Terms Used In Land Records

Abatement
the difference between the amount of the estate of an heir is to receive as specified in a will and the amount actually received, due to property devaluation between the time the will was made and when the death occurred; the entry of a stranger into the estate after the death of the possessor but before the heir or devisee can take control

Abstract Books
List individual entries chronologically by district land office (Old Federal books are at Bureau of Land Management)

Abstract of Title
Shortened versions of the documents affecting the title to land

Acquired Lands
Federal lands obtained by purchase, condemnation or gift under laws other than public land laws

Appurtenances
Things belonging to another thing such a yards and gardens to a building

Appurtenant
An accessory incidental to land in which a person owns an estate. Such as an agreement or right f way across the land of another.

Assigns
To transfer property, particularly personal or moveable property voluntarily or for consideration

Benefice
A kind of land tenure adopted in the Frankish kingdom in the eighth century whereby a seigneur leased land to a freeman in beneficium (for his benefit) usually for the tenant's life but sometimes hereditary; later an ecclesiastical office to which church attached perpetual right of receiving income.

Bounty Land Warrant
A right to obtain land, a specific number of acres of unallocated public land granted for military service. BLW or BLWT

Caveat emptor
Let the buyer beware.

Cestui que trust
A beneficiary of property held by a trustee in trust.

Cestui que use
A person whose property was transferred for the benefit of another person.

Cestui que vie
A life estate transferred to a person

Chattels real
Rights derived out of real estate, devolved on personal representatives, not heir

Close
Field or piece of land separate from others or from common land by a bank or hedge, legally unjustified entry into such is trespass (quare clausum fregit)

Conveyance Deed
Transfer of property from one person to another.

Copyhold
A tenure of land in England (feudal) abolished in 1925, when it all became freehold

Corporeal Hereditament
Right to inheritance of tangible property, e.g. an estate in land

Corporeal Rights
Tangible rights in property, such as an estate in land as opposed to "incorporeal" rights.

Croft
A small parcel of land.

Curtesy
The life estate of a widower n the lands of his deceased spouse, if he sired issue by her which were or was borm alive

Customary freehold
Privileged copyholds

Deed
A document in writing, if signed and acknowledged by which an estate or interest in land is transferred from a grantor to a grantee, or donor to a donee if a gift deed.

Deed Poll
A deed executed or signed by one person only, even though other grantors were involved, and in some instances the names of the grantees were added later.

Demise
A lease, transferring from a lessor to a lessee a leasehold estate for a term of years, for life, or "at the will" of the landlord.

Devisee
One to whom real property is given in a will.

Devisor
The one who gives the property

Direct Deed
Pertaining to grantor deeds

Disposal
A transaction which leads to the transfer of the title of public lands to non-Federal ownership

Disseisin
The ouster or removal of a person from possession of real property.

District Land Office Plat Book
A book of maps which show the location of the land of the patentee (In Cartographic Branch of the National Archives)

Tract Book
A book which lists individual entries by range and township (in Bureau of Land Management)

Donation Application
Application for frontier land in Florida, New Mexico, Oregon or Washington.

Dower
After the death of a husband, a widow's one-third interest in his land for the rest of her life

Easement
A right of way, right of use but not possession over or in the lands of another person.

Eminent Domain
The right and power of government to condemn private property for public use if just compensation is paid the property owner.

NATURALIZATION
The process of becoming a citizen of the U.S.

NATURALIZE
To grant full citizenship to one of foreign birth

NECROLOGY
A listing of obituaries, as in a newspaper; records of death

NEE
Refers to a woman's maiden name

NEPHEW
Son of one's brother or sister;

NIECE
Daughter of one's brother or sister;

NON COMPOS MENTIS
[Latin] Incompetent, or not mentally capable of handling one's affairs

NUNCUPATIVE WILL
Oral will which, to be valid, must be given by a person in their last hours, witnessed by two or more witnesses, and written within a period of six to twelve days

NOW WIFE
Exclusively found in wills, this term implied that there was a former wife

GENEALOGY TERMS

ABATEMENT
The difference between the amount of the estate of an heir is to receive as specified in a will and the amount actually received, due to property devaluation between the time the will was made and when the death occurred; the entry of a stranger into the estate after the death of the possessor but before the heir or devisee can take control

ABEYANCE
The condition of an estate which either has been claimed but not taken possession of, or which is liable to be claimed by someone

AB INITIO
[Latin] "From the beginning"; used in reference to situations regarding the validity of a deed, marriage, estate, etc.

