Mary A Holden Died Sept 29 1874 at the age of 62. This would give Mary a date of birth of around 1812. I say around 1812 as its important to remember that who ever gave the info to the engraver of this plate may have gotten her age wrong. Its really important to keep that in mind when looking at death records of any kind they can often be wrong for a number of reasons.
#1 Mary may not have known her correct date of birth. People did not always know years ago what their birth year was. Now we have drivers licences and birth certificates and all kinds of documents but in the1800s they did not. Its also much more important now to know your birthdate. Years ago you did not need to know your birthdate and no one would know if you got it wrong.
#2 Mary may have lied. Just like today ladies often want to be younger than they are.
#3 It was not Mary who gave the info on her coffin plate. The person giving it may have gotten it wrong for a number of reasons. Stress at the death of a loved one. May have just gotten confused or remembered it wrong.
So I went and had a look in the 1870 United States Federal Census for Mary. I found a Mary A Holden in Dover, Ocean, New Jersey. Not sure if its her but its a start.
Name: Mary A Holden
Age in 1870: 58
Birth Year: abt 1812
Birthplace: Vermont
Home in 1870: Dover, Ocean, New Jersey
Post Office: Toms River
Household Members: Name Age
William J Holden 60
Mary A Holden 58
Take a look at my Coffin Plate index.
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