Genealogical Terms Commonly Used in Genealogical Research

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This page defines the Genealogical Terms used in genealogical research you will find in documents

Select the first letter of the word from the list above to jump to appropriate section of the glossary

- A -

ABATEMENT – the difference between the amount of the estate of an heir is to receive as specified in a will and the amount actually received, due to property devaluation between the time the will was made and when the death occurred; the entry of a stranger into the estate after the death of the possessor but before the heir or devisee can take control
ABEYANCE – the condition of an estate which either has been claimed but not taken possession of, or which is liable to be claimed by someone
AB INITIO – [Latin] “from the beginning”; used in reference to situations regarding the validity of a deed, marriage, estate, etc.
AB INTESTATE – [Latin] the condition of inheriting from one who died without making a will
ABSTRACT – to take the main points and essential information from a document such as a will, deed, bounty land warrant, census, etc.
ABUT – to adjoing or border such as in land, estates, or farms
ABUTTAL – a boundary where one’s land joins or meets another’s land
ACADIAN – inhabitant of Acadia (Nova Scotia); a descendant of French settlers of Acadia who live in Louisiana, i.e. Cajuns
ACCESSION NUMBER – number assigned by a librarian or archivist denoting the time a book, manuscript, or artifact was placed within a collection
ACCRETION -the right of inheritance by survival
ACCOMMODATION – land alloted to families in a town or settlement
ACCOMMODATION NOTE – a statement, draft, or paper drawn for the purpose of obtaining credit with no consideration
ACCRETION – the right of inheritance by survival
AD HOC – [Latin] for this special reason; for a special purpose
ADMEASURE – to give each heir or claimant his or her rightful share of an estate, dower, or property
ADMEASUREMENT – the adjustment or apportionment of the shares of an estate, dower, pasture held in common, inheritance, etc.
ADMEASUREMENT OF DOWER – the readjustment of a dower when an heir becomes of age because a parent or guardian was receiving an unfair share to support the child
ADMINISTRATION – the management or settling of the estate of a person who died without a will, of a person whose estate is being handled by an executor under a will, or of a minor or mentally incompetent person
ADMINISTRATION BOND – a specified amount of money, usually twie the estimated value of the estate, posted by the person chosen by the court to act as administrator of an estate which insures that the administrator will fulfill his obligations satisfactorily according to law
ADMINISTRATION CUM TESTAMENTO ANNEXO – see ADMINISTRATION WITH WILL ANNEXED
ADMINISTRATION DE BONIS NON – administration of a deceased person’s property that was not completely distributed by the first administrator
ADMINISTRATION DE BONIS NON CUM TESTAMENTO ANNEXO – administration granted by the court when part of the estate is still unadministered because of the death of the executor
ADMINISTRATION PENDITE LITE – administration of an estate carried out while a suit is pending concerning the validity of the will
ADMINISTRATION WITH WILL ANNEXED – [also administration cum testamento annexo] administration granted by the court in instances where the person who makes a will has neglected to name an executor, or where the executor is unable or refuses to act
ADMINISTRATOR – a person appointed by the court to administer the estate of an incompetent person or an intestate who differs from an executor in that he is court appointed whereas the executor is appointed by the deceased
ADMINISTRATIX – a female administrator
ADMITTED FREEMAN – see INDENTURED SERVANT ADOPTION – To take into one’s family through legal means and raise as one’s own child.
ADOPTION BY BAPTISM – a spiritual affinity contracted between godfathers and godchildren in the baptism ceremony, and entitled the godchild to a share of the godfather’s estate
ADOPTION BY MATRIMONY – the act of taking the children of a spouse’s former marriage as one’s own upon marriage
ADOPTION BY TESTAMENT – to appoint a perion heir if he follows the stipulations in the will to take the name, arms, etc. of the adopter
ADVANCEMENT – a gift given to a child by a living parent in anticipation of an inheritance
ADVENTURER – one who purchased shares in the Virginia Land Company at 12 pounds, 10 shillings each, and received 100 acres in Virginia
AD VERBATIM – [Latin] “to the word”; in full
ADVERSE POSSESSION – actual possession of real property obtained by aggressive or “notorious” actions, and gaining title to the property by keeping it for a statutory period of time
AETAS – [Latin] lifetime; age; generation
AETATIS SUAE – [Latin] the condition of being in a specified year of one’s life – aetatis suae 25 means in the twenty-fifth year of one’s age, after a person’s twenty-fourth birthday
AFFIDAVIT – a written document created while under oath before an authorized officer such as a notary public, court officer, etc.
AFFIRMATION – a declaration made by a person having conscientious objections against swearing an oath
AFTER-ACQUIRED PROPERTY – property that was acquired after the date of a will
AGE OF CONSENT – age at which persons can marry without parental consent
AGE OF MAJORITY – age at which a person becomes able to handle his own affairs being usually 18 for girls and 21 for boys
AGGREGATE (census) – an enumeration in which no names are recorded, only the number of individuals within an age group, religious group, type of profession, national origin, etc.
AHNENTAFEL – a German word that translates as “ancestor table”
ALLEGATION – a document stating there was no impediment to the marriage (a) not close relatives, (b) not minors, (c) did not have a wife or husband living to whom they were already married.
ANCESTORS – person from whom you are descended in a direct line
APPURTENANCES – the rights, duties, and perquisites of one who held manorial land – usually, grazing rights, payment of fines, submission to the manorial court, and a pew in church
ARCHIVES – reference to the storage of older records
ASCENDANT – ancestor
ASSESSOR – the person whose responsibility is to decide on the value of property and the rate of tax to be paid, sometimes being the local sheriff or constable
ASSIGNEE – a person who has been assigned another’s rights or personal property
ASSIGNOR – an individual who assigns his rights or interests in something to another person
AUNT – The sister of one’s father or mother or the wife of one’s uncle

