Why Are Ages Inconsistent in Polish Records?

Birth records

When registering a birth, there was generally no requirement that the father prove his age or his wife’s age. Therefore, the ages recorded for the parents in a birth record might be off by five or more years.

Marriage records

When getting married, the bride and the groom usually proved their ages by providing copies of their birth records. Therefore, the ages recorded for the bride and groom in a marriage record can generally be assumed to be accurate unless one of them was unable to provide a birth record. (Read about cases in which a birth record is not available.)

Death records

The age of the deceased might be quite inaccurate, especially when a person dies at an advanced age or when the witnesses listed on the document are not family members and do not know the deceased personally.

Books of permanent residents

An exact date of birth is usually listed for each person in a book of permanent residents. These dates are nearly always accurate because they are based either on birth and marriage records in that town (and likely stored in the same room!) or on birth and marriage records sent from another town. If the person was not able to prove his or her exact date of birth, then only a year was listed, and that year might not be accurate. (Read about cases in which a birth record is not available.)

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