Explanatory Notes

Personal names

Notes about an individual’s name are placed after the full name in the individual’s entry.

Entries show all forenames used by the individual in formal documents even when a forename was not used consistently in all such documents.

Where an individual is known to have preferred a forename other than the first forename, that preference is noted.

Individuals who changed name are entered under the earlier name, unless the change was made in infancy. Later names are included in a note.

Entries for married women are under the woman’s maiden surname. Where known any married surname is noted.

Entries for individuals with peerage titles are under the peer’s surname. Peerage titles are noted.

Royal princes are entered under a suitable title (Duke of X, Prince of Y or Crown Prince of Z) as they lack surnames.

Entries for multiple individuals with identical names are numbered in chronological order (earliest to latest).

Placenames

A placename usually shows the locality of the event (birth or death) followed by the State or Territory (in Australia) or country (if overseas).

The abbreviation RD in a place name means “registration district”. It is used only when the exact locality is not known.

Australian placenames show the current (twenty-first-century) name and spelling even when the event occurred when the place had an earlier name.

Placenames in the British Isles show the historic (ancient) county in which the place is located, which may differ from the county at the time of the event or currently. The county is not shown for major towns.

Dates

All dates are shown in the form of day, month, year. Where the date is followed by a single letter (y, m, r, c or b) the following should be noted:

  • The letter y indicates that the date is correct only for the year shown; the day and month should be ignored.
  • The letter m indicates that the date is correct only for the month and year shown; the day should be ignored.
  • The letter r indicates that the date is the year of registration of the event rather than the event itself; the day and month should be ignored. Registration usually took place between a few days and a few months after the event.
  • The letter c indicates that the date is the approximate year only (circa); the day and month should be ignored.
  • The letter b indicates that the date is the baptismal date rather than the date of birth.

Where the exact day and month are unknown, the default date 1 January [year] is shown. Where the month is known but the exact day is not, the default date 1 [month] [year] is shown.

All dates of events are in accordance with the New Style (years beginning on 1 January) and Gregorian calendar, even when the event occurred before 14 September 1752 (the date of the official change to the calendar in the British Isles and British Empire).