- B -

BANNS – publication or posting of intended marriages, published for three consecutive Sundays prior to the event
BASELINE – specific survey line on which all latitude measurements are based
BASTARD – an illegitimate child; born out of wedlock.
BEQUEST– a gift, personal property or money handed down in a will
BEQUEATH – to give personal property to a person in a will
BINDING OUT – see BOUND OUT
BLENDED FAMILY – a family unit that includes natural children, step-children, foster children, half-brothers and -sisters, and/or adopted children, all as part of a single family group
BONA – [Latin] in good faith
BONA NOTABILIA – [Latin] considerable goods
BOND – A binding agreement; a covenant; a duty, a promise, or another obligation by which one is bound. See also MARRIAGE BOND.
BONDED PASSENGER – passengers convicted of various crimes
BONDMAID -a female slave; a bound servant not due wages
BONDMAN – a male slave; one bound to service without wages
BOND SERVANT – see INDENTURED SERVANT
BONDSMAN – a person who will vouch for or be liable for a sum of money if a person fails to appear in court
BORN IN THE COVENANT – in LDS records, one born to a couple who has been sealed in marriage, and thus is sealed to the parents
BOUND OUT – [also PUTTING OUT] the condition of apprenticed or indentured children
BOUNTY LAND – land designated as payment for military service
BOUNTY LAND WARRANT – a right to free land in the public domain; the certificate, to satisfy the law, showing time served, unit (regiment or corps), and where served

- C -

CADASTRE – a register kept for taxation purposes containing amount, value, and ownership of land; a poll (head) tax record of those qualifying to vote; a Domesday book
CALENDER – a log of events, dates or sources consulted, & a record of what was found
CEMETERY RECORDS – records created about burials; includes both sexton records (office records), and tombstones, both of which can yield valuable genealogical information
CENSUS – official listing or counting of persons; the Federal Census has been taken every 10 years since 1790; there also are state censuses in some states which may have been taken every 5 to 10 years
CENSUS RECORD – records that were created to number the population, especially sponsored by governments to determine the available men for soldiers; the amount of information given in a census varies, according to the needs and purposes of those who sponsored the census
CENSUS INDEX – alphabetical listing of names enumerated in a census
CHATTELS – personal property, both animate and inanimate (usually livestock)
CHRISTENING – baptism into most churches; often occurs a few hours or days following a birth and often was recorded for places and time periods when there are no birth records, therefore, christening records are a major source for family history information.
CIRCA – about or approximately, usually used in front of a date or year
CITATION – the source or authority from which information or data is taken. In genealogy, every fact needs at least one citation
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 – relatives descended from the same ancestors, but in a different line (aunts, uncles, cousins – those not in your direct line)
COMMON LAW MARRIAGE – a marriage without ceremony, civil or ecclesiastical, which may or may not be recognized as a legal marriage
COMMOMER – legal term meaning proprietor
COMMOM ANCESTOR – one shared by any two or more people
COMPOS MENTIS – of sound mind
CONSANGUINITY – blood relationship
CONSOLIDATED INDEX – an index combined from more than one source
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
COPYHOLD – the right by a written transcript or record to occupy a particular piece of land
COURT BARON – a medieval English manorial court that any lord could hold for and among his tenants; by the 13th century the steward of the manor, a lawyer, usually presided; the manorial court usually met every three weeks, and considered personal actions between its suitors; much of the business of the court was to administer the “custom of the manor” and to admit copyhold tenants; the proceedings were recorded on the court roll
COUSIN – [1] a child of one’s aunt or uncle; also called first cousin; [2] a relative descended from a common ancestor, such as a grandparent, by two or more steps in a diverging line; [3] a relative by blood or marriage; a kinsman or kinswoman; [4] a member of a kindred group or country
CULTURE – concepts, habits, skills, art, instruments, institutions, and so forth of a given group of people in a given period of time

