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.

Ad litem

Legal term meaning in this case only.

Administration

A court action used to settle the estate of a person who died without leaving a will, or a person who left a will that the court disallowed, or where the executor appointed by the deceased refuses to serve in that capacity.

Administrator

An appointee of the court who settles the estate of a deceased who died without leaving a will.

Affidavit

A written and signed statement sworn in front of a court officer

Agricultural schedule

An addition to the U.S. Census for 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880. The Agricultural schedule lists the holdings of individual farms.

Ahnentafel

A table of one's ancestors, from the German Ahnen (ancestor) and Tafel (table or list).

Ancestor

A person from whom one descends; forefather; forebear.

Annotation

Interpretation, explanation, clarification, definition, or supplement.

Apprentice

A person under legal agreement to work a specified length of time for a master craftsman in return for instruction.

Archives

A place where older records are kept or the records themselves.

Authenticate

To prove a document is not a forgery.

Banns

Public announcement of an intended marriage to allow time for those who might protest. In most churches the banns were read aloud on three successive Sundays.

Bastard

Illegitimate child; a person born to parents not married to each other.

Beneficiary

A person named to receive the income or inheritance from a will, insurance policy or trust, etc.

Bequest

Legacy; usually a gift of real estate by will.

Bibliography

A list of the sources of information on a given subject; a list of books or articles used or referred to by an author.

Biography

The history of an individual's life as recounted by another.

Bond

A written, binding agreement to perform as specified. Many types of bonds have existed for centuries and appear in marriage, land and court records used by genealogists.

Bounty land

Public land promised as an inducement for enlistment or payment for military services.

Bounty land warrant

A gift of bounty land due to a person entitled by military service, or to his heirs or assignees.

Canon law

A law of the church.

Capitation Tax

Tax on people, also called a head tax or poll tax.

Cemetery records

Cemetery caretakers usually keep records of the names and death dates of those buried, as well as maps of the grave sites.

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.

Chattels

Personal property, both animate and inanimate.

Church records

The formal documents that churches have kept about their congregations through the years. Churches normally record information about christenings, baptisms, marriages, and burials.

Circa

About, approximately.

Clan

A social unit in the Scottish Highlands, consisting of a number of families claiming a common ancestor and following the same hereditary leader.

Codicil

A supplement or an addition to a will.

Collateral ancestor

An ancestor not in the direct line of ascent, but of the same ancestral family.

Collateral line

Line of descent connecting persons who share a common ancestor, but are related through an aunt, uncle, cousin, nephew, etc.

Common law marriage

An agreement to live together as man and wife but not solemnized by religious or civil ceremony, or the fact of such co-habitation.

Connubial

Of marriage, conjugal.

Consanguinity

The degree of relationship between persons who descend from a common ancestor

Consort

Wife, husband, spouse, mate, companion.

Conveyance

A written instrument that transfers title to property from one party to another.

Coroner's inquest

A legal inquiry, or inquest by a coroner, to determine the cause of a sudden or violent or unexplained death.

Cousin

In colonial usage, often a nephew or niece. It could also mean any familial relationship, blood or otherwise, except mother, father, sister or brother. In modern times, a child of one's aunt or uncle.

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 characteristics of human populations, such as size, growth, density 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

A gift of real property by last will and testament of the donor.

Double date

The practice of writing double dates resulted from switching from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar, and also from the fact that not all countries and people accepted the new calendar at the same time.

Dower

That part of a man's property which by law his wife inherits for life.

Dowry

The property a bride brings to her husband at their marriage

Emigrant

A person who leaves his country or region to settle in another

Emigrate

To leave a country or region to settle in another

Entail

To restrict the inheritance of land to a specific group of heirs, such as an individual's sons.

Enumeration

Process by which persons are counted for a census

Enumerator

A census taker

Escheat

A common law doctrine that operates to ensure that property is not left in limbo and ownerless.

Estate

Assets and liabilities of a decedent, including land, personal belongings and debts.

Et al

Latin term meaning "and others"

Et ux, et uxor

Latin term meaning "and wife"

Evidence

Any kind of proof, such as testimony, documents, records, certificates, material objects, etc.

Executor

The person named in a will to carry out the provisions of the will.

Executrix

A female executor

Family Group Sheet or Family Unit Sheet

A family group sheet is a form which presents genealogical information about a nuclear family -- a husband, a wife, and their children.

Family histories

Books which detail the basic genealogical facts about one or more generations of a particular family.

Fee Simple

An inheritance having no limitations or conditions in its use.

Feme sole

An unmarried woman or a married woman with property independent of her husband.

Freedman

A man or woman who has been freed from bondage or slavery

Freeman

One who holds the full rights of citizenship, such as voting and engaging in business (as opposed to an indentured servant)

Friends

"The Society of Friends," the correct term for the Quakers

Gazetteer

A dictionary or index of geographical names

GEDCOM

GEnealogy Data COMmunications, a standardized format for genealogy databases that allows the exchange of data among different software programs and operating systems.

Genealogy

A chart or recorded history of the descent of a person or family from one or more ancestors.

Gentleman

A member of the gentry, a descendant from an aristocratic family whose income came from the rental of his land.

Grantee

One to whom property is transferred by a deed

Grantor

A person selling, granting, transferring or conveying property

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

A person lawfully appointed to care for the person of a minor, invalid, incompetent and their interests, such as education, property management and investments.

Heir

A person who receives property of a deceased either by will or by law.

Holographic will

A will that is handwritten and signed by the individual for whom the will belongs.

Homestead

A home on land obtained from the United States government. Part of the agreement between the individual and the government was that the individual had to live on the land and make improvements to it, such as adding buildings and clearing fields.

Immigrant

A person moving into a country from another country.

