I have a character who, in the U.S. of 1850, is looking at a journal that was kept by an English ancestor of hers from the 1700's. My simple question: How would the ancestor write the date out? Would they do 12 May 1717 or May 12, 1717 or something entirely different? I know that people in the UK commonly do the date month year thing, but I've not been able to locate any sort of record on how far back this practice dates.
Any tips for places to check, or does anyone know?? Thanks!