AB INTESTATE
[Latin] The condition of inheriting from one who died without making a will

ABSTRACT
To take the main points and essential information from a document such as a will, deed, bounty land warrant, census, etc.

ABUT
To adjoin or border, such as in land, estates, or farms

ABUTTAL
A boundary where one's land joins or meets another's land

ACADIAN
Inhabitant of Acadia (Nova Scotia); a descendant of French settlers of Acadia who live in Louisiana, i.e. Cajuns

ACCESSION NUMBER
Number assigned by a librarian or archivist denoting the time a book, manuscript, or artifact was placed within a collection

ACCRETION
The right of inheritance by survival

ACCOMMODATION
Land alloted to families in a town or settlement

ACCOMMODATION NOTE
A statement, draft, or paper drawn for the purpose of obtaining credit with no consideration

ACCRETION
The right of inheritance by survival

AD HOC
[Latin] For this special reason; for a special purpose

ADMEASURE
To give each heir or claimant his or her rightful share of an estate, dower, or property

ADMEASUREMENT
The adjustment or apportionment of the shares of an estate, dower, pasture held in common, inheritance, etc.

ADMEASUREMENT OF DOWER
The readjustment of a dower when an heir becomes of age because a parent or guardian was receiving an unfair share to support the child

ADMINISTRATION
The management or settling of the estate of a person who died without a will, of a person whose estate is being handled by an executor under a will, or of a minor or mentally incompetent person

ADMINISTRATION BOND
A specified amount of money, usually twie the estimated value of the estate, posted by the person chosen by the court to act as administrator of an estate which insures that the administrator will fulfill his obligations satisfactorily according to law

ADMINISTRATION DE BONIS NON
Administration of a deceased person's property that was not completely distributed by the first administrator

ADMINISTRATION DE BONIS NON CUM TESTAMENTO ANNEXO
Administration granted by the court when part of the estate is still unadministered because of the death of the executor

ADMINISTRATION PENDITE LITE
Administration of an estate carried out while a suit is pending concerning the validity of the will

ADMINISTRATION WITH WILL ANNEXED
[also administration cum testamento annexo]
Administration granted by the court in instances where the person who makes a will has neglected to name an executor, or where the executor is unable or refuses to act

ADMINISTRATOR
A person appointed by the court to administer the estate of an incompetent person or an intestate who differs from an executor in that he is court appointed whereas the executor is appointed by the deceased

ADMINISTRATIX
A female administrator

ADMITTED FREEMAN - see INDENTURED SERVANT

ADOPTION
To take into one's family through legal means and raise as one's own child.

ADOPTION BY BAPTISM
A spiritual affinity contracted between godfathers and godchildren in the baptism ceremony, and entitled the godchild to a share of the godfather's estate

ADOPTION BY MATRIMONY
The act of taking the children of a spouse's former marriage as one's own upon marriage

ADOPTION BY TESTAMENT
To appoint a perion heir if he follows the stipulations in the will to take the name, arms, etc. of the adopter

ADVANCEMENT
A gift given to a child by a living parent in anticipation of an inheritance

ADVENTURER
One who purchased shares in the Virginia Land Company at 12 pounds, 10 shillings each, and received 100 acres in Virginia

AD VERBATIM
[Latin] "To the word"; in full

ADVERSE POSSESSION
Actual possession of real property obtained by aggressive or "notorious" actions, and gaining title to the property by keeping it for a statutory period of time

AETAS
[Latin] Lifetime; age; generation

AETATIS SUAE
[Latin] The condition of being in a specified year of one's life - aetatis suae 25 means in the twenty-fifth year of one's age, after a person's twenty-fourth birthday

AFFIDAVIT
A written document created while under oath before an authorized officer such as a notary public, court officer, etc.