- D -

DAGUERREOTYPE – photographic process invented by L. J. M. Daguerre (1789-1857), a French painter, in which pictures were reproduced on silver plates by sensitizing them with iodine and then developing them with mercury
DANEGELD – a tax levied annually to maintain forces to oppose the Danes or to buy them off
DE – [Latin] from; out of; about; at; for
DE ANNO IN ANNUM – [Latin] from year to year
DE BONIS NON – [Latin] “of the goods not administered”; the distribution of property not completed by the first administrator
DECEDENT – the deceased individual
DECESSIT – [Latin] died
DECLARATION OF INTENTION – a declaration filed by a couple in a local court, indicating their intention to marry; also a document filed in a court by an alien who intended to become a United States citizen.
DEED – document signed, sealed, and delivered according to the law conveying title to real estate
DEED OF ACQUITTANCE – a deed by which additional acreage is transferred or sold to the original patent owner when and if it was found that, by survey, the patented land had more acreage than was originally thought
DEED OF AGREEMENT – a deed concerned with the sale of personal property, deeds land to persons who agree to take care of the grantor for the remainder of his life
DEED OF CONVEYANCE – document showing the transfer of ownership of property and perhaps the ownership of a land warrant
DEED OF DECREE – document showing property transferred usually as a result of a petition or court action
DEED OF GIFT – deed showing a transfer of property made without a monetary payment as consideration
DEED OF SEPARATION – an instrument through the medium of a third party acting as trustee, in which provision is made by a husband for separation from his wife, and for her separate maintenance
DEED OF TRUST – a mortage arrangement which allows a third party to hold the deed until the buyer has paid his debt
DEED POLL – a deed made by one person, and ony one person is obligated to fulfill the terms of the deed
DE FACTO – [Latin] “in fact”; something accomplished and done but not necessarily legally sanctioned
DEGREE OF CONSANGUINITY – degree of blood relationship used to determine right of inheritance
DEGREE OF RELATIONSHIP – the distance between two persons related by blood – under Canon Law (used in most states) two persons who descend from a common ancestor, but not one from the other (brother, cousins, etc.) have a collateral consanguinity and a degree of relationship of the same number as the number of generations the furthest is removed from the closest common progenitor; for example, an uncle and nephew are related in the second degree because the nephew is two generations from the common ancestor (his grandfather and his uncle’s father); two brothers are related in the first degree and first cousins are related to each other in the second degree; in lineal relationships (direct lines) each generation is a degree
DE JURE – [Latin] “by right”; an action or deed lawfully and legitimately accomplished as opposed to de facto
DEPOSITION – a written testimony by a witness for use in court in his or her absence
DESCENDANT – one whose ancestry can be traced to a particular individual
DESCENDANT CHART – graphic document that shows descendants of a source couple for a specified number of generations
DEVISE – to give real property by will
DEVISEE – the person to whom real property is left in a will
DIRECT LINE – descent from an ancestor through succeeding children
DOMESDAY BOOK – [also Doomesday Book] ancient record of the Grand or Great Inquest or Survey of lands in England by the order of William the Conqueror, giving a census-like description of the realm, with the names of the proprietors and the nature, extent, value, liabilities, etc. of their properties
DOWAGER – a widow with a title or rank – the queen dowager; a jointure, or property from her husband
DOWER – provision made from a husband’s estate for the support of his widow and family, usually one third of the value of the estate (real estate only)
DOWER RIGHT – the right of a wife to one-third of the land which her husband had at the time of their marriage or aquired during the marriage, after his death
DOWERY – [also DOWRY] any land, money, goods, or personal property brought by a bride to her husband in marriage

- E -

EASEMENT – a right to use another’s land because of necessity or convenience
EASEMENT APPURTENANT – an easement proper or one which passes with the dominant estate to all subsequent grantees and is inheritable
EASEMENT IN GROSS – a personal privilege to use another’s land, which is not assignable and cannot be inherited
EASEMENT OF NECESSITY – an easement necessary for the continued use of land when a large tract has been subdivided
EMIGRANT – one who leaves one country or region to settle in another
ENUMERATION – the process by which persons are counted for purposes of a census
ESTATE – the whole of one’s possessions; especially all the property left by a deceased person
EXECUTOR – the individual appointed by the one making the will to dispose of his or her property after death in accordance with the terms of the will
EXECUTRIX – a female executor
EX FACTO – [Latin] from or by the deed
EXHERES – [Latin] disinherited
EX OFFICIO – [Latin] by virtue of office
EX PARTE – [Latin] judicial proceeding or judgment brought on behalf of one party without notifying the other party
EXPATRIATE – one deported from one’s native land, or one voluntarily absent from his homeland
EXPEDE – to sign, seal, and deliver a document
EX POST FACTO – [Latin] after the act
EXTANT – in existence or not destroyed

