I think I'm going to have to disable all Gap tests since they can not possibly take account of the changes and trends in fertility and morality in the 20th century from what they were in earlier times. Generally, as birth control measures have improved in the 20th century, gaps between children have increased. Whereas, in the 19th century and earlier there seems to have been no notion of birth control, a period of two years between children seems appropriate. In the 20th century this gap has increased. So that eliminates the validity of one check. Similarly, as morality changed so did the timing of the birth of the first child in relation to a marriage.
I guess that's what the checks before 1950 is supposed to be all about. But single date is insufficient for the intended purpose. Of the four checks on the Gaps tab, I only see that one of them (less than n months after the birth of a previous child) has any utility, and then only as a check against bad data entry. Yes, a largish gap between two children might be indicative of a missing child. It might also indicate one or more miscarriages or still-births. And those are just about impossible to find any official documentation for. As I say, I question the utility of these gap checks. -- Regards, Mike Fry Johannesburg Legacy User Group guidelines: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp Archived messages after Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Archived messages from old mail server - before Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Online technical support: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Help.asp Follow Legacy on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/LegacyFamilyTree) and on our blog (http://news.LegacyFamilyTree.com). To unsubscribe: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/LegacyLists.asp
