of year at the point where it should have occurred, not necessarily where the minister wrote it."
And, the Alumni Cantabrigienses said:
"The principal difficulty one has to face is this. In taking a date, from an ordinary history of the popular kind, we often do not know what the author means. Has he simply copied some contemporary record — parish register, tombstone, etc. — or has he tacitly substituted the modem reckoning? Wherever we can determine which he has done we have substituted the double date in order to avoid confusion."
Finally, the CCEd Clergy of the Church of England Database displays only a single year in its dates and does not explain whether that is the actual date shown in the historical record or whether it has been adjusted from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar.
The foregoing issues suggest viewing all dates from this period with extra caution.
Ordination as a Deacon and Priest. The Church of England's records for Rev. Richard Denton appear under his given name Richard (CCEd Person ID: 33942), but also under the given name “Roger” (CCEd Person ID 134825), and both entries must be viewed to see all of his records. The reason for this error in names is not clear. While Rev. Denton's record under the name Richard indicates that he was ordained as a deacon at Peterborough Cathederal on 9 March 1622, his record under the name Roger indicates he was ordained a deacon on 9 March 1623.
The Church of England's records also indicate that Rev. Richard Denton was ordained as a Priest on 8 June 1623. But Rev. Denton's record in Venn's Alumni Cantabrigienses indicates that he received his B.A. degree from Cambridge in “1623/4”. Venn's notation of the year as “1623/4” suggests that the degree was awarded in 1624 under the Gregorian calendar. Typically, a university degree was required for ordination as a priest and one year would pass between ordination as a deacon and ordination as a priest.
Problem with this page?
Geni member
Geni Pro
Geni Pro
Geni member
Geni member
Geni member
Geni member
Geni member