- F -

FACULTY – a person who did not own land and as a professional, and thus was taxed on income – faculty included lawyers, physicians, dentists, carpenters, merchants, bankers, etc.
FAILURE OF ISSUE – in a will or deed, indicates that in the event of there being no children born to or surviving the deceased person, the property will go to a third party; in common law, the condition continues with the chidlren of the first taker
FAMILY HISTORY LIBRARY (FHL) – of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) located in Salt Lake City has the world’s largest collection of genealogical information
FAMILY HISTORY CENTER (FHC) – located in many towns throughout the United States and many cities throughout the world, these are local research centers where one may access the information of FHL through the use of microfilm, microfiche and computers
FEE SIMPLE – an inheritance having no conditions or limitations in its use; a direct and complete inheritance
FEET OF FINES – documents, first kept during the reign of Richard I, that had the same function as deeds in transferring land; the bottom part of an indenture or deed kept by the recording office FEODARY – one who holds land of an overlord on condition of homage
FILIA – [Latin] daughter; female off-spring
FILIA FRATRIS – [Latin] brother’s daughter (niece)
FILIA SORORIS – [Latin] sister’s daughter (niece)
FILII NOBELIUM – [Latin] sons of nobles
FILIOLA – [Latin] little daughter
FILIOLUS – [Latin] little son
FILIUS – [Latin] son; male offspring
FILIUS FRATRIS – [Latin] brother’s son; nephew
FILIUS NULLIUS – [Latin] an illegitimate person
FILIUS POPULI – [Latin] “a son of the people”; a bastard
FILIUS SORORIS – [Latin] sister’s son; nephew
FOLIO – [1] a large sheet of paper folded in half to form the pages of a book; [2] a book numbered only on one side; [3] a library designation for large oversized books
FOOLSCAP – writing paper varying from 12 x 15 inches to 13 1/2 x 17 inches
FORBID THE BANNS – public or formal objection to a marriage
FORTNIGHT – two weeks
FRANKLIN – see STATE OF FRANKLIN
FREEHOLD – an estate held outright with no other claims on it and which may be transferred to heirs or others
FREEHOLDER – a person who owns property rather than rents it; one in possession of a freehold
FREEMAN – in general, a white male over 21 years of age holding full rights of citizenship who is free to ply a trade, own land, and to vote

- G -

GEDCOM – acronym for GEnealogical Data COMmunication; file format supported by most genealogy database programs for the exchange of genealogy information between different programs and computers
GENTLEMAN – a member of the gentry, a descendant from an aristocratic family whose income came from the rental of his land
GENTLEWOMAN – a woman of good family or breeding; a woman who has the occupation of waiting on or caring for a person of high rank
GOODMAN – a man ranking below a gentleman but above a freeman
GOODS AND CHATTELS – personal property – goods meant inanimate objects; chattels were livestock
GOODWIFE – the wife or mistress of a household
GOODY – a woman or housewife, especially an old woman
GRANDFATHER CLAUSE – an exception to a law, such as the right for blacks to vote, which gave only those blacks whose parents had voted before 1867 the right to vote
GRANGE – a farmhouse or small hamlet; a center of cultivation owned by a monastery, but too far away for the monks to work it
GRANT– to transfer property by a deed
GRANTEE – the buyer, purchaser, or receiver of real or personal property rights from the seller or grantor, usually be a deed or through a trust document
GRANTOR – the seller or person who sells, grants, transfers, or conveys real or personal property or property rights to the purchaser, buyer, or receiver, usually by a deed or through a trust document
GRASS WIDOW – an unmarried woman with a child; a divorced or separated woman; a discarded mistress
GREGORIAN CALENDAR – named after Pope Gregory, but referred to as the “New Style” calendar which replaced the Julian calendar in 1582 in some countires; in Great Britain, her colonies (America) and other protestant countries, it was not adopted until 1752
GUARDIAN – a person appointed by the court to take care of someone unable to care for himself, such as a minor, an incompetent, an invalid, an idiot, etc.
GUILD – a medieval association of merchants and craftsmen which regulated price, quality, and decided who could make and sell the merchandise under its supervision

- H -

HABENDUM ET TENENDUM – [Latin] “to have and to hold to the grantee (buyer or donee) his heirs and assigns”; a clause in a deed that specifies the type of property or estate that the buyer will receive
HEIR – [1] a person who inherits or is entitled by law or by the terms of a will to inherit the estate of another; [2] a person who succeeds or is in line to succeed to a hereditary rank, title, or office
HERALDRY – the art or office of a herald; the art, practice, or science of recording genealogies and blazoning arms or ensigns armorial
HOLOGRAPHIC WILL – a will written entirely by hand and bearing the date and having the signature of the testator
HOMESTEAD – the house and adjoining land where the head of the family lives, which passes to the widow when her husband dies and is exempt from the claims of his creditors; this is similiar to a widow’s dower, the difference being that the homestead includes the dwelling
HOMESTEAD ACT – any of several legislative acts authorizing the sale of public land