AFFIRMATION
A declaration made by a person having conscientious objections against swearing an oath

AFTER-ACQUIRED PROPERTY
Property that was acquired after the date of a will

AGE OF CONSENT
Age at which persons can marry without parental consent

AGE OF MAJORITY
Age at which a person becomes able to handle his own affairs being usually 18 for girls and 21 for boys

AGGREGATE
(census) An enumeration in which no names are recorded, only the number of individuals within an age group, religious group, type of profession, national origin, etc.

AHNENTAFEL
A German word that translates as "ancestor table"

ALLEGATION
A document stating there was no impediment to the marriage (a) not close relatives, (b) not minors, (c) did not have a wife or husband living to whom they were already married.

ANCESTORS
Person from whom you are descended in a direct line

APPURTENANCES
The rights, duties, and perquisites of one who held manorial land - usually, grazing rights, payment of fines, submission to the manorial court, and a pew in church

ARCHIVES
Reference to the storage of older records

ASCENDANT
Ancestor

ASSESSOR
The person whose responsibility is to decide on the value of property and the rate of tax to be paid, sometimes being the local sheriff or constable

ASSIGNEE
A person who has been assigned another's rights or personal property

ASSIGNOR
An individual who assigns his rights or interests in something to another person

BANNS
Publication or posting of intended marriages, published for three consecutive Sundays prior to the event

BASTARD
An illegitimate child; born out of wedlock.

BEQUEST
A gift, personal property or money handed down in a will

BONA
[Latin] In good faith

BONA NOTABILIA
[Latin] Considerable goods

BOND
A binding agreement; a covenant; a duty, a promise, or another obligation by which one is bound.

BONDED PASSENGER
Passengers convicted of various crimes

BONDMAID
A female slave; a bound servant not due wages

BONDMAN
A male slave; one bound to service without wages

BOND SERVANT
See INDENTURED SERVANT

BONDSMAN
A person who will vouch for or be liable for a sum of money if a person fails to appear in court

BORN IN THE COVENANT
In LDS records, one born to a couple who has been sealed in marriage, and thus is sealed to the parents

BOUND OUT
[also PUTTING OUT] The condition of apprenticed or indentured children

BOUNTY LAND
Land designated as payment for military service

BOUNTY LAND WARRANT
A right to free land in the public domain; the certificate, to satisfy the law, showing time served, unit (regiment or corps), and where served

CADASTRE
A register kept for taxation purposes containing amount, value, and ownership of land; a poll (head) tax record of those qualifying to vote; a Domesday book

CENSUS
Official listing or counting of persons; the Federal Census has been taken every 10 years since 1790; there also are state censuses in some states which may have been taken every 5 to 10 years

CENSUS INDEX
Alphabetical listing of names enumerated in a census

CHATTELS
Personal property, both animate and inanimate (usually livestock)

CIRCA
About or approximately, usually used in front of a date or year

COAT OF ARMS
A shield with certain distinctive symbols or emblems painted on it in definite fixed colors identifying one person and his direct descendants

CODICIL
A supplement to a will

COLLATERAL
Relatives descended from the same ancestors, but in a different line (aunts, uncles, cousins - those not in your direct line)

COMMON LAW MARRIAGE
A marriage without ceremony, civil or ecclesiastical, which may or may not be recognized as a legal marriage

COMPOS MENTIS
Of sound mind

CONSANGUINITY
Blood relationship

CONVEY
Transfer property or the title to property

CONVEYANCE
A written instrument that transfers title to property from one party to another

CONVEYOR
Grantor or seller

COPYHOLD
The right by a written transcript or record to occupy a particular piece of land

COURT BARON
A medieval English manorial court that any lord could hold for and among his tenants; by the 13th century the steward of the manor, a lawyer, usually presided; the manorial court usually met every three weeks, and considered personal actions between its suitors; much of the business of the court was to administer the "custom of the manor" and to admit copyhold tenants; the proceedings were recorded on the court roll

COUSIN
[1] a child of one's aunt or uncle; also called first cousin; [2] a relative descended from a common ancestor, such as a grandparent, by two or more steps in a diverging line; [3] a relative by blood or marriage; a kinsman or kinswoman; [4] a member of a kindred group or country

