Glossary of Words
- Ab Nepos
- a great-great-grandson
- Ab Neptis
- a great-great-granddaughter
- Abeyance
- a condition of undetermined ownership, as of an estate that has not yet been assigned
- Abstract
- a statement summarizing the essential facts contained in a document or record
- Abtstract Book
- record books containing abstracts of the information contained on deeds or land entries, usually listed in alphabetical order by surname of the purchasers
- Accelerated
- an index prepared by computer, such as a census index
- Accomptant
- accountant
- Action
- a proceeding in a court of law
- Administration
- management and settlement of an estate
- Administrator
- an appointee of the court who settles the estate of a deceased who died without leaving a will
- Administrator's Bond
- a bond posted by an administrator to guarantee the proper performance of his duties
- Administratrix
- a female administrator
- Aegrotantem
- illness, sickness
- Affidavit
- a written and signed statement sworn in front of a court officer
- Ahnentafel
- a table of one's ancestors, from the German Ahnen (ancestor) and Tafel (table or list)
- Amanuensis
- secretary or stenographer
- Annus
- year
- Archives
- reference to the storage of older records
- Artificer
- soldier mechanic who does repairs
- Ascendant
- ancestor
- Assignee
- the person to whom a privilege or some property is signed over to by the court
- Assignor
- the person who signs over a right or property to another
- Assistant Marshall
- the census taker prior to 1880
- Banns
- publication or posting of the announcement of a coming marriage, a period of time before the actual marriage to allow advance notice to those that might have reason to protest. In most churches the banns were read aloud on three successive Sundays.
- Baptizavi
- I baptized
- Barrister
- lawyer
- Bequest
- legacy; usually a gift of real estate by will
- Boluter
- a sieve
- Bond
- a written promise by a borrower to pay a lender a fixed dollar sum of interest for a prescribed period of time and to repay the principal on a stated date
- Boniface
- innkeeper
- Borough
- a self-governing incorporated town, larger than a village
- Bounty Land
- public land given by the government to induce young men to join the military
- Bounty Land Warrant
- a gift of bounty land due to a person entitled by military service, or to his heirs or assignees
- Brand Iron
- the cob irons or fire dogs which confine the brands on an open hearth
- Brazier
- works with brass
- Brightsmith
- metal worker
- Brother
- a male sibling, can also be used to show close friendship
- Bundling
- to sleep in the same bed while fully clothed, a practiced commonly by engaged couples in early New England
- Burnisher
- polishes or shines metal
- Cadastral
- a public record, survey or map for tax purposes showing ownership and value of
land
- Cals
- Certified American Lineage Specialist - a certification of competence in genealogy
- Canon Law
- a law of the church
- Capitation Tax
- tax on peopele, also called a head tax or poll tax
- Census
- periodic official tally of the population with details as to ages, sexes, occupations, etc., U.S. Federal censuses have been taken every 10 years since 1790.
- Census Index
- alphabetical listing of names enumerated in a census
- CG
- Certified Genealogist
- Chaffer
- a chaffing dish
- Chandler
- makes or sells candles; retailer of groceries
- Chattels
- personal property, both animate and inanimate
- Chiffonier
- wigmaker
- Circiter
- about
- Civitate
- the city of
- Clan
- a social unit in the Scottish Highlands, consisting of a number of families claiming a common ancestor and following the same hereditary leader
- Coat of Arms
- shield with certain distinctive symbols or emblems painted on it in definite fixed colors identifying one person and his direct descendants
- Codicil
- a supplement to a will
- Collateral Ancestor
- an ancestor not in the direct line of ascent, but of the same ancestral family
- Collier
- a coal miner or a coal ship
- Colporteur
- peddler of books
- Common Law
- a man and woman living together in a marital status without legal action. In some states living together for a specified period of time constitutes a legal marriage, even without benefit of legal action.
- Conjugi
- a husband, wife, or spouse
- Connubium
- marriage
- Consanguinity
- blood relationship
- Convey
- transfer property or the title to property
- Conveyance
- a written instrument that transfers title to property from one party to another
- Conveyor
- grantor or seller
- Cooper
- makes and repairs barrels and casks
- Cordwainer
- shoemaker
- Cousin
- In colonial usage, it most often meant nephew or niece. In the broadest sense, it could also mean any familial relationship, blood or otherwise (except mother, father, sister, or brother), or the modern-day meaning of a child of one's aunt or uncle. Modern usage includes qualifiers such as first, second, third, once removed, twice removed, etc.
