Genealogy Vocabulary
| ABSTRACT | A brief statement of the main parts of a document |
| ABSTRACT OF TITLE | A condensed history of the title of a piece of real property, including any liabilities to which it may be subject |
| ADMINISTRATOR (female, ADMINISTRIX) |
One legally authorized by the court to manage and settle an estate when the deceased has not left a will and named and executor |
| AFFINITY | A relationship by marriage, rather than by blood |
| ANNO DOMINI | A Latin term meaning "in the year of our Lord" |
| APPRENTICE | A person, often a minor, bound (sometimes by law) to a master for the purpose of learning a trade |
| APPURTENANCE | Something that belongs to something else. Example: the buildings on a piece of real property would be appurtenances |
| ARCHIVES | A place where records are kept |
| ASSIGNEE | Person #1 received a land warrant from the government, Person #1 could assign the warrant to someone else (Person #2). Person #2 now is called the Assignee, this term is used in the land deeds so the chain of ownership back to the original land warrant can be traced. The deed would usually say "Person #2 assignee of Person #1 |
| ATTEST | To bear witness to something and affirm formally with your signature that it is true |
| BANNS | Public announcement, especially in church, of intention to be married |
| BENEFICIARY | A person for whose benefit a trust is created |
| BEQUEATH | To give personal property by a will |
| BEQUEST | A gift of personal property by a will |
| CENSUS | A count of population which includes various kinds of statistics |
| CERTIFIED COPY | A copy of a document signed and certified as a true copy by the officer to whose custody the original was entrusted |
| CHILD OF TENDER YEARS | A child under age 14 |
| CHRISTEN | To baptize an infant |
| CODICIL | A P.S. to a will |
| COLLATERAL | Belonging to the same ancestral stock, but not in the direct line of descent (i.e. aunts, cousins, etc.) |
| CONSANGUINITY | A relationship by blood |
| CONSORT | Wife or husband of a living spouse |
| CONVEYANCE | The granting of real property to another party |
| CURSETOR | Vagabond or vagrant |
| DAUGHTERED OUT | A lineage that has no male heirs to carry on the surname |
| DE VENTRE INSPICIENDO | Writ which was sometimes issued by a presumptive heir-at-law which required the sheriff to summon a jury of matrons and a jury of 12 men to inquire if the widow was pregnant. The matrons examined her and reported to the male jury who returned the decision to the court of chancery |
| DECEDENT | Deceased person |
| DECESSIT SINE PAROLE (DSP) | Latin for "died without issue" |
| DEED | A legal document that contains the record of transfer of real property, or some other bargain or contract concerning the property |
| DEPONENT | Person who gives evidence, especially in writing |
| DESCENDANT | Offspring to the furthest generation |
| DEVISE | A gift of real property by will |
| DEVISEE (female, ADMINISTRIX) |
A person to whom real property is given by will |
| DOWER | The property to which a widow has claim upon the death of her husband (There is no dower in community property states) |
| ESTATE | The total of a person's property, both real and personal |
| ET AL | A Latin term meaning "and others" |
| ET UXOR | A Latin term meaning "and his wife" |
| EXECUTOR (female, EXECUTRIX) | A person appointed by a testator (person writing will) to carry out the directions and bequests in the will |
| EXECUTRIX | A woman named in a will to distribute the estate |
| EXHERES | Disinherited |
| GAZETTEER | A geographical dictionary |
| GENEALOGY | An enumeration of the history of the descent of a family |
| GRANT | A general term applicable to all transfers of real property |
| GRANTEE | The person to whom a grant is made |
| GRANTOR | The person by whom the grant is made |
| GRASS WIDOW | A woman whos husband deserted her, who had illegitimate children or a discarded common-law wife |
| HEIR | The person(s) who succeeds, by rules of law, to an estate upon the death of his ancestor by right of relationship |
| INDENTURE | A deed to which two or more persons are parties, and in which these enter into reciprocal and corresponding grants or obligations towards each other |
| INFANT | A minor, a person not of full legal age (This legal term does not apply only to babes in arms) |
| INTESTATE | A person dies without a will |
| ISSUE | All lineal descendants of a common ancestor are his issue--not just his children |
| LEGACY | A bequest or gift of personal property by last will and testament |
| LETTERS OF ADMINISTRATION | Often known as ADMON. The instrument whereby the probate court appoints someone to administer an estate of a person who died without leaving a will |
| LINEAL | Being in direct line of ancestry |
| MANTUA MAKER | One who practices the art of fashionable dressmaking which required an apprenticeship |
| MARRIAGE LICENSE | A license whereby permission is granted by a public authority for persons to be married |
| MATRILINEAL RESEARCH | The tracing of your maternal line: i.e. daughter, mother, grandmother, gr-grandmother, etc |
| MORTGAGE | Conditional transfer of title to property, as security for payment of debt |
| NON COMPOS MENTIS | Not of sound mind or in a state of lunacy |
| NUNCUPATIVE WILL | A will which depends merely upon oral evidence, having been dictated or declared by the testator in his last sickness before a sufficient number of witnesses, and afterward written down |
| PEDIGREE | Recorded ancestry or line of descent...often in chart form |
| POSTERITY | Descendants |
| POWER OF ATTORNEY | When a person isn't able to act for himself and appoints another to act for him, the document by which he does so is call a "power of attorney" or "letter of attorney". The person appointed becomes "attorney in fact" |
| PRESENTS | Means literally "this document or instrument". The phrase "by these presents" is used to refer to the document or instrument in which the phrase occurs |
| PROBATE | The act or process of proving a will. Also used as an inclusive term referring to all matters under the jurisdiction of the probate court |
| PROGENITOR | An ancestor in the direct line |
| QUITCLAIM DEED | An instrument by which a person releases all title, interest, or claim which he may possess in real property without making a warrants thereto |
| RELICT | A widow or widower, the surviving spouse |
| SURETY | (i) A Godparent (ii) A person pledged to give security for the performance of a bond, or for the proper carrying out of duties |
| TENANT | A person who possesses the lands by any right or title |
| TESTABLE | Capable of making a will |
| TESTAMENTORY | Pertaining to a will |
| TESTATE | One who dies leaving a valid will |
| TESTATOR | One who makes a will |
| TO WIT | Namely |
| TRACT | A piece of land of any size |
| TRANSCRIBE | To write a copy of |
| TRUST DEED | This is a type of mortgage |
| VITAL RECORDS | Statistics relating to birth, death, marriage, etc |
| WARRANTY DEED | A deed whereby the grantor warrants the title and should the title become faulty for any reason, the grantor (or his heirs) can be sued on the warranty |
| WILL | A legal expression of a person's wishes as to the disposition of his property after his death |
| YOUNGER CHILDREN | All children not entitled by rights of the eldest son--this includes daughters even though they may be older than the eldest son |
If you know of other definitions that chould be listed here please e:mail me with the info to be added to this page. Thank you!