- I -

IMMIGRANT – one who settles in a country having emigrated from another
IMPRESSMENT – the act of seizing people and forcing them into labor
INDENTURE – an agreement or deed between two or more parties conveying real estate, originally made in two parts so that it could be separated by tearing in a jagged line and matched later; a contract in which a person is bound over for service
INDENTURED SERVANT – a servant who sold himself to a master for a period of time (usually 4 to 7 years) in order to pay for passage to another country; the contract was transferrable, saleable, and was passed on to heirs if the master died
INDIDEM – [Latin] from the same place or thing
INDIRECT TAX – tax from sources other than property or income, such as businesses, professions, entertainment, and animals
IN-LAW – colonists used this term for any familial relationship that occurred from a marriage; 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 – [Latin] in the first place
INSTRUMENT – a formal document such as a deed or a will
INTESTATE – condition of a person who dies without leaving a valid will
INVENTORY – a list of goods in the estate of a deceased person
ISSUE – lineal descendants of a common ancestor
ITEM – a term marking the beginning of a paragraph in a will

- J -

JOINT TENANCY – the condition of two or more persons owning a piece of property – this type of ownership allows all persons to use the property and share in it equally
JULIAN CALENDAR – a calendar named for Julius Caesar, it is referred to as the “Old Style” calendar, which was used from 45 BC until 1582, when it was replaced by the Gregorian calendar JUNIOR, SENIOR – these terms did not necessarily indicate father and son; they were used within a small community to distinguish between two persons of the same name; sometimes “the elder” and “the younger” were used in the same fashion
JURAT – [Latin] certification that a document was written by the person who signed it
JURE UXORIS – [Latin] in right of his wife

- K -

KINDRED – a group of blood-related persons
KITH AND KIN – friends and neighbors

- L -

LEGACY – similiar to a bequest, although it often has the meaning of money, whereas bequest usually means personal property
LEGATEE – the person to whom a gift is given or left to in a will; any person receiving real or personal property by will
LEGATOR – a person who makes a will and leaves property to others
LESSEE – the person leasing the property
LESSOR – the owner of property that is leased to another
LETTERS TESTAMENTARY – a document from the court allowing the executor named in the will to carry out his duties; he has no authority until this document is issued
LIBER – [Latin] a book of public records
LIBERI – [Latin] children; grandchildren
LIBERUM ANIMUM TESTANDI – [Latin] free will in bequeathing
LIEN – a claim held by a person upon the property of another until a debt has been paid; a form of security for unpaid debts
LIFE ESTATE – an interest in property that lasts as long as a person lives
LIFERENT – property which the owner can hold for a lifetime but cannot be passed on LINEAGE– [1] direct descent from a particular ancestor; ancestry [2] the descendants of a common ancestor considered to be the founder of the line
LINEAL CONSANGUINITY – being descended in a direct line from another such as son, father, and grandfather
LINEAL DESCENDANT – being descended in a direct line from another such as son, father and grandfather
LIS PENDENS – notice of suits pending litigation, sometimes called equity notices; these usually involve actions concerning real property such as mortgage foreclosures
LIST – official description of property assessed for the purpose of taxation
LITIGANT – a person who is involved in a lawsuit
LOCO – [Latin] to place; to let for hire
LOCO CITATO – [Latin] in the place cited
LOCO PARENTIS – in the place of parents
LOCUS – [Latin] in the place (of the parent)
LOCUS SIGILLI – [Latin] “the place of the seal”; the place where the seal is affixed on written documents
LONGEAVUS – [Latin] of great age; ancient

- M -

MAJORITY – the age at which one is legally no longer a minor
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
MESSUAGE – dwellinghouse
METES AND BOUNDS – (also Courses and Distances) a method of surveying property which made use of the natural physical and topographical features in conjunction with measurements and artificially designated objects or places – metes refers to the measuring of direction and distance while bounds refers to natural or man-made features on the land
MIDWIFE – a woman experienced in the birthing process who helps other women in the birth of a child
MISNOMER – mistake in a person’s name for identification purposes
MORTALITY SCHEDULES – schedules which counted the number of deaths that occurred in the year before the census was taken, and exist for the 1850 through 1880 censuses, listing the individual’s name, age, sex, occupation, cause of death, date of death, and place of death by county MORTIS – [Latin] death; corpse
MORTIS CAUSA – [Latin] in view of death
MOURNING ARTICLE – funeral gift
MOURNING PIECE – a pictorial representation of a tomb, intended as a memorial of the dead MOVEABLES – personal property such as furniture, animals, food, clothing, etc. which can be carried from place to place and is in the possession and use of the owner MR. pronounced “Master” – a title that could only precede the names of gentlemen, clergymen, or government officials; identified in the records with the abbreviation “gent.”
MRS. or MISTRESS – a feminine equivalent of Mr., it did not denote marital status, but social position; a young girl coming from a higher class family would also be called “Mrs.”, even though unmarried
MULATTO – the offspring of one white and one black parent – sometimes used, especially on census schedules, for Indians
MUNIMENT – documents showing that a person has legal rights to land, possessions, or other privileges
MUNIMENT OF TITLE – all written evidence of title which can show proof of ownership
MUSTER OUT – a discharge from military service

