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Definitions used in Genealogy Research*

 

Term

Definition

*Permission given to pass along or publish by Dan Burrows

ABSTRACT

Summary of important points of a given text, especially deeds and wills.

ADMINISTRATION (of estate)

The collection, management and distribution of an estate by proper legal process.

ADMINISTRATOR (of estate)

Person appointed to manage or divide the estate of a deceased person.

ADMINISTRATRIX

A female administrator.

AFFIDAVIT

A statement in writing, sworn to before proper authority.

ALIEN

Foreigner

AMERICAN REVOLUTION

U.S. war for independence from Great Britain 1775 - 1783

ANCESTOR

A person from whom you are descended; a forefather.

ANTE

Latin prefix meaning before, such as in ante-bellum South, "The South before the war"

APPRENTICE

One who is bound by indentures or by legal agreement or by any means to serve another person for a certain time, with a view of learning an art or trade.

APPURTENANCE

That which belongs to something else such as a building, orchard, right of way, etc.

ARCHIVES

Records of a government, organization, institution; the place where records are stored.

ATTEST

To affirm; to certify by signature or oath.

BANNS

Public announcement of intended marriage.

BENEFICIARY

One who receives benefit of trust or property.

BEQUEATH

To give personal property to a person in a will. Noun- bequest.

BOND

Written, signed, witnessed agreement requiring payment of a specified amount of money on or before a given date.

BOUNTY LAND WARRANT

A right to obtain land, specific number of acres of unallocated public land, granted for military service.

CENSUS

Official enumeration, listing or counting of citizens.

CERTIFIED COPY

A copy made and attested to by officers having charge of the original and authorized to give copies.

CHAIN

See measurements.

CHATTEL

Personal property, which can include animate as well as inanimate properties.

CHRISTEN

To receive or initiate into the visible church by baptism; to name at baptism; to give a name to.

CIRCA

About, near, or approximate-usually referring to a date.

CIVIL WAR

War between the States; war between North and South, 1861 - 65.

CODICIL

Addition to a will.

COLLATERAL ANCESTOR

Belong to the same ancestral stock but not in direct line of descent; opposed to lineal such as aunts, uncles & cousins.

COMMON ANCESTOR

Ancestor shared by any two people.

CONFEDERATE

Pertaining to the Southern states which seceded from the U.S. in 1860 - 1, their government and their citizens.

CONSANGUINITY

Blood relationship.

CONSORT

Usually, a wife whose husband is living

CONVEYANCE

See deed.

COUSIN

Relative descended from a common ancestor, but not a brother or sister.

DAUGHTER-IN-LAW

Wife of one's son.

DECEASED

Dead.

DECEDENT

A deceased person.

DECLARATION OF INTENTION

First paper, sworn to and filed in court, by an alien stating that he wants to become a citizen.

DEED

A document by which title in real property is transferred from one party to another.

DEPOSITION

A testifying or testimony taken down in writing under oath of affirmation in reply to interrogatories, before a competent officer to replace to oral testimony of a witness.

DEVISE

Gift of real property by will.

DEVISEE

One to whom real property (land) is given in a will.

DEVISOR

One who gives real property in a will.

DISSENTER

One who did not belong to the established church, especially the Church of England in the American colonies.

DISTRICT LAND OFFICE PLAT BOOK

A book or rather maps which show the location of the land patentee.

DISTRICT LAND OFFICE TRACT BOOK

Books which list individual entries by range and township.

DOUBLE DATING

A system of double dating used in England and America from 1582-1752 because it was not clear as to whether the year commenced January 1 or March 25

DOWER

Legal right or share that a wife acquired by marriage in the real estate of her husband allotted to her after his death for her lifetime.

EMIGRANT

One leaving a country and moving to another.

ENUMERATION

Listing or counting, such as a census.

EPITAPH

An inscription on or at a tomb or grave in memory of the one buried there.

ESCHEAT

The reversion of property to the state when there are no qualified heirs.

ESTATE

All property and debts belonging to a person.

ET AL

Latin for "and others".

ET UX

Latin for "and wife".

ET UXOR

And his wife. Sometimes written simply Et Ux. EXECUTOR - One appointed in a will to carry out its provisions. Female = Executrix FATHER-IN-LAW - Father of one's spouse.

FEE

Estates of inheritance in land, being either fee simple or fee tail. An estate in land held of a feudal lord on condition of the performing of certain services.

FEE SIMPLE

An absolute ownership without restriction.

FEE TAIL

An estate of inheritance limited to lineal descendant heirs of a person to whom it was granted.

FRANKLIN, STATE OF

An area once known but never officially recognized and was under consideration from 1784 - 1788 from the western part of North Carolina.

FRATERNITY

Group of men (or women) sharing a common purpose or interest.

