Genealogy Terms

Acre: 43,560 square feet; 4,840 square yards; 160 square rods.
Administrator (of an estate): Person appointed to manage or divide the estate of a deceased person.
Administratrix: A female administrator.
Affidavit: A written statement confirmed by oath.
Ahnentafel: A table of one's ancestors, from the German Ahnen (ancestor) and Tafel (table or list).
Ahnentafel Numbers: Numbering system used to identify each individual in a family tree. The numbers follow the format that an individual's father is twice that individual's number, and that an individual's mother is twice that individual's number plus one. Used in pedigree charts.
American Revolution: U.S. war for independence from Great Britain 1775-1783.
Ancestor: A person from whom you are descended; a forefather.
Ancestor Chart: Report or chart that shows a person and all of their ancestors in a graphical format. As opposed to the Ahnentafel which is more of a narrative report.
Ancestry: The lineage of all the ancestors of a person.
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.
Archive: Collection of public or corporate records; place where such records are kept.
Base born: Born out of wedlock or of low parentage.
Beneficiary: One who receives benefits of a trust or property.
Bequeath: To give personal property to a person in a will.
Bibliography: List of sources.
Birth Certificate: Documentation about one's birth.
Bounty Land: Land promised as reward or inducement for enlisting in military service.

Cascading Pedigree Chart: A series of pedigree charts that span multiple generations for an individual and then for each person in the last generation of the first chart.
Census: Official enumeration, listing or counting of citizens.
Chain: 100 links; 66 feet.
Chattel: Any property other than freehold land, including tangible goods (chattels personal) and leasehold interested (chattels real).
Circa: About or approximately; usually referring to a date.
Citation: Page or section reference of a source.
Civil War: War between the States; war between North and South, 1861-1865.
Codicil: An addition explaining, modifying or revoking part of a will.
Collateral Ancestor: Descended from the same ancestral stock, but not in the direct line.
Common Ancestor: Ancestor shared by any two or more people.
Confederacy: Collectively the Confederate States of America; the southern American states which seceded from the United States in 1860-1861.
Cousin: Child of a person's Aunt or Uncle; person with whom one shares a common ancestor (excluding one's direct ancestors and siblings); formerly used as a loose term for any close friend or relative.
Daughter-in-Law: Wife of one's son.
Death Certificate: Documentation of one's death.
Deceased: Dead, expired, or passed.
Deed: A document by which title and ownership in real property is transferred from one party to another.
Descendant: A person who descends from another given person.
Descendant Chart: Report or chart that shows a person and all of their descendants in a graphical format. As opposed to the Modified Register which is more of a narrative report.
Emigrant: A person leaving a country and moving (permanently) to another.
Epitaph: An inscription on or at a tomb or grave in memory of the one buried there.
Estate: All property and debts belonging to a person.
Executor: One appointed in a will to carry out its provisions.
Executrix: Feminine form of Executor.

Family Group Sheet: A report listing the father, mother, and each child of a family.
Father-in-Law: Father of one's spouse.
Fee Simple: Absolute ownership of land to sell or divide without restriction.
Fee Tail: An estate of inheritance limited to lineal descendant heirs of a person to whom it was granted.
Freehold: An estate in fee simple, in fee tail, or for life.
Free Person of Color (FPC): A person who is neither a Caucasian nor a slave.
Furlong: 1,000 links; 660 feet.
Gazetteer: A geographical dictionary; a book giving names and descriptions of places usually in alphabetical order.
Genealogy: Study of family history and descent.
Given Name: Name given to a person at birth or baptism, one's first and middle names (in societies where the surname is inherited).
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 (also grand-aunt).
Great-Uncle: Brother of one's grandparent (also grand-uncle).
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.
Headright: System of land allocation in colonial Virginia.
Heirs: Those entitled by law or by the terms of a will to inherit property from another.
Holographic Will: 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.

Illegitimate: Born to a mother who was not married.
Immigrant: One moving permanently into a country from another.
Infant: A person not of full age; a minor.
International Genealogical Index (IGI): A database created of names that have been extracted from various original records from all over the world and also entries submitted by LDS church members for temple ordinances. Created and maintained by the LDS FHL.
Intestate: One who dies without a will.
LDS: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons).
Late: Recently deceased; now deceased.
Lease: An agreement which creates a landlord-tenant situation.
Legacy: Property or money left to someone in a will.
Legatee: A person who inherits money or property through a will.
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 a direct line of ancestry or descendants; descended in a direct line.
Link: Length: 1/100th of a surveying chain; 7.92 inches.
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 woman's last name or surname before she marries.
Maternal: Related through one's mother; on one mother's side of the family.
Metes & Bounds: Property described by natural boundaries, such as 3 white oaks and a locust tree, etc.
Migration: The move from one area to another.
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 an adult; an infant.
Minner: Person who surrenders land to another in exchange for release from contractual obligations.
Mister: In early times, a title of respect given only to those who held important civil office or who were of gentle blood.
Mortgage: A conditional transfer of title to real property as security for payment of a debt.
Mortscloth: Shroud to cover a coffin.
Mother-in-Law: Mother of one’s spouse.
Mulatto: Strictly a person of one Caucasian and one Negro parent, but commonly used for any person of mixed heritage.
Namesake: Person named after another person.
Nephew: Son of one’s brother or sister.
Niece: Daughter of one’s brother or sister.

Passenger List: A ships list of passengers, usually referring to those ships arriving in the US from Europe.
Patent: Grant of land from a government to an individual.
Paternal: Related through one’s father; on one's father's side of the family.
Pedigree: Ancestry; bloodline; family tree; lineage.
Pedigree Chart: A chart which includes the direct ancestors (parents, grandparents, etc.) of an individual. Does not include brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles or other relatives.
Pension: Money paid regularly to an individual, especially by a government as reward for military service during wartime or upon retirement from government service.
Perch: 5 1/2 yards; a pole; a rod.
Pole: 5 1/2 yards; a perch; a rod.
Poll: Head or taxable person; list or record of persons, especially for taxing or voting.
Posterity: Descendants; those who come after.
Post Nominal: Initials after name indicating rank, honors, or academic achievement.
Prenuptial Agreement: Legal document (usually involving property) made by a couple before marriage.
Primogeniture: The right of the eldest child (usually the son) to inherit the entire estate of the parents.
Progenitor: A direct ancestor or first person in a new territory.
Progeny: Descendants of a common ancestor; issue.
Revolutionary War: U.S. war for independence from Great Britain 1775-1783.
Rod: 5 1/2 yards; 16 1/2 feet; a perch or square perch; a pole.
Rood: 5 1/2 to 8 yards depending upon location; 1/4 of an acre.
Section: 640 acres; one of the 36 divisions of a township.
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.
Social Security Death Index (SSDI): Index of Social Security Death Benefit records which document how much the government has paid to an individual (spouse, child, etc.) as a result of a relative's death.
Son-in-Law: Husband of one's daughter.
Soundex: A method of giving names sound codes. This was created in the 1930's due to the fact that names can be spelled in many different ways. By grouping together surnames that sound alike, individuals can search for ancestors even when the surname had several different spellings.
Source: A book, document, or other record that supplies primary information.
Spouse: Husband or wife.
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: Last name; family name.
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; a person who owes tax to a specified jurisdiction.
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 counties in many states.
Union: The United States; also the North during the Civil War, the states which did not secede.
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.

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