- N -

NATURALIZATION – the process of becoming a citizen of the U.S.
NATURALIZE – to grant full citizenship to one of foreign birth
NECROLOGY – a listing of obituaries, as in a newspaper; records of death
NÉE – born; usually refers to a woman’s maiden name
NEPHEW – son of one’s brother or sister; also an illegitimate son of an eccleasiastic, a niece, or a male or female grandchild
NIECE – daughter of one’s brother or sister; sometimes, granddaughter; (pre-seventeenth century England) any descendant, male or female, and occasionally, any younger relative
NON COMPOS MENTIS – [Latin] incompetent, or not mentally capable of handling one’s affairs NUNCUPATIVE WILL – oral will which, to be valid, must be given by a person in their last hours, witnessed by two or more witnesses, and written within a period of six to twelve days
NOW WIFE – exclusively found in wills, this term implied that there was a former wife

- O -

OBIIT – [Latin] he/she died
OBIIT SINE PROLE – [Latin] died without issue
OBITUARY – published notice of a death, sometimes with a brief biography of the deceased

- P -

PASSENGER LISTS – names and information of passengers who arrived by ship, often including their age, sex, occupation, place of origin
PATENT – a grant made by a government to an individual, conveying fee-simple title to public lands; the official document of such a grant; the land so granted
PATRONYMIC – in strict usage, a name formed by the addition of a prefix or suffix indicating sonship or other relationship to the name of one’s father or paternal ancestors, as Johnson (son of John), MacDonald (son of Donald), etc.
PEDIGREE – a list of ancestors; a lineage
PEDIGREE CHART – graphic document that begins with one person and moves backward in time, showing the parents of each person in the tree
PERSONAL PROPERTY – property other than real estate
PER ANNUM – [Latin] by the year
PER STIRPES – [Latin] distribution of an inheritance by giving equal shares to family groups rather than an equal percentage to each descendant
PLACING OUT – [also PUTTING OUT] the placement of children outside the home as apprentices or servants to other people, usually in exchange for payment to the parents POSTHUMOUS – after death
POSTHUMOUS CHILD – a child born after the death of the father
PRIMARY RECORD – a record created at the time of the event (birth, marriage, death, etc.) as opposed to records written years later
PRIMOGENITOR – the earliest ancestor or forefather
PRIMOGENITURE – an old common-law system of inheritance whereby the oldest son inherited the father’s property
PROBATE – originally the proving of a will; now describes the process of legally establishing the validity of a will of a deceased person and settling an estate before a judicial authority
PROGENY – the issue or descendants of a common ancestor
PROGENITOR – an originator of a line of descent, frequently used in reference to the immigrant ancestor
PROLES – offspring
PROVED – documents such as wills, deeds, bills of sale, etc., having their accuracy and honesty attested to through legal proceedings in a court of law

- Q -

QUADROON – a child of a mulatto and a white; a child with one black grandparent
QUID PRO QUO – [Latin] “value for value”; that which is received in consideration for something that is requested, done, or given
QUIT-CLAIM DEED – a deed releasing claim to an estate or property by an individual to another person
QUIT-RENT – a fee paid to a feudal lord so that the tenant could farm the land without being obligated to serve the lord in other capacities
QUIT RENT FEE – in early Virginia, an annual fee (1 shilling for 50 acres of land) paid to the king in exchange for the right to live on and farm the property
QUORUM – the legal number of persons required to be present to conduct business

- R -

RAGMAN’S-ROLL – a register, compiled by a representative of the pope, of the beneficiaries in Scotland
RANGE – the area between range lines (north-south runnin glines) as a part of the Rectangular Survey System – together with the township lines (east-west running lines) range lines form areas of six miles square or 36 square miles, called townships
RECTANGULAR SURVEY SYSTEM – a method of surveying propety provided for under the Land Ordinance of 1785 passed by the Continental Congress which divided the public land states into thirty-seven separate survey systems, each separate survey consisting of a starting point, an east-west running base line, and a north-south running principal meridian
REDEMPTION – the regaining of property once lost to forfeiture or foreclosure
REGISTRAR – an official who registers/records events such as land transactions, probates, births, deaths, etc.
RELICT – a widow or widower; the surviving spouse
REMAINDER – the part of the estate that is left after a prior interest ends
REMOVED – moved; left
RESIDUARY BEQUEST – a bequest which consists of anything left over after the fees and debts have been paid in an estate
RESIDUARY CLAUSE – a clause in a will which conveys any and everything left of a residuary legacy to the beneficiary
RESIDUARY DEVISEE – beneficiary in a will who is to take all real property remaining after other legacies have been satisfied
RESIDUARY ESTATE – all the rest and residue; everything that has not been disposed of other than what remains in the residuary clause
RESIDUE – the surplus of a testator’s estate when all other obligations have been legally taken care of
RESIDUUM – [Latin] the remainder of an estate after all debts and legacies have been dispersed
REVENUE STAMP – a stamp placed on goods and documents to show that the tax had been collected
REVERSE INDEX – in probate, an index listing those involved in the probate process, not the deceased

