Achild's gravestone says the child was born on 15th May 1658 and died aged 8 months on 24 January the same year. Is this possible?

Answer 1

If the gravestone was found in England or in what was previously one of the old English colonies in America, the gravestone dates are correct. In 1658, the English still used an old style calendar in which each year began on March 25. Thus the year 1658 lasted from March 25, 1658 until March 24 of what (to us) is 1659. Since most of the other European countries used the modern, new style calendar (which we have today) many confusions resulted. Some people wrote dates between Jan. 1 and March 25 with two year numbers: 1658/9. Obviously the stonecutter who made this gravestone didn't choose to double date. The child died 8 months after birth, on January 24, 1658/9. Errors on gravestones are common, but this does not appear to be one of them.