- Crowner
- coroner
- Cui
- of whom, of whose, of whatever person, of what place/country
- Currier
- tans leather; uses curry comb on horses
- Curtesy
- the life tenure which by common law is held by a man over the property of his deceased wife and has by her issue born alive who is capable of inheriting her estate; in this case, on the death of his wife, he holds the lands for his life, as tenant by courtesy
- Decedent
- the deceased individual
- Decem
- ten
- Declaration of Intention
- document filed by an alien in a court of record declaring his intention to apply for citizenship after fulfillment of the residency requirement. It may also be used to refer to an intent to marry, usually filed with the town clerk.
- Deed
- document signed, sealed, and delivered according to the law conveying title to
real estate
- De Jure
- legal term for "by law" or "lawfully"
- Demography
- the study of the characteristics of human populations, such as size, growth, density, distribution and vital statistics
- Denizen
- a foreigner permitted certain rights of citizenship
- Deposition
- a written testimony by a witness for use in court in his or her absence
- Descendant
- an immediate or remote offspring
- Devise
- to transmit property by will
- Devisee
- one to whom a devise is made
- Die
- day
- Direct Heir
- one who is in an individual's direct line of ascent or descent
- Distributee
- one entitled to a share in the estate of a person who died intestate (without a will)
- Domo
- to master or subdue a home, residence, or family
- Dornix
- linsey wolsey; also a heavy damask linen having a diaper figure (flowered or figured) formerly much used for church vestments, altar hangings, etc.
- Dowager
- a widow who holds title or property derived from her dead husband
- Dower
- the part of interest of a deceased man's real estate alloted by law to his widow
- Dowry
- property a bride brings to her husband for the duration of a marriage
- Dowser
- finds water under the ground
- Draper
- dealer in cloth and dry goods
- Drayman
- drives a cart carrying heavy loads
- Dresser
- surgeon's assistant in a hospital
- Drover
- drives animals to market; dealer in cattle
- Drummer
- traveling salesman
- Duffer
- peddler
- D.S.P.
- died sine prole - died without offspring
- Eadem
- same
- Eam
- she
- Ecclescia
- church
- Ego
- I
- Ejus
- he
- Ejusdem
- of the same
- Enumeration
- process by which persons are counted for purposes of a census
- Enumerator
- census taker
- Eodem
- to the same place/person/day
- Episcopus
- bishop
- Escheat
- property reverted to the state when no legal heirs or claimants exist
- Est
- is
- Estate
- the whole of one's possessions; especially all the property left by a deceased
person
- Et
- and - both
- Etiam
- also, besides, again
- Et Ux, Et Uxor
- and wife
- Ex
- from
- Executor
- the person named in a will to carry out the provisions of the will
- Executrix
- a female executor
- Farrier
- blacksmith who shoes horses
- Fee Simple
- estate of land which the inheritor has unqualified ownership and power of disposition
- Filiam
- daughter
- Filium
- son
- Final Papers
- petition for citizenship with supporting documentation filed by an alien in a court of law
- Firelands
- a tract of land in northeastern Ohio reserved by Connecticut for its own settlers when it ceded its western lands in 1786. The State of Connecticut deeded land there to its citizens whose homes were burned during the Revolutionary War, therefore, the terrirory became known as "fire land."
- First Papers
- declaration of intention filed by an alien in a court of law
- Fletcher
- makes bows and arrows
- Forebear
- an ancestor, a forefather
- Fortnight
- 14 days
- Freeborn
- born as a free person
- Freedman/woman
- a man or woman who has been freed from bondage or slavery
- Freeholder
- one who holds land by fee simple. In colonial times, a freeholder had the right to vote and hold public office.
- Freeman
- one who held the full rights of citizenship, such as voting and engaging in business (as opposed to an indentured servant)
- Friends
- correctly called "The Society of Friends", the correct term for the Quakers
- Fuere
- were
- Fuller
- cleans and thickens cloth
- Gaoler
- jailer
- Gentile
- a person who is not Jewish
- Gentleman
- a member of the gentry, a descendant from an aristocratic family whose income came from the rental of his land
- Godfather
- a man or woman who sponsors a child at baptism, also called a Godparent
- Goodman
- a solid member of the community who ranked above a freeman but below a gentleman on the social scale
- Goods and Chattels
- personal property, as distinguished from real property
- Goodwife
- a woman married to a "gentlman." Often the title was shortened to "Goody." If you come across names such as Goody Cook or Goody Loomis, they are not first names but the abbreviation of a title
- Grant
- to transfer property by a deed
- Grantee
- one to whom a grant is made
- Grantee Index
- index to grantees of deeds recorded in a deed book
- Gregorian Calendar
- the calendar in use today. Pope Gregory XIII ordered the replacement of the previous Julian Calendar in 1582, although it was not adopted by England and the American Colonies until 1752.
