Up until 1752, there were two calendars, the Julian and the Gregorian, both in use at the same time, which can cause quite a lot of confusion in dating records! The Julian calendar celebrated "New Year's Day" on March 25th of each year. It wasn't until 1751, when the British Parliament adopted the Gregorian calendar, that the New Year moved to the first of January, as we know it today.
Court, county and other recording clerks of the time were supposed to use a double date prior to 1752; but they didn't always do that, which adds to the problem. It can be particulary difficult if the clerk used an abbreviation like "Xber". This would mean the tenth month - and in 1752, that meant October; however in 1750, for example, the tenth month was December.
Prior to 1752, the new year
began on March 25
In 1752, the new year
begins on January 1
March - 1st month
April - 2nd month
May - 3rd month
June - 4th month
July - 5th month
August - 6th month
September - 7th month
October - 8th month
November - 9th month
December - 10th month
January - 11th month
February - 12th monthJanuary - 1st month
February - 2nd month
March - 3rd month
April - 4th month
May - 5th month
June - 6th month
July - 7th month
August - 8th month
September - 9th month
October - 10th month
November - 11th month
December - 12th month