FREE HOLD

An estate in fee simple, in fee tail, or for life.

FRIEND

Member of the Religious Society of Friends; a Quaker.

FURLONG

See measurements.

GAZETTEER

A geographical dictionary; a book giving names and descriptions of places usually in alphabetical order.

GENEALOGY

Study of family history and descent.

GENTLEMAN

A man well born.

GIVEN NAME

Name given to a person at birth or baptism, one's first and middle names.

GLEBE

Land belonging to a parish church.

GRANTEE

One who buys property or receives a grant.

GRANTOR

One who sells property or makes a grant.

GREAT-AUNT

Sister of one's grandparent

GREAT-UNCLE

Brother of one's grandparent.

GUARDIAN

Person appointed to care for and manage property of a minor orphan or an adult incompetent of managing his own affairs.

HALF BROTHER/HALF SISTER

Child by another marriage of one's mother or father; the relationship of two people who have only one parent in common.

HEIRS

Those entitled by law or by the terms of a will to inherit property from another.

HOLOGRAPHIC WILL

One written entirely in the testator's own handwriting.

HOMESTEAD ACT

Law passed by Congress in 1862 allowing a head of a family to obtain title to 160 acres of public land after clearing and improving it for 5 years.

HUGUENOT

A French Protestant in the 16th and 17th centuries. One of the reformed or Calvinistic communion who were driven by the thousands into exile in England, Holland, Germany and America.

ILLEGITIMATE

Born to a mother who was not married to the child's father.

IMMIGRANT

One moving into a country from another.

INDENTURE

Today it means a contract in 2 or more copies. Originally made in 2 parts by cutting or tearing a single sheet across the middle in a jagged line so the two parts may later be matched.

INDENTURED SERVANT

One who bound himself into service of another person for a specified number of years, often in return for transportation to this country.

INFANT

Any person not of full age; a minor.

INSTANT

Of or pertaining to the current month. (Abbreviated inst.)

INTESTATE

One who dies without a will or dying without a will.

INVENTORY

An account, catalog or schedule made by an executor or administrator of all the goods and chattels and sometimes of the real estate of a deceased person.

ISSUE

Offspring; children; lineal descendants of a common ancestor.

LATE

Recently deceased.

LEASE

An agreement which creates a landlord - tenant situation.

LEGACY

Property or money left to someone in a will

LEGISLATURE

Lawmaking branch of state or national government; elected group of lawmakers.

LIEN

A claim against property as security for payment of a debt.

LINEAGE

Ancestry; direct descent from a specific ancestor.

LINEAL

Consisting of or being in as direct line of ancestry or descendants; descended in a direct line.

LINK

See measurements.

LIS PENDENS

Pending court action; usually applies to land title claims.

LODGE

A chapter or meeting hall of a fraternal organization.

LOYALIST

Tory, an American colonist who supported the British side during the American Revolution.

MAIDEN NAME

A girl's last name or surname before she marries.

MANUSCRIPT

A composition written with the hand as an ancient book or an un-printed modern book or music.

MARRIAGE BOND

A financial guarantee that no impediment to the marriage existed furnished by the intended bridegroom or by his friends.

MATERNAL

Related through one's mother, such as a Maternal grandmother being the mother's mother.

MEASUREMENTS

Link- 7.92 inches;
Chain - 100 Links or 66 feet;
Furlong - 1000 Links or 660 feet;
Rod - 5 1/2 yd. or 16 1/2 ft (also called a perch or pole);
Rood - From 5 1/2 yards to 8 yards, depending on locality;
Acre - 43,560 square ft or 160 square rods.

MESSUAGE

A dwelling house.

METES & BOUNDS

Property described by natural boundaries, such as 3 notches in a white oak tree, etc.

MICROFICHE

Sheet of microfilm with greatly reduced images of pages of documents.

MICROFILM

Reproduction of documents on film at reduced size.

MIGRANT

Person who moves from place to place, usually in search of work

MIGRATE

To move from one country or state or region to another. (Noun : migration)

MILITIA

Citizens of a state who are not part of the national military forces but who can be called into military service in an emergency; a citizen army, apart from the regular military forces.

MINOR

One who is under legal age; not yet a legal adult.

MISTER

In early times, a title of respect given only to those who held important civil officer or who were of gentle blood.

MOIETY

A half; an indefinite portion

MORTALITY

Death; death rate.

MORTALITY SCHEDULES

Enumeration of persons, who died during the year prior to June 1 of 1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880 in each state of the United States, conducted by the bureau of census.

MORTGAGE

A conditional transfer of title to real property as security for payment of a debt.

MOTHER-IN-LAW

Mother of one's spouse.

NAMESAKE

Person named after another person.

