SeekerzSearch – Family History Terms
Family History Terms
| Abstract | A document that contains information extracted from an original document. It contains information on the date of the record, names, relationships, and etc. |
| Administration | An action used by a court to settle the estate of a person who has no executor, or no will to administer the estate. |
| Affidavit | A statement made under oath, either written or oral. |
| Annotation | Annotations are used in genealogical research to provide proofs of research performed and support of statements and conclusions made. They are normally in the form of footnotes, but may also be included in the main text of the document. |
| Antebellum | Referring to occurrences previous to the Civil War of the United States. |
| Banns | An announcement of the intention to marry. |
| Banns | A binding agreement to fulfill the requirements set forth in the document or suffer the penalties involved. Used with marriage, land, and court records by estate executors, grooms and guardians. |
| Bounds | The physical boundaries or limits of a piece of land, wither natural or man-made. |
| Collateral Line | A family line connecting into a common ancestor, but not associated with the person of interest until reaching the common ancestor. |
| Court proceedings | A recording of the events that take place in a court. |
| Deed | A document that record the possession of property, normally land. |
| Double dating | Writing a date in both Julian and Gregorian formats. Not all countries converted to Gregorian at the same time and double dating translated Julian to Gregorian in explanation. |
| Encumbrance | A liability placed on a property as a claim against it. |
| Enumeration | A count of the population, such as in a census. |
| Grantor | Person giving or granting property. |
| Help | |
| Immigration | Moving into a country. (See also Emigration.) |
| Intestate | Someone who died without a will. |
| Issue | Children. |
| Knave | Male servant child. |
| Lessee | Someone that leases property from others. |
| Lien | A claim or encumbrance on property for money owed. |
| Major | Someone having reached legal age. |
| Metes and bounds | A means of surveying property using applicable measuring methods and topographical features. |
| Mortality schedule | Census schedule of people who died during the census year. |
| Name | An identifier given at birth. |
| Naturalization records | Documentation showing proof that a person was able to gain citizenship. |
| Nee | Denotes birth, as in a woman’s maiden name. |
| Nuncupative will | An Oral will attested to by a sufficient number of witnesses. |
| Paleography | The study of handwriting. |
| Parish Church | Many parishes have a church building as its central location and repository of records. |
| Patent | A document showing proprietary control of specific possessions. Can be intellectual property or land. |
| Pension | Benefit paid for service in the military. |
| Pensioner | Person receiving pension benefits. |
| Poll tax | A tax levied on families by head of household as a substitute for land ownership and required for voting. |
| Power of attorney | Document appointing a person as another person’s agent and authorizing them to act in their behalf. |
| Probate | The action or process of proving that a will is genuine. |
| Quit rent roll | List of those paying an annual fee to the King to live on and farm property in Virginia. |
| Quitclaim deed | Document giving up all claims to property without needing to guarantee clear title. |
| Ship Passenger Lists | A list of passengers on a particular voyage normally having minimal information. |
| Sic | “Thus”. Indicates that although the info is copied exactly as the original stated, there may be a mistake. |
| Township | A populated area of land with six miles on each side. |
| Transcribe | To make a full copy of an oral or written work. |
| Trust | A legal document showing ownership of property on behalf of others. |
| Unprobated will | A will that has not gone through the probate process. |
| Unsolemn will | A will where an executor has not been named. |
| Writ of attachment | Court order seizing property to cover court costs for not appearing in court. |
| Writ of summons | Document starting a civil proceeding for damages resulting from a breach in contractual terms. It orders a person to appear in court. |
Bonus
…. Bounds (2nd occurrence)
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