- S -

SECONDARY RECORD – or secondary source; a record created some time after the event or copied from other sources
SEISIN/SEIZIN – a freehold (held in fee or for life) estate – at one time land could only be held in seisen, because all land was owned by the reigning sovereign
SEISED/SEIZED – to be the legal fee simple possessor
SELECTMAN – in New England, one of 3 to 7 men chosen annually to manage to affairs of a small town
SEPARATISTS – [also Independents] those who withdrew from the Church of England in the sixteenth century
SEQUENTIA – [Latin] the following
SHARECROPPER – a person who would farm ground owned by another, and divide the crops or the profits with the owner
SHILLING – an English coin equivalent to twelve pennies or one twentieth of a pound
SHIRE – a county in Great Britain
SIBLING – a brother or sister
SINE – [Latin] without
SINE DIE – [Latin] “without a day”; dismissing a proceeding, such as a court term, without determining a day for it to begin again
SINE LOCO – [Latin] without place
SINE PROLE – [Latin] without issue; without children
SINE PROLE SUPERSITE – [Latin] without surviving issue (children)
SOCIAL SECURITY DEATH INDEX – an index of records containing names of deceased Social Security recipients whose relatives applied for Social Security Death Benefits after their passing which includes the individual’s name and Soundex code, birth date, death date, Social Security number and state where it was issued
SOUNDEX – a card index system prepared by the Works Progress Administration for the federal censuses; names are arranged by letter and number codes according to the sounds of their consonants; thus, even if a name is misspelled or spelled in an unexpected way, it can often be located in the Soundex index
SPOUSE – a husband or wife
STATE OF FRANKLIN – a state reorganized in 1784 in the western part of North Carolina and which ceased to exist in 1788, now a part of eastern Tennessee
STEERAGE – a section in a passenger ship for those paying the lowest fare
STIRPES – [Latin] [1] a family or branch of family; [2] in law, the person from whom everyone in a family is descended
SUPRASUPRA SCRIPTUM – [Latin] as written above
SURETY – a guarantee or a person who assumes the responsibility for another such as one who promises to pay someone else’s debts if he defaults
SURNAME – the last or family name that a person bears in common with others in his/her famil
SURRENDER – a land record which involves giving up land before the lease has expired with the mutual consent of both parties

- T -

TAIL – an estate which does not descend to heirs generally, but to the heirs of the donee’s body in a direct line if the posterity continues in a regular oder and upon the death of the first owner without issue the esate is terminated
TENANCY – residence on, and use of land, without owning it
TENANCY BY THE ENTIRETY – the ownership of property by a husband and wife together in which on the death of one the entire interest in the property diverts to the other – property that is owned by both the husband and the wife will pass to the survivor no matter what the will states
TENANCY IN COMMON – property that is held by two persons – in tenancy in common the right of survivorship does not apply – in this case the property automatically becomes part of the estate and is taken care of according to the terms of the will
TENANT – a name used for indentured servants who were settled on farms, supplied with tools, and engaged to remain on the land seven years; one who holds property by ownership or temporarily by leasing or renting
TENANT FARMER – a renter or one who is allowed to farm a particular piece of land in trade for services given; famer who did not own the land worked
TENANTS-IN-CAPITE – a person holding feudal land directly from the king, usually several manors, who would in turn sub-infeud to other tenants
TENANT IN COMMON – a possession of the land as a whole by several persons, each having a separate title, although the land is not divided
TENEMENT – any property that can be held, but most often refers to houses and land
TENOR – the exact wording in a legal document or an exact copy
TERCE – a life-rent given by law to a widow, which consists of a third of her husband’s estate on the condition that the marriage has lasted one year and a day, or that there is a living child of the marriage
TERCE LAND – the rent from land given to a widow as her terce
TERRIER – book or scroll used to record land description, usage, etc.
TESTABLE – something that can be given by will; capable of making or witnessing a will
TESTAMENT – the disposition of one’s personal property by will
TESTAMENTARY – referring to, given by, or appointed by a will
TESTAMENTARY BOND – security posted with the court by the executor of an estate to insure that the wishes of the deceased be followed
TESTAMENTARY GUARDIAN – a guardian appointed to be responsible for the inheritance of a minor child
TESTAMENTUM – [Latin] will; testament
TESTATE– having a valid will upon death
TESTATOR – the person who makes a will
TESTATRIX– a female who leaves a valid will
TESTE – the concluding and witnessing clause of a writ or other legal document which expresses the date of its issue and the name of the judge
TESTIS – [Latin] a witness
TITHE – associated with the payment of offerings (in kind or money) to a church or the government as tax
TRUSTEE – one who holds legal title to property in order to administer it for a beneficiary

