Genealogy Glossary: Terms from Old Records Explained

Old records were written by clerks, lawyers and ministers using words that have changed meaning or dropped out of use. Search or scroll for any term.

Term	Meaning
Abstract	A summary of a document that keeps every important detail (names, dates, places, relationships) but not the exact wording.
Administrator / administratrix	The man or woman appointed by a court to settle the estate of someone who died without a will (intestate).
Ahnentafel	German for "ancestor table." A numbered list of ancestors: you are 1, your father 2, your mother 3, and anyone's father is twice their number.
Alien	A resident who was not a citizen. Census records may note "Al" for alien, "Pa" for first papers filed, and "Na" for naturalized.
Appraisal / inventory	A list of everything a dead person owned, with values, made for the probate court.
Apprentice	A young person bound by contract to learn a trade from a master, often until age 21. Orphans were frequently apprenticed by the court.
Banns	A public announcement in church, usually on three Sundays, of an intended marriage.
Bastardy bond	A bond requiring the reputed father of a child born outside marriage to support it, so the county wouldn't have to. Often names both parents.
Bequeath / devise	To leave personal property (bequeath) or land (devise) in a will.
Bond, marriage	A pledge of money by the groom and a surety (often the bride's father or brother) that there was no legal reason the marriage couldn't take place.
Bounty land	Land granted by the federal or a state government as a reward for military service.
Chain	A surveyor's measure of 66 feet (4 poles). See also pole.
Christening	Baptism, usually of an infant, often the only record of a birth before civil registration.
Circa (c. or ca.)	"About." Used for estimated dates: c. 1820.
Collateral line	Relatives who aren't your direct ancestors: siblings, aunts, uncles and cousins.
Consort	A spouse. On gravestones, "consort of" usually means the wife of a living husband.
Conveyance	A document, usually a deed, transferring property from one person to another.
Cousin	In older records, any relative outside the immediate family, including nieces, nephews and in-laws, not just a cousin in today's sense.
Declaration of intention	The "first papers" an immigrant filed stating an intent to become a citizen.
Deed of gift	A deed giving property without payment, often from a parent to a child. Look for "for love and affection."
Derivative source	A copy, transcription, abstract or index of an original record. Useful, but can introduce errors.
Direct evidence	Information that answers a research question by itself, such as a will naming "my son John."
Dower	A widow's legal right to use one-third of her late husband's land for the rest of her life ("widow's thirds").
Enumeration district (ED)	The area covered by one census taker. Needed to browse census images by location from 1880 on.
Enumerator	The census taker.
Escheat	Property that reverts to the state when someone dies with no will and no heirs.
Estate	Everything a person owned at death; also the legal process of settling it.
Executor / executrix	The man or woman named in a will to carry it out.
FAN club	Friends, associates and neighbors: the people around an ancestor, whose records often solve problems. See The FAN Club.
Fee simple	Outright ownership of land, which the owner can sell or leave to heirs.
Freeholder	A person who owned land outright, often required for voting or jury service.
GEDCOM	A standard file format for exchanging family trees between programs and websites.
Grantor / grantee	In a deed, the grantor sells or gives the land; the grantee receives it. Deed indexes are usually split this way.
Guardian	A person appointed by a court to manage the property, and sometimes the care, of a minor or someone unable to manage their affairs.
Haplogroup	A branch of the human family tree defined by Y-DNA or mitochondrial DNA mutations.
Headright	In colonial Virginia and some other colonies, land granted to a person who paid for someone's passage, often 50 acres per person.
Heir at law	A person who inherits by law when there's no will, usually the closest relatives.
Holographic will	A will written entirely in the testator's own hand.
Indenture	A formal agreement between two parties, such as a deed or an apprenticeship contract.
Indirect evidence	Information that answers a question only when combined with other evidence.
Infant	In legal records, any minor under the age of 21, not just a baby.
Instant (inst.)	"Of this month." A letter dated 20 March referring to "the 5th inst." means 5 March.
Intestate	Dying without a valid will.
Issue	Children or descendants. "Died without issue" means with no children.
Junior / Senior	In older records, often just the younger and older man of the same name in a community. They weren't necessarily father and son.
Land patent	The document transferring land from a government to its first private owner.
Legacy	A gift of money or property in a will.
Letters of administration	The court document authorizing an administrator to settle an intestate estate.
Letters testamentary	The court document authorizing an executor to carry out a will.
Lineage society	An organization whose members prove descent from a particular group, such as Revolutionary War patriots (DAR, SAR).
Manifest	A ship's passenger list.
Metes and bounds	A land description that follows the edges of a tract by compass direction and distance. See Deed Platting.
Moiety	A half share, or any portion, of property.
Mortality schedule	A census list of people who died in the year before the 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880 censuses.
Naturalization	The legal process by which an immigrant becomes a citizen.
Nuncupative will	A spoken will, declared before witnesses as a person was dying, and written down later.
Original record	A record in its first form, such as the deed book entry or the signed will, as opposed to a copy or index.
Orphan	In legal records, often a child whose father had died, even if the mother was alive.
Orphans' court	In some states, the name of the court that handled estates and guardianships.
Patronymic	A surname made from a father's given name, like Johnson (son of John) or Andersdotter (daughter of Anders).
Pedigree chart	A chart of a person's direct ancestors. Print one free.
Plat	A drawn map of a tract of land.
Pole / rod / perch	A surveyor's measure of 16.5 feet.
Primary information	Information provided by someone who witnessed the event, such as a mother reporting a birth.
Probate	The court process of proving a will and settling an estate. Also used for all estate records.
Proximo (prox.)	"Of next month."
Quitclaim deed	A deed giving up whatever claim a person has to a property, common when heirs sell their shares.
Relict	A widow or widower; the surviving spouse.
Relinquishment of dower	A wife's signed release of her dower rights when her husband sold land.
Secondary information	Information from someone who didn't witness the event, such as a child reporting a parent's birthplace on a death certificate.
Sexton	A church caretaker, often responsible for burials and burial records.
Soundex	A code that groups surnames that sound alike (Smith, Smyth, Schmidt) used to index censuses and other records.
Surety	A person who guarantees a bond, often a relative.
Testator / testatrix	The man or woman who made a will.
Tithable	A person subject to the poll tax in colonial Virginia and some other places. See Tax Lists.
Ultimo (ult.)	"Of last month."
Vital records	Records of births, marriages and deaths kept by a civil government.
Ward	A person, usually a minor, under the care of a guardian.
Warrant, land	An order authorizing a survey of land for a person, the first step toward a grant or patent.