Old Genealogy Terms

AB INITIO - (Latin) A reference to the beginning of like a deed, estate or marriage
AB INTESTATE - (Latin) Receiving an inheritance from someone who died without a will
ABUTTAL - a common boundary (the meeting of two properties)
ACCOMODATION – An allotment of land to a family
AD HOC - (Latin) For a special purpose or reason
ADMEASURE – The division of ones inherited shares of a dower, estate, property, money or other
ADMEASUREMENT of DOWER – The adjusting of a dower (Giving the full share back to the child heir rather than what was set aside for a guardian)
ADMINISTRATION – The settling of an estate (This can be with or without a will)
ADMINISTRATOR – Person appointed to oversee the settlement of the estate by will or appointment by a judge.
AD VERBATIM – (Latin) As written or in full
ADVERSE POSSESION – The actual possession of a property by a person not having title
AFFIDAVIT - A sworn statement while under oath
AGE of CONSENT - Age at which you can marry without parental consent, it varied by state
AGE of MAJORITY – More a sign of maturity rather than age, when one could handle their own affairs
ANCESTORS – Who you are descended from in a direct line
ANNO DOMINI - (Latin) The year of our Lord, the start of many legal documents showing an honor or respect for God
APPRAISAL – The valuation of the goods owned by a deceased person normally ordered by a court regardless of the person leaving a will for the final sale of all property
ATTEST – The certification or affirmation of something
BAILIWICK – The authority or district of a bailiff (The area of his jurisdiction
BASTARD – Illegitimate child one born out of wedlock
BECK – (Old English) – Small brook or creek
BEQUEST – A gift or inheritance given in a will
BINDING OUT – In Colonial America churchwardens, government officials and guardians were able to bind out or contract into servitude an individual. Many times it was a young person who worked in return for learning a trade.
BIRTHRIGHT – The practice of giving the first born male child a double share of the inheritance, a custom brought over from Europe and continued in America until the Civil War
BONA – (Latin) Meaning in good faith
BOND – An agreement or promise to which one is bound
BONDMAID – A female slave
BONDMAN – A male slave
BOND SERVANT – Simply an indentured servant
BONDSMAN – A person liable for payment to the court if a defendant does not appear for a hearing
BOUND OUT – (See BINDING OUT)
BURGESS – (Colonial America) The first governing body formed a Jamestown
CANNON LAW – Laws of the church
Carte de Visite - A type of photograph, normally an albumen print popular between 1860 -1880
CERTIFIED COPY – A true copy of an original certified or verified to be an exact duplicate
CHATTELS – A term for personal property slaves and livestock were considered chattels
CHILD of TENDER YEARS – usually a child less than 14 years of age
CHRISTIAN NAME – A given name, other than ones last name
CHRISTENING – The Baptism of an infant or small child
CHRISTYDE – The coming of the new year
CHURCH WARDEN – An unpaid member of the Vestry or assistant to a pastor much like a church elder of today
CIRCA – (Latin) An approximate date or year
CIVIL WAR – War of the rebellion 1861-1865
COAL OIL – Kerosene or lamp oil, previously distilled from mineral wax, often used for medicinal purposes such as swabbing inflamed tonsils
COAT of ARMS – A shield containing symbols and emblems, contrary to popular belief it was bestowed or granted to an individual not a family, it was passed to direct descendants and each generation would add or modify it slightly thereby identifying that generation of a family
CODICIL – An addition to a will, usually included at the end of the will when the maker of the will has changed his mind about his last wishes, many times a child or relative would have what was given in the main body of the will taken away
COLLATERAL LINES – Descent from the same common ancestor, but a different line like an aunt, uncle or cousin
COMMON LAW MARRIAGE – Two people presenting themselves as man and wife without a civil or religious ceremony
CONFEDERACY – Southern States that seceded from the Union 1861-1865
CONSORT – A term describing a spouse commonly referring to a female, it could be a male if the female had a higher title. Example: Prince Albert Consort of Queen Victoria
CONVEY – To give or transfer title of property to another
DAGUERREOTYPE – A photographic process invented by L.M. Daguerre
DE ANNO IN ANNUM (Latin) – From Year to Year
DECEASED – Someone who has died
DEED POLE – A deed made only by one person
DE FACTO (Latin) – Meaning in fact
DEGREE OF CONSANGUINITY – The degree of blood relationship used to determine a right of inheritance in a court
DE JURE (Latin) – By right …the legal accomplishment of something
DESCENDANT- Anyone to whom you are an ancestor…children, grandchildren etc.