DAGUERREOTYPE
Photogrpahic process invented by L. J. M. Daguerre (1789-1857), a French painter, in which pictures were reproduced on silver plates by sensitizing them with iodine and then developing them with mercury

DANEGELD
A tax levied annually to maintain forces to oppose the Danes or to buy them off

DE
[Latin] From

DE ANNO IN ANNUM
[Latin] From year to year

DE BONIS NON
[Latin] "Of the goods not administered"; the distribution of property not completed by the first administrator

DECEASED
Dead

DECEDENT
The deceased individual

DECESSIT
[Latin] Died

DECLARATION OF INTENTION
A declaration filed by a couple in a local court, indicating their intention to marry; also a document filed in a court by an alien who intended to become a United States citizen.

DEED
A document signed, sealed, and delivered according to the law conveying title to real estate

DEED OF ACQUITTANCE
A deed by which additional acreage is transferred or sold to the original patent owner when and if it was found that, by survey, the patented land had more acreage than was originally thought

DEED OF AGREEMENT
A deed concerned with the sale of personal property, deeds land to persons who agree to take care of the grantor for the remainder of his life

DEED OF CONVEYANCE
A document showing the transfer of ownership of property and perhaps the ownership of a land warrant

DEED OF DECREE
A document showing property transferred usually as a result of a petition or court action

DEED OF GIFT
A deed showing a transfer of property made without a monetary payment as consideration

DEED OF SEPARATION
An instrument through the medium of a third party acting as trustee, in which provision is made by a husband for separation from his wife, and for her separate maintenance

DEED OF TRUST
A mortage arrangement which allows a third party to hold the deed until the buyer has paid his debt

DEED POLL
A deed made by one person, and ony one person is obligated to fulfill the terms of the deed

DE FACTO
[Latin] "In fact"; something accomplished and done but not necessarily legally sanctioned

DEGREE OF CONSANGUINITY
A degree of blood relationship used to determine right of inheritance

DEGREE OF RELATIONSHIP
The distance between two persons related by blood - under Canon Law (used in most states) two persons who descend from a common ancestor, but not one from the other (brother, cousins, etc.) have a collateral consanguinity and a degree of relationship of the same number as the number of generations the furthest is removed from the closest common progenitor; for example, an uncle and nephew are related in the second degree because the nephew is two generations from the common ancestor (his grandfather and his uncle's father); two brothers are related in the first degree and first cousins are related to each other in the second degree; in lineal relationships (direct lines) each generation is a degree

DE JURE
[Latin] "By right"; an action or deed lawfully and legitimately accomplished as opposed to de facto

DEPOSITION
A written testimony by a witness for use in court in his or her absence

DESCENDANT
One whose ancestry can be traced to a particular individual

DESCENDANT CHART
A graphic document that shows descendants of a source couple for a specified number of generations

DEVISE
To give real property by will

DEVISEE
The person to whom real property is left in a will

DIRECT LINE
Descent from an ancestor through succeeding children

DOMESDAY BOOK
The ancient record of the Grand or Great Inquest or Survey of lands in England by the order of William the Conqueror, giving a census-like description of the realm, with the names of the proprietors and the nature, extent, value, liabilities, etc. of their properties

DOWAGER
A widow with a title or rank - the queen dowager; a jointure, or property from her husband

DOWER
A provision made from a husband's estate for the support of his widow and family, usually one third of the value of the estate (real estate only)

DOWER RIGHT
The right of a wife to one-third of the land which her husband had at the time of their marriage or aquired during the marriage, after his death

DOWERY
[also DOWRY] any land, money, goods, or personal property brought by a bride to her husband in marriage

EASEMENT
A right to use another's land because of necessity or convenience

EASEMENT APPURTENANT
An easement proper or one which passes with the dominant estate to all subsequent grantees and is inheritable

EASEMENT IN GROSS
A personal privilege to use another's land, which is not assignable and cannot be inherited

EASEMENT OF NECESSITY
An easement necessary for the continued use of land when a large tract has been subdivided

EMIGRANT
A person who leaves his or her country or region to settle in another

ENUMERATION
The process by which persons are counted for purposes of a census

ESTATE
The whole of one's possessions; especially all the property left by a deceased person