Immigrate

To enter into a country or region in order to settle there.

Indentured servant

A person who is bound into the service of another person for a specified period, usually seven years in the 18th and 19th centuries to pay for passage to another country.

Index

An alphabetical list of names that were taken from a particular set of records.

Infant

A person under legal age,

Intestate

Used to denote a person who died without leaving a will.

Inventory

A legal list of all the property in a deceased person's estate. The executor of the will is required to make an inventory.

Issue

Children, descendants, offspring.

Julian Calendar

Calendar named for Julius Caesar and used from 45 B.C. to 1582, called the "Old Style" calendar; replaced by the Gregorian calendar.

Land records

Deeds -- proof that a piece of land is owned by a particular individual

Legacy

Property or money bequeathed to someone in a will.

Lineage

Direct line of descent from an ancestor

Litigant

A person involved in a lawsuit.

Loco parentis

In place of the parent or parents.

Loyalist

Colonist who supported the British during the American Revolution; Tory.

Major

A person who has reached legal age.

Manumission

The act of being released from slavery or servitude.

Marriage bond

A document obtained by an engaged couple prior to their marriage. It affirmed that there was no moral or legal reason why the couple could not be married. In addition, the man affirmed that he would be able to support himself and his new bride.

Maternal line

The line of descent traced through the mother's ancestry

Metes and bounds

A method of surveying property by using physical and topographical features in conjunction with measurements.

Militia

A citizen army; a military organization formed by local citizens to serve in emergencies.

Mortality schedule

A section of the federal census listing information about persons who died during the census year.

Mulatto

An individual with mixed black and white heritage.

Naturalization records

Records that document the process by which an immigrant becomes a citizen. An individual has to live in the United States for a specific period of time and file a series of forms with a court

Née

Born, used to denote a woman's maiden name

Nuclear family

A family group that consists only of father, mother, and children

Nuncupative will

Oral will declared or dictated by the testator in his last illness before a sufficient number of witnesses and afterwards put in writing.

Obituary

A notice of a person's death, usually with a brief biography.

Orphan

A child whose mother, father, or both have died.

Paleography

The study of handwriting.

Parish

Area having its own church and clergyman. Also in Louisiana, a government division like a county.

Passenger lists

Lists of the names and information about passengers that arrived on ships into the United States. These lists were submitted to customs collectors at every port by the ship's master. Passenger lists were not officially required by the United States government until 1820.

Paternal line

Line of descent traced through the father's ancestry.

Patronymics

The practice of creating last names from the name of one's father.

Pedigree

A person's ancestry, lineage, family tree.

Pedigree Chart

A chart showing the lines of your direct ancestors.

Pension (military)

A benefit paid regularly to a person for military service or a military service related disability.

Peerage

A book containing a list of nobles with their genealogy, history, and titles.

Poll

Used in early tax records denoting a taxable person; person eligible to vote.

Posthumous

Occurring after death.

Power of Attorney

Written instrument where a person, as principal, appoints someone as his or her agent, thereby authorizing that person to perform certain acts on behalf of the principal, such as buying or selling property, settling an estate, representing them in court, etc.

Preponderance of evidence

Evidence of greater weight or more convincing than the opposing evidence; evidence more credible and convincing, more reasonable and probable, and can be circumstantial in nature.

Primary source

Records that were created at the time of an event.

Primogeniture

Insures the right of the eldest son to inherit the entire estate of his parents.

Probate

Legal process used to determine the validity of a will before the court authorizes distribution of an estate.

Progenitor

An originator of a line of descent, frequently used in reference to the immigrant ancestor.

Progeny

Children or offspring

Public domain

Land owned by a government.

Quitclaim deed

Transfer of land or claim without guarantying a clear title.

Quit rent roll

In early Virginia, a list of those who paid the annual fee to the King in exchange for the right to live on and farm property.

Real property

Land and anything which is attached to it, including buildings, crops, trees, fences, etc.

Receiver

A person appointed by the court to hold property until a suit is settled.

Redemptioner

A person who paid for passage to America by a stipulated period of service as an indentured servant.

Relict

A widow; a person whose husband has died and has not remarried.

SASE

A stamped, self-addressed envelope that should be included with every request for help from a person or institution.

Secondary source

A record that was created a significant amount of time after an event occurred or by a person who was not present at the event.

Sexton

A person who maintains church property or a cemetary.

Sibling

A brother or sister

Sic

A Latin term signifying a copy reads exactly as the original; indicates a possible mistake in the original.

Sine prole

Without offspring

Social Security Death Index (SSDI)

An index of Social Security Death records. Generally this includes names of deceased Social Security recipients whose relatives applied for Social Security Death Benefits after their passing. Also included in the millions of records are about 400,000 railroad retirement records from the early 1900s to 1950s.

Soundex

A phonetic indexing system.

Source

The document, record, publication, person, etc. used to prove or establish a fact.

Surname

A person's last name or family name.

Testate

A person who has died and left a valid will

Tithable

A person taxable by law.

Tithe

In English law, the tenth part of one's annual income paid to support noblemen and clergy; amount of annual poll tax.

Township

A square tract six miles on each side containing thirty-six square miles of land; a name given to the civil and political subdivisions of a county.

Vestry

Administrative group within a parish; the ruling body of a church.

Vital records

Birth, marriage and death records

Widow

A woman whose husband has died.

Widower

A man whose wife has died.

Will

A document stating how a person wants real and personal property divided after death.

Witness

A person present at an event such as a marriage or the signing of a document who can vouch that the event took place.

Writ of attachment

A court order authorizing the seizure of property sufficient to cover debts and court costs for not appearing in court.

Writ of summons

A document ordering a person to appear in court.

Yeoman

A farmer; a freeholder who works a small estate; rank below gentleman.