[p. 8 of original] 1640. Martha Sherman the daughter of John and Martha Sherman borne the 21 Day of the 12 Month.
[Note: normally the twelfth month of 1640 would be Feb 1640/41. However, the date itself does not say 1640, only the heading on the page, and this is the first record listed under the year 1640, preceding a record for month 1, which would be Mar 1639/40. Either the records are chronological, or they are in the order recorded. In the first case, this record would appear to belong to 1639. In the second case, it is highly unlikely that all records for the year 1640 were not recorded until after the year was almost over. Therefore, its position at the top of the page would appear to suggest that it was inadvertently written on the wrong page as one year ended and next was about to begin, and that it should have been entered under 1639. So in both cases, it appears to intend the 12th month of 1639, meaning Feb 1639/40. Comparing surrounding siblings, such an arrangement puts Martha 15 months after John and 25 months before Mary, versus 27 months after John and 13 months before Mary, not real helpful, but slightly more centered when 1639/40 is used.]