- Guardian
- an appointee of the court who cares for the property and rights of a minor or someone incapable of handling his or her own affairs
- Guilder
- makes gold or silver coins
- Gutte
- gutter or drain pipe
- Haeretica
- heretical
- Headright
- right to a certain number of acres (usually 50) of land guaranteed in advance for each settler in a new territory
- Head Tax
- tax on people, also called a poll tax or capitation tax
- Heir
- a person who inherits, or is entitled by law to inherit, the estate of another
- Hereditaments
- property that can be inherited
- Heraldry
- the practice of devising, blazoning, and granting armoral insignia (coats of arms)
- Hibernia
- Ireland
- High Sheriff
- the highest ranking sheriff, as opposed to deputy sheriffs. This term was popular in England and Colonial America.
- Hind
- farm laborer
- Holographic Will
- a document written entirely by the hand of the person whose signature it bears
- Hostler
- takes care of horses at an inn
- Huc
- here, to this place
- Huckster
- sells small articles
- Hujus
- of this
- Hujusidem
- of this month and year
- Husbandman
- a person whose occupation is in husbandry; a farmer
- Hutch
- a chest, box coffer, or bin
- Immens
- to be near
- Imminens
- eminent, immediate
- Impositum
- the name bestowed
- Impressment
- the act of seizing people or property for public service or use
- Indenture
- a deed, contract, or sealed agreement executed between two or more parties; a contract by which a person is bound over for services
- Indentured Servant
- one who was voluntarily or involuntarily committed to working for someone for a fixed number of years (usually 4 to 7) in exchange for passage to America or some other financial advantage (i.e., learning a trade). An indentured servant had few, if any, rights, but people without skills or money accepted this position in order to emigrate. After the period of work was over, the servant usually became a freeman. It was also common practice for parents to indenture their children with the intent of having their child learn a trade or craft.
- Infant
- a minor
- Infantem
- child
- Infra
- down, below
- In-Law
- colonists used this term for any familial relationship that occurred from a marriage. Thus, a woman's father-in-law could be her husband's father or her stepfather. Her son-in-law could be her daughter's husband or her own stepson.
- Inprimis
- in the first place
- Inqus
- repeat, maintain
- Ipsius
- in person, of own accord
- Instrument
- a formal document such as a deed or a will
- Intestate
- having no legal will; not disposed of by legal will
- Inventory
- a list of goods in the estate of a deceased person
- Issue
- offspring or children
- Journeyman
- craftsman hired day by day
- Julian Calendar
- the calendar in use prior to 1752 (see Gregorian Calendar), created by Julius
Caesar
- Junior, Senior
- these terms were used in early times to differentiate between men (and sometimes women) with the same name whether they were related or not. These titles were not permanent, but rather conveniences in colonial families and communities.
- Keeler
- a cooler, a broad shallow wooden vessel, where milk was set to cream or wait to cool
- Kilderkin
- a small vessel, the eighth part of a tun or vat
- Kindred
- a group of blood-related persons
- Kith and Kin
- friends and neighbors
- Lands and Tenements
- real property, as opposed to personal property
- Legacy
- money or property bequeathed to someone by will
- Lineal Descendant
- being in the direct line of descent from an ancestor
- Loco
- to place, establish, give in marriage
- Locus
- place
- Loyalist
- a Tory (person who remained loyal to England during the Revolutionary War) who later moved to Canada or to another British possession
- Manumission
- a formal written act to free slaves
- Marriage Bond
- a document executed to guarantee that no legal or moral impediments existed to an intended marriage
- Master
- today would be known as The Captain
- Mensis
- month
- Mockadow
- moccado - stuff made of wood and silk and apparently a mixture of either with flax, a substitute for more expensive velvet
- Mortaility Schedule
- the enumeration of deaths during the 12 months preceding census day, Mortality Schedules were included in the U.S. Census from 1850 - 1900 (1890 and 1900 schedules have been destroyed)
- Mortis
- death
- Mr.
- a title that could only precede the names of gentlemen, clergymen, or government officials
- Mrs.