DEVISE – A gift of real property via a will
DEVISEE – A person receiving property
DEVISOR – A person giving property
DIRECT LINE – A line of decent through individuals who are related
DIRK – A straight knife with a handle
DIVINATION – The act of foretelling the future by divine powers
DOUBLE TREE - Equalizing bar for horses
DOWER – Provision made by right of law or by will for the wife to receive one third of an estate
DOWER RIGHT – The right of a wife to one third of all assets…A deed often required the wife to give up or relinquish freely any claim or title she might have
DOWRY – Any type of property real, or personal brought by a bride to her husband by their marriage
ESTATE – The whole of ones property all assets
EXECUTOR – A person appointed by the maker of a will to carry out his wishes when he dies
EXECUTRIX – A female executor of a will
EX FACTO (Latin) given by deed
EXTANT – A state of existence not missing or destroyed
FAILURE OF ISSUE – In a will or deed in the event there are no children born or that survive the deceased the property or assets are conveyed to another party
FAN – Drive the chaff from a crop by a current of air
FEE SIMPLE – A non conditional inheritance, a complete inheritance with no stipulations
FLAIL OR FLAILED – Hand thresh with a wooden handle with a shorter stick attached
FREE MAN OF COLOR – A black man who was born free or became free later in life
FULL AGE – The age of majority when one reached legal age, it varied by state and by circumstance
GLEBE LANDS – (COLONIAL AMERICA) Lands set aside by the English Crown strictly for the use and benefit of a church
GOODS and CHATTELS – Personal property before the Civil War both slaves and livestock were personal property
GOODY – Housewife or old woman
GRANGE – A small farm community or even a farmhouse
GRASS WIDOW – Unmarried woman usually with children who lived with one or more men
GUARDIAN – A person appointed by the court to care for someone who was not capable of caring for themselves
HEADRIGHT – (COLONIAL AMERICA) The right to a certain number of acres (usually 50) guaranteed in advance to the male head of a family for settling a new territory
HEAD TAX – A Poll tax or tax on the person
HEIR – A person who inherits by the conditions of a will or by the right of law
HIGH SHERRIFF – The highest ranking sheriff in an area such as a county sheriff
HIDE – (OLD ENGLISH) A measure of land from 60 to 120 acres
HOLOGRAPHIC WILL – One written by hand in the persons own writing and bearing the signature of the maker
HUNDRED – (COLONIAL AMERICA/ OLD ENGLISH) A term referring to and administrative or military district Smythe’s Hundred was an area rather than a hundred people
INDENTURE – A contract where a person is bound over for service (often young men were indentured to learn a trade)
INDENTURED SERVANT – The person bound over for service, it also was used to mean a person who sold their self into labor for passage to another country
INDIDEM (Latin) – meaning to come from the same place or thing
INATION – Death by starvation
INTESTATE – Dying without leaving a will
INTERMARRIED – To be related or connected to another by marriage
ILLEGITIMATE – A child born out of wedlock
INVENTORY – A list of goods belonging to the estate of a deceased person
ISSUE – Descendants of a common ancestor (offspring or children)
ITEM – A term meaning the start of a new paragraph or wish of the maker (many times numbered Item 1)
JOIN TOGETHER – Common term for a marriage
JUDGEMENT – The final decision or ruling of a judge or court
KEELER – A small wooden vessel to hold milk
KINDRED – A group that are blood relatives
KITH and KIN (OLD ENGLISH) Meaning friends and neighbors
LATE or OF LATE – Reference to a person who had recently died
LEGACY – Typically a gift of money left by a deceased to someone
LETTERS of TESTAMENT – A document issued by a court in a probate proceeding giving authority of the executor to perform his duties outlined in the will
LEVY – A poll or capitalization tax
LIEN – A claim for the property or goods belonging to another to secure the payment of a debt or obligation
LIFE ESTATE – Besides a dower many times a widow was given a life estate or commonly referenced as lending to the wife certain property for her natural life many times with the clause or stipulation that she would not remarry
LINE of CONSANGUINITY – Direct line descended from one another, grandfather, father, son
LOOSE PAPERS – Original papers supporting a court record
LOYALIST – (COLONIAL AMERICA) A Tory one loyal to England
MAJORITY – Age at which one is no longer a minor
MARRIAGE BOND – A document to secure the performance of an intended marriage
MARK – (ENGLISH CURRENCY) Three marks equaled two pounds
MATERNAL LINE – Line traced thru the mothers ancestry
