Conflicting dates are a reason to examine evidence more closely. A birthday in a family Bible, an age on a census, and a date on a later certificate may not agree. Choosing the most convenient date hides the very problem your research needs to explain.

Make a comparison before making a choice

List each date alongside the source, the date the source was created, and what event it actually describes. A registration date is not always the date of the underlying event. A copied transcription may repeat an error from another document rather than provide independent support.

Ask who supplied the information, if that is known, and how close they were to the event. These questions help you evaluate a statement; they do not create an automatic rule that one kind of document always wins.

Record A: Gives 12 May as a birth date; created many years later.
Record B: Gives an age consistent with a birth in the previous year; informant unidentified.
Family note: Gives 12 May but does not identify a source.
Working conclusion: The month and day have some support; the year remains unresolved.

The example is fictional and deliberately stops short of certainty.

Check identity and independence

Before reconciling dates, make sure the records plausibly concern the same person. Compare relatives, places, and other identifying details. Two people with the same name can produce an apparent contradiction that disappears once their records are separated.

Also ask whether several sources rely on the same original statement. Three online trees copying one another do not necessarily represent three independent discoveries.

Write down your reasoning

Explain why one interpretation appears stronger, what contradicts it, and what would change your conclusion. If the evidence is insufficient, label the date approximate or unresolved. A clear limitation is more useful than a confident answer built on an unexamined assumption.

Choose a record that could discriminate between the possibilities, rather than collecting more copies of the same information. The linked FamilySearch learning material explores conflicting evidence further. Keep your comparison with the research log so another reader can understand both the current conclusion and the remaining question.

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