1-6.1 Example of date propagation.
It may be helpful to see what may happen in sources
without very complicated propagation of information. Consider this example of how a genealogist might propagate a date:
Suppose the marriage of a couple is determined by the license record to have occurred subsequent
to March 4, 1734, i.e., aft March 4, 1734. Suppose further that the same marriage is determined by
the birth of the first (legitimate) child to be previous to June 16, 1735, i.e., bef June 16, 1735. The
genealogist then says that the probable marriage date of abt March 1734. What does abt
(formerly often "ca." for Lat. circa) mean and why does the genealogist prefix it to the marriage date? From the culture
of this particular event the genalogist is aware that a license allows the couple to marry before the otherwise necessary publication of
banns on four previous Sundays. Hence, the marriage probably occurred within the month. That the marriage actually occurred is attested
by the birth of a legitimate child. We call this indication of date interpretation a date prefix.