MILITIA – Citizen soldiers an army formed by common people
MINISTERS RETURN - The written record of marriages performed by a minister normally given to the court clerk to make a permanent record
MORTALITY SCHEDULES – A list of deaths that occurred in the year prior to the Census kept from 1850-1880. It also contained foot notes describing the various diseases or epidemics for a county in that year
MULATTO – The offspring of a white person and a black although it could mean any mix of races even Indians
MUSTER OUT – A legitimate discharge from military service
NECROLOGY – List of obituaries or records of deaths
NEE – Normally refers to a woman’s maiden name, born as
NUNCUPATIVE WILL – An oral will given in the hours before their death, with at least two witnesses and written on paper soon after
NOW WIFE – A will related term meaning there was a former wife
OLD DOMINION – A term for Virginia
ORAL WILL – See Nuncupative Will
ORPHAN – Child who has lost at least one parent
“OF COLOR” – Reference to a black person
OBITUARY – Newspaper or other notice of death often with some biography of the deceased
PASSENGER LIST – A ships list showing passengers it may contain occupation, age, sex and country of origin
PARISH – Site of a church often including religious lands
PER ANNUM (LATIN) – Yearly
POLECAT – A skunk
POLL – Early term denoting a taxable person
POSTHUMOUS – After death, often referred to a child born after the death of the father
PRIMARY RECORD – One created at the time the event occurred
PROBATE - Court approval of a will and settlement of an estate
PROVED – Establishment of the validity of a will, deed etc. by a court proceeding
QUARDROON – Refers to a child of mixed parents or having a grandparent of a different race
QUIT RENT ROLLS – (COLONIAL AMERICA) A list of persons who paid an annual fee to the Crown for the right to farm or live on a property
REEVE – (COLONIAL AMERICA) A churchwarden or sheriff
RELICT – Widow or surviving spouse
RESIDUARY or RESIDUE – Normally in reference to a will that part left over after the division set forth by the will
REVENUE STAMP – A mark or stamp on an item indicating a tax had been collected
RUN – A small creek, branch or stream also called a kill run
SECONDARY RECORD – A record created some time after an event has occurred
SOCIETY OF FRIENDS – Term for Quakers
SPOUSE – A husband or wife
SPONSOR – One other than a parent who takes responsibility for a Childs religious education, often at Baptism or church membership, may also be a Godparent
SURNAME – Family name or last name
TENANT FARMER – A farmer who rents land to farm for money or a share of the crops
TERCE – An agreement (lending or renting) by law, giving a widow a dower of one third of a mans property if the marriage was one year and a day
TESTABLE – Any item which can be transferred by way of a will
TESTAMENT- (Also last will and testament) The transfer of ones property in a will
TESTATE – Having died with a legitimate will
TESTE – The end of a legal document usually showing the date and signed by a judge or other person of authority
TITHE – A Church offering usually 10 per cent of ones income
TITHABLE – A person obligated by law to pay tax, sometimes refers to a person reaching an age to pay taxes
TOWNSHIP – A government survey of a tract of land six by six miles square
TRADITION or FAMILY TRADITION – Stories, legends or customs about the family (usually oral) passed from generation to generation
TRANSCRIBE – To make a written copy, in more traditional terms to covert an old document to a newer more understandable version using current words or terms
UNDERGROUND RAILROAD – A route by which slaves could get safe passage to a Northern State
UNPROBATED WILL – One which was not sent to a court for probate
UNREGISTERED WILL – One not recorded for one of several reasons such as non payment of a recording fee
UNSOLEM WILL – One where an executor was not named
VERBATIM (LATIN) – Exactly as written
VESTRY – The ruling body of a church
VICAR (OLD ENGLISH) – A church minister who served under another.
VITAL RECORDS – Records kept of births, marriages and deaths
WAINWRIGHT – A person whose craft was building wagons
WAGONMASTER (CIVIL WAR) – One who tended the horses
WAIVER – The voluntary giving up of a persons rights
WHEELWRIGHT – A person whose craft was the manufacture or repair of a wheel
WILL – A legal document explaining how a person wants their property divided upon their death
WRIT of SUMMONS – A notice to appear in court
YEARS PROVISIONS – A set aside from a husbands estate of goods or money, exempt from creditors
YEOMAN – A dependable or diligent worker
YOBBO (OLD ENGLISH) – Cruel or brutal fellow, a ruffian or hooligan
ZAMBO – A person having one native American parent and one African American parent