- a feminine equivalent of Mr., it did not denote marital status, but social position (women of the aristocracy)
- Mulierem
- woman
- Natum
- born
- Naturalize
- to grant full citizenship to one of foreign birth
- Necrology
- register book of deaths
- NEHGS
- New England Historic Genealogy Society; the oldest genealogical society in the United States
- NGS
- National Genealogical Society
- Nuncupative Will
- an oral will declared by the deceased before dying, in the presence of witnesses
- Notary
- a person officially authorized to draw up or attest to contracts, wills, deeds, or similar documents
- Novem
- nine
- Now Wife
- exclusively found in wills, this term implied that there was a former (or ex-) wife
- Nupr -A -AE
- bride, wife
- Nuber Huc Adventis
- recently arrived here
- Oath of Abjuration
- sworn statement renouncing a former allegiance
- Ob
- before, in front of, because of, on account of
- Obit
- died
- Octo
- eight
- Oppido
- town
- Ordinary
- public house or tavern
- Paleography
- the study of ancient forms of writing
- Palatinate
- the area west of the Rhine River in West Germany
- Parochus
- rector, pastor
- Patritius
- paternal
- Patronymic
- a name derived from a paternal ancestor, such as "Johnson, the son of John"
- Paucis Hebdomadibus
- a few weeks
- Pedigree
- recorded ancestry or line of descent
- Pedigree Chart
- a standard genealogical form for recording several generations of ancestry
- Peel
- a long handled broad shovel used for putting bread into an oven
- Per
- for
- Personal Property
- property other than land
- Per Stirpes
- a method of dividing an estate so that children act as a group, rather than individually, taking what their deceased ancestor was entitled to
- Population Schedule
- a completed population census questionnaire
- Posthumous
- born after father's death
- Praecende
- previous, preceeding
- Prae
- in front, before, through
- Pridie/Priede
- the previous day
- Primary Record
- a record created at the time of the event (birth, marriage, death, etc.) as opposed to records written years later
- Primogenitor
- the earlies known ancestor or forefather
- Primogeniture
- the right of the eldest child (especially the son) to inherit the estate of both parents
- Probate
- legal establishment of the validity of a will
- Procurant
- stand instead of, proxy
- Procuratorem
- in behalf of
- Progeny
- children
- Progenitor
- an originator of a line of descent, frequently used in reference to the immigrant
ancestor
- Purrell
- made of a lace called purl
- Quaker
- a member of the Society of Friends
- Quarta
- four
- Quearne
- a handmill for grinding grain or seed
- Qui
- who, whereby
- Quinque
- five
- Redemptioner
- a colonial emigrant from Europe to North America who paid for his voyage by serving as a bondservant for a specified period of time after arrival
- Relict
- widow, sometimes a widower
- Secondary Record
- or secondary source; a record created some time after the event
- Septem
- seven
- Sepulchered
- buried
- Servus/A Servarum
- servant/servants
- Sex
- six
- Sibling
- a brother or sister
- Soundex
- a filing system, usually for recording surnames, using one letter followed by three numbers. The Soundex system keeps together names of the same and/or similar sounds, but of variant spellings.
- Spouse
- a husband or wife
- Standard
- a chest; the upright stem or support of a lamp or candlestick
- Stupuet
- a stew pan or skillet
- Sutler
- accompanies troops in the field or garrison and sells food, drink, and supplies
- Tarletan
- a thin, stiff, transparent muslin
- Testament
- the disposition of one's personal property by will
- Testate
- having made or left a valid will
- Testator
- a man who died leaving a valid will
- Testatrix
- a female who died leaving a valid will
- Thoro
- marriage, union
- Tithable
- person subject to a tax
- Tolvet
- a measure, holding half a bushel
- Tory
- a resident of the American Colonies who remained loyal to England during the Revolutionary War (see Loyalist)
- Transientibus
- in transit form, traveling
- Tres
- three
- Tribus Mensibus
- three months
- Truckle Bed
- trundle bed with casters to run under a higher bed
- Trug
- a basket with fixed handle like an old american woven wooden grape basker
- Trustee
- a person or agent holding the legal title to property
- Tunnel
- a funnel
- Turnout
- an equippage, a carriage with horses, attendants, and equipment
- Ultimo
- last
- Unus
- one
- Uxor
- wife, the married state
- Vero
- certainly, to be sure
- Vincinitate
- neighboring area
- Visitation
- a visit for the purpose of making an official inspection or examination. This term was used to describe census activities.
- Wheelwright
- a person who builds wagon wheels
- Will
- the legal document containing the statement of a person's wishes regarding the disposal of his or her property after death
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