Et Al
And others

EXECUTOR
The individual appointed by the one making the will to dispose of his or her property after death in accordance with the terms of the will

EXECUTRIX
A female executor

EX FACTO
[Latin] From or by the deed

EXHERES
[Latin] Disinherited

EX OFFICIO
[Latin] By virtue of office

EX PARTE
[Latin] Judicial proceeding or judgment brought on behalf of one party without notifying the other party

EXPATRIATE
A person who is deported from his or her native land

EXPEDE
To sign, seal, and deliver a document

EX POST FACTO
[Latin] After the act

EXTANT
In existance or not destroyed

FACULTY
A person who did not own land and as a professional, and thus was taxed on income - faculty included lawyers, physicians, dentists, carpenters, merchants, bankers, etc.

FAILURE OF ISSUE
In a will or deed, indicates that in the event of there being no children born to or surviving the deceased person, the property will go to a third party; in common law, the condition continues with the children of the first taker

FAMILY HISTORY LIBRARY (FHL)
The genealogical library of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) located in Salt Lake City.

FAMILY HISTORY CENTER (FHC)
Smaller genealogy research libraries located in LDS churches in many towns where one may access the information of FHL with the use of microfilm, microfiche and computers

FEE SIMPLE
An inheritance having no conditions or limitations in its use; a direct and complete inheritance

FEET OF FINES
Documents, first kept during the reign of Richard I, that had the same function as deeds in transferring land; the bottom part of an indenture or deed kept by the recording office

FEODARY
One who holds land of an overlord on condition of homage

FILIA
[Latin] Daughter; female off-spring

FILIA FRATRIS
[Latin] A brother's daughter, (niece)

FILIA SORORIS
[Latin] A sister's daughter, (niece)

FILII NOBELIUM
[Latin] The sons of nobles

FILIOLA
[Latin] Little daughter

FILIOLUS
[Latin] Little son

FILIUS
[Latin] Son; male offspring

FILIUS FRATRIS
[Latin] A brother's son; nephew

FILIUS NULLIUS
[Latin] An illegitimate person

FILIUS POPULI
[Latin] "A son of the people"; a bastard

FILIUS SORORIS
[Latin] A sister's son; nephew

FIRST COUSINS ONCE REMOVED
If your first cousin had a child, that child would be your first cousin once removed.

FOLIO
[1] A large sheet of paper folded in half to form the pages of a book; [2] a book numbered only on one side; [3] a library designation for large oversized books

FOOLSCAP
Writing paper varying from 12 x 15 inches to 13 1/2 x 17 inches

FORBID THE BANNS
A public or formal objection to a marriage

FORTNIGHT
Two weeks

FREEHOLD
An estate held outright with no other claims on it and which may be transferred to heirs or others

FREEHOLDER
A person who owns property rather than rents it; one in possession of a freehold

FREEMAN
In general, a white male over 21 yeas of age holding full rights of citizenship who is free to ply a trade, own land, and to vote

GEDCOM
Short for Genealogical Data Communication; A genealogy database program used for the exchange of genealogy information between different programs and computers

GENTLEMAN
A member of the gentry, a descendant from an aristocratic family whose income came from the rental of his land

GENTLEWOMAN
A woman of good family or breeding; a woman who has the occupation of waiting on or caring for a person of high rank

GOODMAN
A man ranking below a gentleman but above a freeman

GOODS AND CHATTLES
Personal property - goods meant inanimate objects; chattles were livestock

GOODWIFE
The wife or mistress of a household

GOODY
A woman or housewife, especially an old woman

GRANDFATHER CLAUSE
An exception to a law, such as the right for blacks to vote, which gave only those blacks whose parents had voted before 1867 the right to vote

GRANGE
A farmhouse or small hamlet; a center of cultivation owned by a monastery, but too far away for the monks to work it

GRANT
To transfer property by a deed

GRANTEE
The buyer, purchaser, or receiver of real or personal property rights from the seller or grantor, usually be a deed or through a trust document

GRANTOR
The seller or person who sells, grants, transfers, or conveys real or personal property or property rights to the purchaser, buyer, or receiver, usually by a deed or through a trust document

GRASS WIDOW
An unmarried woman with a child; a divorced or separated woman; a discarded mistress

GREGORIAN CALENDAR
Named after Pope Gregory, but referred to as the "New Style" calendar which replaced the Julian calendar in 1582 in some countires; in Great Britain, her colonies (America) and other protestant countries, it was not adopted until 1752

GUARDIAN
A person appointed by the court to take care of someone unable to care for himself, such as a minor, an incompletent, an invalid, an idiot, etc.

