My grandfather's birthdate on records does not match what his second wife sa

Question:So in your opinion, would you use the U.S. military records and Social Security Death Index or would you listen to the second wife?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: So in your opinion, would you use the U.S. military records and Social Security Death Index or would you listen to the second wife?

This is just classic genealogy. While you have specifics - talking about a birth date, having specific types of records - it really is applicable to just about every piece of information you get for anyone.

Any record is susceptable to mistakes. ANY record. On my own birth certificate, my father's middle name is misspelled and the first person to catch this was my wife when I was in my 30s. There certainly can be errors (either intentional - as some pointed out, people lied about their age for many reasons - or just simple mistakes). That this is just a single day difference, you are probably never going to know for sure.

And it is very possible your grandfather didn't even know for sure. Birth date just wasn't that big of a deal prior to the 1940/50s. There really weren't birthday parties, etc. And except for certain legal documents, and even those were few, there really was no great use of birth dates.

Unless one of the two possible days is some UNIQUE day, i.e., Dec 31 vice Jan 1, or one of the dates is a national holiday, etc. I would really suspect even your grandfather wasn't that certain.

Probably your best source of information would be something filled out by your grandfather himself for which the one day age difference didn't matter. A draft REGISTRATION card, for example, or application for Social Security Number (you can actually get a copy of this application from the Social Security Administration). Anything that is recorded (or remembered) by another would be less likely to be correct.

But as a genealogist, this is common, for any fact. What you do is DOCUMENT. Keep a record of what you found and where you found it. If there are birth date discrepancies, what sources give one date and what sources give a different date. That's what you do as genealogist - EVEN IF THERE IS A SINGLE SOURCE. If your sole source of information is a birth certificate and no conflicting information, you STILL don't know if it is accurate. That's the nature of genealogy. Nothing is known for certain. Nothing. So just keep your documentation and don't fret about it.

Now if there is a significant span (maybe a few months or even a year) sometimes one can be eliminated (usually the latter date) because you will find a reference to the person before that second date (hard to record information about someone before they were born). For example, if you have two possible dates, February 10, 1930 and August 10, 1930, then if you find this person in the 1930 US Census, then you have eliminated the August 10th date because the 1930 census was taken BEFORE August. Doesn't mean Feb 10, 1930 is correct, just that August 10, 1930 is not correct.

Welcome to the world of genealogy!

Well.maybe they didnt have computers in those days ..............evrything was handwritten

I'd go with the birth certificate if you have one. But if the military records and social security records agree, I'd go with that. When you file for social security, you have to have some documentation to prove your age. I remember when my grandfather filed for social security. He didn't have his birth certificate, and the county office where it was stored burned to the ground when he was a young man. We had to find a census record listing his age to prove he was old enough to file for Social Security.

People sometimes use to lie to get into the military. So if his wife says he is younger than what the military says, it is possible.
Most places still had birth certificates and census records.
I would check census records if you know names of siblings and parents.
or even look for he and his 1st wife and 2nd wife and see what he listed.

go with US military records and SS info-- the military runs background cks and investigations- they dont just take u for your word! The 2nd wife may be misinformed or she may not know herself!

this is a hard one to answer as have read that many men used to lie about their age so they could join the forces during the wars. The true birthdate would be the one recorded on his birth certificate.

I am a genealogist. I use Social Security Death Index and compare it to census data. When in doubt, military records (draft registrations, etc.) can be looked up and most states have an extract of recorded births.

I would not rely on second wife's memory because she knows only what she was told. People have a tendency to give real information on enlistment, draft registration, social security, and census data which their parents would have given to a census taker during the infancy/childhood of youth in their homes. Do you know where your grandfather was born (township), town, county, state, approximate year and month? These are the first bits of data you must use. Good luck! Researching history of ancestors is great fun!

If you have more than two sources that agree, use them. Also, your grandmother is probably right. This is not uncommon. You just have to use your best judgment and I sometimes add a note that this date is questioned but, in your opinion, it is correct. I once told a distant relative who was close to saying I was wrong about my great grandfather's name to write her own book. Very rude of me! But she dropped it.

I'd say, go with the government records. You have to be truthful with them and besides that, your grandfather had to fill out the forms needed to get his Social Security card (probably looong before he met his second wife), and to register with the military.
Let her be mad. She has the same pants to get glad in that she got mad in, as the saying goes. One day shouldn't make that much of a big deal either way (besides, God knows when your grandfather was born, because the date was preordained by Him).

I'll go with the military records... Is the samsung website you told me about save to download??

Go with what your grandmother says.

I found that my dad lied about his age to get into the army when he was only 16 (he told them he was 18) so, he fought in France during the First World War when he was only 16. Military records can sometimes be faulty. Also, my dad spent his whole life celebrating his birthday on Oct. 12th but his birth certificate shows that his birthday was Oct. 14th - at least they got the year right on that one.

One day can matter. For example, being born December 31, vs Jan 1 means a lot in the area of income taxes. During the days of the military draft, one day could have mean a big difference... I remember when I got my draft number- 40 - during the Viet Nam War.

I would use the records in the way you have. Unless there is proof to the contrary, the records you use are a more qualified source.

My ex hubby's mom had 2 birth certificates in the 1920s. One in Okla. where she was ACTUALLY born at her mom's parents home. (verified by an aunt who was present). The 2nd birth certificate from Texas.. when her mom went home to Denison, where she lived.. and registered it there, claiming it was a home birth IN TEXAS. People tended to ridicule "Okies" and she didn't want the baby to deal with that. All of the same grandma's official records were off by one year. She was born when there were no birth certificates, and her dad signed a letter, fibbing about her age.. so she could start school a year early, with her brother. She gave the wrong year to social security, and eventually was able to get on that, a year early based on the old letter.
Any "official" document can have errors, for many reasons.. primarily because many people did not have birth certificates as we know them today. Wars were notorious for guys fibbing, to get in. And I won't even start on how census records can have conflicts.
Overall, 2nd wife is the LEAST reliable.. but she may know something you don't (he admitted to fibbing, or something). On the other hand.. if she has stopped SPEAKING to you, over a one day difference, sounds as if she's the type to flip out over ANY thing you find or learn, which is contrary to what she thinks. Genealogy is FULL of finding surprises, errors, conflicting information. It's standard operating procedure, and you learn to find as many possible records as you can.. to evaluate which is PROBABLY more correct. In most cases, you HAVE to take a record over someone's memory.. unless you have other valid reasons to believe the record is wrong.
If she is worth the relationship.. placate her and tell her you are using her date, then keep her away from your records. Especially if she has custody of old photos that you want copies of, etc. Otherwise, avoid discussing research with her, at any cost. Be forewarned.. if you continue with research, you will often run into cousins, etc, who will dispute you, because they will insist on using "grandma told me" over valid documentation. That happens ALL THE TIME in research.