- U -

ULTIMO – [Latin] in the month immediately preceding
ULTIMO DIE -[Latin] final day
ULTIMUS – [Latin] last, end, furthest
UNDERGROUND RAILROAD – the system which took slaves to freedom in fourteen Northern states by 1830, and about 50,000 between 1840 and 1860
UNIGENA – [Latin] only-begotten; only; of one family
UNIGENITUS – [Latin] the only son
UNLAW – any transgression of the law, act of injustice, a fine, or a law that has no real authority
UNOFFICIOUS WILL – a will made without any regard as to natural obligations of inheritance
UNPROBATED WILL – a will which was never submitted for probate, which may have been lost for a time
UNREGISTERED WILL – will that has been proved but not entered into a volume of copy or registered wills at the probate court, either because an executor was not disposed to pay fees for registering, or because the probate court did not maintain registered copies at that period of time
UNSEATED – persons who were taxed for land that they owned but did not live on
UNSEATED LAND – unsettled area
UNSOLEMN WILL – a will where no executor is named
USUFRUCT – the right to enjoy property and the benefits thereof as long as the property itself is not harmed nor depleted
USURY – the practice of lending money at a rate of interest that is excessive or unlawfully high
UT – [Latin] in what manner; in the manner that
UTERINE – having the same mother but different fathers
UT INFRA – [Latin] as below
UT SUPRA – [Latin] as above
UXOR – [Latin] wife; spouse; consort

- V -

VACANCY – [1] an opening refering to land or housing; [2] a pause or break in the workings of a probate court because of the death or resignation of the main official; [3] in Texas, an area of unsurveyed school land, not listed in land office records, between two or more recorded surveys
VACANT LAND – unappropriated public land, including land that has been occupied but on which no binding title had been given and the land thus reverted to the state
VALID – that which is legally binding, legitimate or good
VANITY BOOK – a county (any local) history book for which people subscribed before the book was written on the conditiont their families would be included in its pages
VASSAL – in the Middle Ages, a person who held land under the feudal system by pledging loyalty to a lord and performing services, miitary or otherwise, in return for his protection
VENDUE – a public auction or sale
VERBATIM – [Latin] word for word
VICULUS – [Latin] village; hamlet
VIDELICET – [Latin] namely; to wit; that is to say
VIDEUS – [Latin] living; true to life; vigorous
VIDUA – [Latin] widow
VIDUUS – [Latin] widower; widow
VILLANAGE – base servitude; tenure on condition of doing the lowest kind of services for the lord
VILLEIN – serf
VILLEINAGE – see VILLANAGE
VIR – [Latin] man; boy; male; husband; soldier
VIRGIN – in bonds or licences of England, an unmarried woman
VITAL RECORDS – civil records of birth, marriage and death
VITIOUS INTROMISSION – the unwarranted dealing with the movable estate of a deceased person
VIVUS – [Latin] alive; living
VIXIT ANNOS – [Latin] he or she lived (a certin number) years
VIXOR – [Latin] wife

- W -

WAIVER – an intentional and voluntary giving up of one’s rights
WAMPUM – small cylindrical beads made from polished shells and fashioned into strings or belts, formerly used by certain Native American peoples as currency and jewelry or for ceremonial exchanges between groups; also called peag
WARNING OUT – the practice of ordering poor or indigent persons or families to leave a community if they are looked upon as potentially becoming dependent upon the town, township, city, etc. for support
WILL – the legal document containing the statement of a person’s wishes regarding the disposal of his or her property after death
WRIT OF ARREST – see WRITE OF CAPIAS
WRIT OF ATTACHMENT – a court order to a court official to seize and hold property enough to cover debts and court costs for not appearing in court
WRIT OF CAPIAS – a formal arrest document; warrant
WRIT OF CAPIAS AD SATISFACIENDUM – a document which required the loser (debtor) to be imprisoned until the debt was paid
WRIT OF FIERI FACIAS – a cout order to seize (attach) and sell goods belonging to the loser in a court case to pay debts owed
WRIT OF SUMMONS – a document commanding a person to appear in court
WRIT OF VENIRE FACIAS – a document issued to call men to be jurors

- X -

None

- Y -

YARD LAND – land area which varies from fifteen to forty acres, depending on the locality
YEAR’S PROVISIONS – a widow is entitled to a twelve months supply of goods and money or provisions out of her husband’s estate – this specified amount cannot be used or given to creditors to clear her husband’s debts.

- Z -

None