GUILD
A medieval association of merchants and craftsmen which regulated price, quality, and decided who could make and sell the merchandise under its supervision

HABENDUM ET TENENDUM
[Latin] "To have and to hold to the grantee (buyer or donee) his heirs and assigns"; a clause in a deed that specifies the type of property or estate that the buyer will receive

HEIR
[1] a person who inherits or is entitled by law or by the terms of a will to inherit the estate of another; [2] a person who succeeds or is in line to succeed to a hereditary rank, title, or office

HERALDRY
The art or office of a herald; the art, practice, or science of recording genealogies and blazoning arms or ensigns armorial

HOLOGRAPHIC WILL
A will written entirely by hand and bearing the date and having the signature of the testator

HOMESTEAD
The house and adjoining land where the head of the family lives, which passes to the widow when her husband dies and is exempt from the claims of his creditors; this is similiar to a widow's dower, the difference being that the homestead includes the dwelling

HOMESTEAD ACT
Any of several legislative acts authorizing the sale of public land

IMMIGRANT
One who settles in a country having emigrated from another

IMPRESSMENT
The act of seizing people and forcing them into labor

INDENTURE
An agreement or deed between two or more parties conveying real estate, originally made in two parts so that it could be separated by tearing in a jagged line and matched later; a contract in which a person is bound over for service

INDENTURED SERVANT
A servant who sold himself to a master for a period of time (usually 4 to 7 years) in order to pay for passage to another country; the contract was transferrable, saleable, and was passed on to heirs if the master died

INDIDEM
[Latin] From the same place or thing

INDIRECT TAX
Tax from sources other than property or income, such as businesses, professions, entertainment, and animals

IN-LAW
Colonists used this term for any familial relationship that occurred from a marriage; a woman's father-in-law could be her husband's father or her stepfather; her son-in-law could be her daughter's husband or her own stepson

INPRIMIS
[Latin] In the first place

INSTRUMENT
A formal document such as a deed or a will

INTESTATE
A person who dies without leaving a valid will

INVENTORY
A list of goods in the estate of a deceased person

ISSUE
Children. The lineal descendants of a common ancestor

ITEM
A term marking the beginning of a paragraph in a will

JOINT TENANCY
The condition of two or more persons owning a piece of property - this type of ownership allows all persons to use the property and share in it equally

JULIAN CALENDAR
A calendar named for Julius Caesar, it is referred to as the "Old Style" calendar, which was used from 45 BC until 1582, when it was replaced by the Gregorian calendar

JUNIOR, SENIOR
These terms did not necessarily indicate father and son; they were used within a small community to distinguish between two persons of the same name; sometimes "the elder" and "the younger" were used in the same fashion

JURAT
[Latin] Certification that a document was written by the person who signed it

JURE UXORIS
[Latin] In right of his wife

KINDRED
A group of blood-related persons

KITH AND KIN
Friends and neighbors

LEGACY
Similiar to a bequest, although it often has the meaning of money, whereas bequest usually means personal property

LEGATEE
The person to whom a gift is given or left to in a will; any person receiving real or personal property by will

LEGATOR
A person who makes a will an leaves property to others

LESSEE
The person leasing the property

LESSOR
The owner of property that is leased to another

LETTERS TESTAMENTARY
A document from the court allowing the executor named in the will to carry out his duties; he has no authority until this document is issued

LIBER
[Latin] A book of public records

LIBERI
[Latin] Children; grandchildren

LIBERUM ANIMUM TESTANDI
[Latin] Free will in bequeathing

LIEN
A claim held by a person upon the property of another until a debt has been paid; a form of security for unpaid debts