NECROLOGY

Listing or record of persons who have died recently

NEE

Used to identify a woman's maiden name; born with the surname of.

NEPHEW

Son of one's brother or sister.

NIECE

Daughter of one's brother or sister.

NONCUPATIVE WILL

One declared or dictated by the testator, usually for persons in last sickness, sudden illness, or military.

ORPHAN

Child whose parents are dead; sometimes, a child who has lost one parent by death.

ORPHAN'S COURT

Orphans being recognized as wards of the states, provisions were made for them in special courts.

PASSENGER LIST

A ship's list of passengers, usually referring to those ships arriving in the US from Europe.

PATENT

Grant of land from a government to an individual.

PATERNAL

Related to one's father. Paternal grandmother is the father's mother.

PATRIOT

One who loves his country and supports its interests.

PEDIGREE

Family tree; ancestry.

PENSION

Money paid regularly to an individual, especially by a government as reward for military service during wartime or upon retirement from government service.

PENSIONER

One who receives a pension.

PERCH

See measurements.

POLE

See measurements.

POLL

List or record of persons, especially for taxing or voting.

POST

Latin prefix meaning after, as in post-war economy.

POSTERITY

Descendants; those who come after.

POWER OF ATTORNEY

When a person in unable to act for himself, he appoints another to act in his behalf.

PRE

Latin prefix meaning before, as in pre-war military build-up.

PRE-EMOTION RIGHTS

Right given by the federal government to citizens to buy a quarter section of land or less.

PROBATE

Having to do with wills and the administration of estates.

PROGENITOR

A direct ancestor.

PROGENY

Descendants of a common ancestor; issue.

PROVED WILL

A will established as genuine by probate court.

PROVOST

- A person appointed to superintend, or preside over something.

PROXIMO

In the following month, in the month after the present one.

PUBLIC DOMAIN

Land owned by the government.

QUAKER

Member of the Religious Society of Friends.

QUITCLAIM

A deed conveying the interest of the party at that time.

RECTOR

A clergyman; the ruler or governor of a country.

RELICT

Widow; surviving spouse when one has died, husband or wife.

REPUBLIC

Government in which supreme authority lies with the people or their elected representatives.

REVOLUTIONARY WAR

U.S. war for independence from Great Britain 1775 - 1783.

ROD

See measurements.

ROOD

See measurements.

SHAKER

Member of a religious group formed in 1747 that practiced communal living and celibacy.

SIBLING

Person having one or both parents in common with another; a brother or sister.

SIC

Latin meaning thus; copied exactly as the original reads. Often suggests a mistake or surprise in the original.

SON-IN-LAW

Husband of one's daughter.

SPINSTER

A woman still unmarried; or one who spins.

SPONSOR

A bondsman; surety.

SPOUSE

Husband or wife.

STATUTE

Law.

STEP-BROTHER / STEP-SISTER

Child of one's stepfather or stepmother.

STEP-CHILD

Child of one's husband or wife from a previous marriage.

STEP-FATHER

Husband of one's mother by a later marriage.

STEP-MOTHER

Wife of one's father by a later marriage.

SURNAME

Family name or last name.

TERRITORY

Area of land owned by the united States, not a state, but having its own legislature and governor.

TESTAMENTARY

Pertaining to a will.

TESTATE

A person who dies leaving a valid will.

TESTATOR

A person who makes a valid will before his death.

TITHABLE

Taxable.

TITHE

Formerly, money due as a tax for support of the clergy or church.

TORY

Loyalist; one who supported the British side in the American Revolution.

TOWNSHIP

A division of U.S. public land that contained 36 sections, or 36 square miles. Also a subdivision of the county in many Northeastern and Midwestern states of the U.S.

TRADITION

The handing down of statements, beliefs, legends, customs, genealogies, etc. from generation to generation, especially by word of mouth.

TRANSCRIBE

To make a copy in writing.

ULTIMO

In the month before this one.

UNION

The United States; also the North during the Civil War, the states which did not secede.

VERBATIM

Word for word; in the same words, verbally.

VITAL RECORDS

Records of birth, death, marriage or divorce.

VITAL STATISTICS

Data dealing with birth, death, marriage or divorce.

WAR BETWEEN THE STATES

U.S. Civil War, 1861 - 1865.

WARD

Chiefly the division of a city for election purposes

WILL

Document declaring how a person wants his property divided after his death.

WITNESS

One who is present at a transaction, such as a sale of land or signing of a will, who can testify or affirm that it actually took place.

WPA HISTORICAL RECORDS SURVEY

A program undertaken by the US Government 1935 - 1936 in which inventories were compiled of historical material.

YEOMAN

A servant, an attendant or subordinate official in a royal household; a subordinate of a sheriff; an independent farmer.