Date confusion when month names get changed to numbers

Joseph F Buchanan

Hello,

There are many cases where it appears that the record does indeed show the month by name, but when it comes to the source linker, it gets changed to a numeric month. The problem them arises when the day number is less than or equal to 12. The Source linker decides that it cannot determine which is the month and which is the day. Sometimes it leaves the numbers showing and expects the patron to choose, sometimes, it just says that it is undefined. Outside of the US, I believe, it is pretty much always dd mm yyyy or yyyy mm dd.

Sometimes, I have even seen in source suggestions that it says, for example, a date of April 10, when, in fact, when you look at the actual record, it is shows as 4 October. This may not be a Source Linker issue, per se, but it is a similar issue.

I am posting a screen shot of what I saw a day or so ago. [oops. I guess I cannot add images in this forum. A text equivalent is added below.]

–––––––– Joseph Buchanan

––––––––––––––

[left side]

Mette Kathrine Hansen
1851-1873

Name
Mette Kathrine Hansen

Sex
Female

Birth
1851

Death
6 Jul 1873
Stoense, Langelands Nørre, Svendborg, Denmark ADD (+)

––––––––––––––––

[after clicking on ADD, it shows on the right:}
Mette Cathrine Hansen
1851-Deceased MW3G-ZB7

Sex
Female

Birth
14 March 1851
Stoense, Langelands Nørre, Svendborg, Denmark

Death

6 7 1873 [ marked as Non-standardized Date]
Stoense, Langelands Nørre, Svendborg, Denmark

–––––––––––––––

Joseph F Buchanan

Here is another example (pity I cannot show images):

When I see the source suggestion, it shows:

Niels Christopher Hansen
Principal
Denmark Church Records, 1484-1941
Christening 1873
Ringsted, Sorø, Denmark
Birth 9 December 1873

Parents Hans Andersen, Kirsten Pedersen
(attached to Niels Christoffer Hansen G58Y-BLK)

I click on it and then the record details open up, it shows the correct date:

Name Niels Christopher Hansen
Sex Male
Birth Date 12 Sep 1873
Father's Name Hans Andersen
Father's Sex Male
Mother's Name Kirsten Pedersen
Mother's Sex Female
Event Type Christening
Event Place Ringsted, Sorø, Denmark
Page Number 38
Volume 30

Joseph F Buchanan

Here is another example (clicking on the tagged sources for a birth. The birth date is 4 November 1883, but the tag says it is 11 April 1883 and within the details provided, it also says 4 Nov 1883

Tag Sources (for birth)

1883
Axel Viktor Ejnar Nielsen, "Denmark Church Records, 1484-1941"
11 April 1883 <<<<<<<<<
Source Date
1883
Web Page (Link to the Record)
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QG35-2SK1
Where The Record Is Found (Citation)
"Danmark Kirkebøger, 1484-1941", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QG35-2SK1 : Thu Mar 07 01:03:05 UTC 2024), Entry for Axel Viktor Ejnar Nielsen and Jens Peter Nielsen, 1883.
More
Indexed Information
Axel Viktor Ejnar Nielsen
Vital • Denmark Church Records, 1484-1941

Edit
Name Axel Viktor Ejnar Nielsen
Sex Male
Birth Date 4 Nov 1883 <<<<<<<<<<<<
Father's Name Jens Peter Nielsen
Father's Sex Male
Mother's Name Marie Elisabet Hansen
Mother's Sex Female
Event Type Christening
Event Place København, Denmark
Page Number 181
Volume 3

JulianBrown38

I have seen this recently when attaching records from the BillionGraves index. The dates on the BG site are alpha-numeric and unambiguous, but when they get to the source linker, they are displayed on the left side in an ambiguous numerical format and, when "Added" to the right side, they may default to one or other of the possible dates, just the year, a date range from the earlier date to the later date, or maybe undefined. It's been almost a year since this discussion was opened, so I can't remember if the behaviour has changed over time, but the problem hasn't been fixed.