LIFE ESTATE
An interest in property that lasts as long as a person lives

LIFERENT
Property which the owner can hold for a lifetime but cannot be passed on

LINEAGE
[1] direct descent from a particular ancestor; ancestry [2] the descendants of a common ancestor considered to be the founder of the line

LINEAL CONSANGUINITY
Being descended in a direct line from another such as son father, and grandfather

LINEAL DESCENDANT
Being descended in a direct line from another such as son, father and grandfather

LIS PENDENS
Notice of suits pending litigation, sometimes called equity notices; these usually involve actions concerning real property such as mortgage foreclosures

LIST
An official description of property assessed for the purpose of taxation

LITIGANT
A person who is involved in a lawsuit

LOCO
[Latin] To place; to let for hire

LOCO CITATO
[Latin] In the place cited

LOCO PARENTIS
In the place of parents

LOCUS
[Latin] In the place of the parent

LOCUS SIGILLI
[Latin] "The place of the seal"; the place where the seal is affixed on written documents

LONGEAVUS
[Latin] Of great age; ancient

MAJORITY
The age at which one is legally no longer a minor

MANUMISSION
A formal written act to free slaves

MARRIAGE BOND
A document executed to guarantee that no legal or moral impediments existed to an intended marriage

MESSUAGE
A dwelling house

METES AND BOUNDS
(also Courses and Distances) A method of surveying property which made use of the natural physical and topographical features in conjunction with measurements and artificially designated objects or places - metes refers to the measuring of direction and distance while bounds refers to natural or man-made features on the land

MIDWIFE
A woman experienced in the birthing process who helps other women in the birth of a child

MISNOMER
A mistake in a person's name for identification purposes

MORTALITY SCHEDULES
Schedules which counted the number of deaths that occurred in the year before the census was taken, and exist for the 1850 through 1880 censuses, listing the individual's name, age, sex, occupation, cause of death, date of death, and place of death by county

MORTIS
[Latin] Death; corpse

MORTIS CAUSA
[Latin] In view of death

MOURNING ARTICLE
A funeral gift

MOURNING PIECE
A pictorial representation of a tomb, intended as a memorial of the dead

MOVEABLES
Personal property such as furniture, animals, food, clothing, etc. which can be carried from place to place and is in the possession and use of the owner

MR. pronounced "Master"
A title that could only precede the names of gentlemen, clergymen, or government officials; identified in the records with the abbreviation "gent."

MRS. or MISTRESS
A feminine equivalent of Mr., it did not denote marital status, but social position; a young girl coming from a higher class family would also be called "Mrs.", even though unmarried

MULATTO
The offspring of one white and one black parent - sometimes used, especially on census schedules, for Indians

MUNIMENT
Documents showing that a person has legal rights to land, possessions, or other privileges

MUNIMENT OF TITLE
All written evidence of title which can show proof of ownership

MUSTER OUT
A discharge from military service

OBIT
[Latin] Person died.

OBIT SINE PROLE
[Latin] Died without issue

OBITUARY
Published notice of a death, sometimes with a brief biography of the deceased

ORDINARY
A hotel where people stopped for the night, but were not only given a room, but also meals.

PASSENGER LISTS
The names and information of passengers who arrived by ship, often including their age, sex, occupation, place of origin

PATENT
A grant made by a government to an individual, conveying fee-simple title to public lands; the official document of such a grant; the land so granted

PATRONYMIC
In strict usage, a name formed by the addition of a prefix or suffix indicating sonship or other relationship to the name of one's father or paternal ancestors, as Johnson (son of John), MacDonald (son of Donald), etc.

PEDIGREE
A list of ancestors; a lineage

PEDIGREE CHART
Graphic document that begins with one person and moves backward in time, showing the parents of each person in the tree

PERSONAL PROPERTY
Property other than real estate

PER ANNUM
[Latin] By the year

PER STIRPES
[Latin] Distribution of an inheritance by giving equal shares to family groups rather than an equal percentage to each descendant

PERUKE MAKER
The powdered wigs like the judges wore.

