This is making me tear my hair out, and I'm starting to wonder whether my 3rd great-grandparents were very, very bad at dates, if I'm dealing with multiple sets of people with the same names in the same places, or if they're deliberately shifting dates in birth registrations (scandalous!)
I'm looking at the parents of my ancestor John Angus Mac/McInnis (10 Nov 1862- 4 Nov 1939, b. in Antigonish County, Nova Scotia). On his death certificate, as written by his daughter Hannah, his parents were Angus MacInnis and Christy Murray.
Birth records for children of Angus MacInnis and Christy Murray are as follows:
Archibald McInnis (b. 20 April 1870). Listed 10 March 1857.
Martha McInnis (b. 27 July 1874). Marriage date listed as Jan 1859.
David McInnis (b 19 Feb 1877). Listed Jan 1858.
On every birth record, Angus is listed as a sailor and the place of marriage given as St. Andrews. When I searched the St Andrews parish records, I did find a marriage of Angus McInnis and Christy Murphy -- perhaps miswritten? -- on 18 Feb 1857.
To complicate things further, I can't find a birth record with their names attached to John Angus, but I can find a baptism record; it's just dated a full year before the Nov 1862 birthday given on his death certificate and written on his tombstone: 8 Dec 1861.
There is a second John Angus McInnis in Antigonish county born around this time to Donald McInnis and Christy Mcdougall whose baptismal record is consistent with my JA's birth date.
Is there any sense to be made of this? Could the death certificate be incorrect? Are there four sets of Angus and Christies in Antigonish County having children within 5 years of each other? I have laid eyes on every digitized record to confirm accuracy of transcription. I'm holding off on creating profiles for JA's parents for obvious reasons. Any advice is appreciated!