Inconsistent Ages in Polish Records

Birth records

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

Marriage records

When getting married, the groom and the bride usually proved their ages by providing a copy of their birth records. Therefore, the age of the groom and the age of the bride in a marriage record is accurate unless either the groom or bride is 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 wildly inaccurate, especially in the case of a person who dies in old age and/or if the witnesses on the document were not family members or did not know the deceased personally.

Books of residents

An exact date of birth is usually listed for each person in a book of residents. These dates are nearly always accurate. If the person is not able to prove his or her exact date of birth, then only a year is listed, and that year might not be accurate. (Read about cases in which a birth record is not available.)

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