Glossary of Genealogy Terms

Compiled by Daniel H. Burrows Reprinted coutesy of Genealogy Records Service

• ABSTRACT
  Summary of important points of a given text, especially deeds and wills.
• ACRE
  See measurements.
• 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 an allocated 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, 1861-1865.
• 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 and cousins.
• COMMON ANCESTOR
  Ancestor shared by any two people.
• CONFEDERATE
  Pertaining to the Southern states which seceded from the U.S. in 1860 - 1, government and 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 be come 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
  Books 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 which 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
  An estate 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.
• 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 yds 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 and 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 ships list of passengers, usually referring to those ships arriving in the 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 which 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 step-father or step-mother.
• 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.
• 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.