| Terms | Definition |
|---|---|
| Abeyance | Held in a state of suspension, or also unknown ownership |
| Abstract | A shortened summary or transcript of a record |
| Ahnentafel | A numbering system that shows the ancestry of one individual by generation, as in an ahnentafel chart. More information: Wikipedia |
| Antebellum | Common use is meaning before the Civil War, usually in the South. Term can be offensive / racist if used to glorify the time of slavery in the U.S. |
| Banns | A public announcement, usually in a church or newspaper, of an upcoming marriage, to allow objections |
| Base-born or Baseborn | Illegitimate child or bastard, born to a woman is who not married to the father. Could also mean a child born to parents of low stature. |
| Bequeath | To leave property to, usually in a will |
| Bond | A legally binding agreement to perform as written |
| Bounty Land | Land given from the goverment as payment for military service, especially after the Revolutionary War, those who would receive were given Bounty Land Warrants. |
| Collateral Relative | Any relative not in your direct line, but whom you share an ancestor with - for example, your aunt is not a direct line ancestor and is therefore a collateral relative, as are your cousins. You may be related by blood but there is no direct line of descent. |
| Citation | The source where the information was taken, shown to support evidence as facts or credible sources. |
| Consanguinity | Being descended from a common ancestor, a blood relation. |
| Consort | A spouse or companion |
| Conveyance | A transfer of property from one owner to another, or transporting something or someone from one place to another |
| Descendant Chart | Chart which shows descendants of a person or couple at the top of a family tree for an unspecified amount of generations. Also called drop-line chart. |
| Dower | A share of husband's real estate which the widow is entitled to |
| Emigrant | A person leaving one country to live in another country, versus an immigrant that is moving into another country |
| Enumeration | The process of counting people, as in a census |
| Enumerator | Those who take the census count |
| Family Group Sheet | A form for recording information about a specific family grouping, showing neither ascent or descent, often listing names, birthdates, and other vital record details. A separate form should be created for each marriage, so if a woman has been married twice there should be two family group sheets. All information on a FGS should refer to a source. |
| Good brother | Refers to brother-in-law. Similiar terms include "good sister" for sister-in-law, "good son" for son-in-law, and so forth. |
| Haplogroup | A population group with similiar haplotypes that share a common ancestor. With genetic testing, haplogroups can help you determine the area your ancestors came from thousands of years ago. More information:Wikipedia and isogg.org |
| Haplotype | A unique combination of "alleles" or gene markers, or set of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), that are usually inherited together on a single chromosome. Those with similiar haplotypes may belong to the same haplogroups. More information:Wikipedia and Nature.com |
| Heir | Person who inherits an estate after a death |
| Instant | Of this month |
| Intestate | Someone that has died without leaving a will has died intestate |
| Issue | Another word for offspring or children |
| Julian Calendar | Called the "old style" calendar used from 45 BC to AD 1582, followed by the Gregorian Calendar. |
| Major | A person that has reached legal age |
| Manumission | When someone is released from slavery. Read more at Wikipedia |
| Manse | Parsonage, or a house provided by the church for the minister. See Wikipedia |
| Melungeons | People of mixed race from the Appalachian mountains, previously thought to be Native American or Portuguese but now believed to have African ancestry. NPR.org |
| Miracode | Similiar to Soundex indexing system, was used for 1910 census Archives.gov |
| Mitochondrial DNA | Also known as mtDNA, is passed on from a mother to all of her children. Anyone, male or female, can take an mtDNA test to trace their maternal "haplogroup" or direct maternal line.Wikipedia |
| Mulatto | A person of mixed Black and White heritage, or other mixed races including Native American. Term now considered offensive and outdated. |
| Naturalization Records | Documents recording the process of an immigrant becoming a citizen. |
| Necrology | An obituary or list of names and deaths within a time period. |
| Paleography | The study of handwriting. |
| Patronymics | Names created from a paternal side of the family or a father's name, such as the son of Jack becoming the surname "Jackson". |
| Pedigree | A person's family tree, or their lineage |
| Pedigree Chart | Starting with you, it shows your direct ancestors with your name on the first line, then your father's name on the next upper line, and your mother's name on the next lower line. The the upper track would trace our paternal line, and the lower track would trace your maternal line. When numbering, you start with number 1 for yourself, the 2 for your father, and 3 for your mother - making numbers for men always even and numbers for women always odd. |
| Pension | A benefit paid after retirement from military service or military service related disability, or to a surviving spouse or child after the death of a pensioner. |
| Posthumous | After death. A book written can be published posthumously after the author's death. |
| Primary Source | A record created at the time of the event, usually by someone who was a witness to the event, as oppossed to secondary sources |
| Primogeniture | When the eldest son inherits the entire estate of his parents, as oppossed to sharing inheritance with siblings. Also referred to as the "right of primogeniture". See Wikipedia |
| Probate | The validating of a will. You can search for probate records. |
| Progenitor | The earliest proven ancestor in a line, or the creator of your direct line. Descendant charts will start with the progenitor and list all of their descendants. |
| Relict | Widow, may be shown as "relicta", usually a female widow, or "relictus", a male widower. |
| Soundex | Indexing system based on the phonetic sound of the surname |
| Testate | Died with a will, opposite of intestate. |
| Tutor | Guardian of a minor, or a teacher. |
| Y-DNA | DNA passed on directly from father to son. A similar Y-DNA pattern is called a "haplotype".Wikipedia |
Have a term to add to the glossary? Or a question about a genealogy term?