If you are dealing with a date between 1582 and 1701, please check the calendar. Different places in the Netherlands changed from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar at different times. The change made the calendar jump forward by 10 or 11 days.
Sometimes, you can resolve a conflict in dates by checking the calendar. Someone born in Brabant on 5 December 1699 could be baptized in Gelderland on 1 December 1699, for example, because Gelderland was still using the Julian calendar which was 11 days behind the Gregorian calendar used in Brabant.
One way to tell you might be using the wrong calendar, is if you see a lot of baptisms or church confirmations on Wednesdays or Thursdays instead of Sundays.
For details about when the calendar was introduced where, see A Tale of Two Calendars.
Delft Blue calendar. Credits: Rijksmuseum (public domain)
About Yvette Hoitink