PLACING OUT
[also PUTTING OUT] The placement of children outside the home as apprentices or servants to other people, usually in exchange for payment to the parents

POSTHUMOUS
After death

POSTHUMOUS CHILD
A child born after the death of the father

PRIMARY RECORD
A record created at the time of the event (birth, marriage, death, etc.) as opposed to records written years later

PRIMOGENITOR
The earliest ancestor or forefather

PRIMOGENITURE
An old common-law system of inheritance whereby the oldest son inherited the father's property

PROBATE
Originally the proving of a will; now describes the process of legally establishing the validity of a will of a deceased person and settling an estate before a judicial authority

PROGENY
The issue or descendants of a common ancestor

PROGENITOR
An originator of a line of descent, frequently used in reference to the immigrant ancestor

PROLES
Offspring

PROVED
Documents such as wills, deeds, bills of sale, etc., having their accuracy and honesty atteted to through legal proceedings in a court of law

QUADROON
A child of a mulatto and a white; a child with one black grandparent

QUID PRO QUO
[Latin] "Value for value"; that which is received in consideration for something that is requested, done, or given

QUIT-CLAIM DEED
A deed releasing claim to an estate or property by an individual to another person

QUIT-RENT
A fee paid to a feudal lord so that the tenant could farm the land without being obligated to serve the lord in other capacities

QUIT RENT FEE
In early Virginia, an annual fee (1 shilling for 50 acres of land) paid to the king in exchange for the right to live on and farm the property

QUORUM
The legal number of persons required to be present to conduct business

RAGMAN'S-ROLL
A register, compiled by a representative of the pope, of the beneficiaries in Scotland

RANGE
The area between range lines (north-south runnin glines) as a part of the Rectangular Survey System - together with the township lines (east-west running lines) range lines form areas of six miles square or 36 square miles, called townships

RECTANGULAR SURVEY SYSTEM
A method of surveying propety provided for under the Land Ordinance of 1785 passed by the Continental Congress which divided the public land states into thirty-seven separate survey systems, each separate survey consisting of a starting point, an east-west running base line, and a north-south running principal meridian

REDEMPTION
The regaining of property once lost to forfeiture or foreclosure

REGISTRAR
An official who registers/records events such as land transactions, probates, births, deaths, etc.

RELICT
A widow or widower; the surviving spouse

REMAINDER
The part of the estate that is left after a prior interest ends

REMOVED
Moved away

RESIDUARY BEQUEST
A bequest which consists of anything left over after the fees and debts have been paid in an estate

RESIDUARY CLAUSE
A clause in a will which conveys any and everything left of a residuary legacy to the beneficiary

RESIDUARY DEVISEE
The beneficiary in a will who is to take all real property remaining after other legacies have been satisfied

RESIDUARY ESTATE
All the rest and residue; everything that has not been disposed of other than what remains in the residuary clause

RESIDUE
The surplus of a testator's estate when all other obligations have been legally taken care of

RESIDUUM
[Latin] The remainder of an estate after all debts and legacies have been dispersed

REVENUE STAMP
A stamp placed on goods and documents so who that the tax had been collected

REVERSE INDEX
In probate, an index listing those involved in the probate process, not the deceased

SECONDARY RECORD
Or secondary source; a record created some time after the event or copied from other sources

SEISIN/SEIZIN
A freehold (held in fee or for life) estate - at one time land could only be held in seisen, because all land was owned by the reigning sovereign

SEISED/SEIZED
To be the legal fee simple possessor

SELECTMAN
In New England, one of 3 to 7 men chosen annually to manage to affairs of a small town

SEPARATISTS
[also Independents] Those who withdrew from the Church of England in the sixteenth century

SEQUENTIA
[Latin]The following

SHARECROPPER
A person who would farm ground owned by another, and divide the crops or the profits with the owner

SHILLING
An English coin equivalent to twelve pennies or one twentieth of a pound

SHIRE
A county in Great Britain

SIBLING
A brother or sister

SINE
[Latin] Without

SINE DIE
[Latin] "Without a day"; dismissing a proceeding, such as a court term, without determining a day for it to begin again

SINE LOCO
[Latin] Without place

SINE PROLE
[Latin] Without issue; without children

SINE PROLE SUPERSITE
[Latin] Without surviving issue (children)

SOCIAL SECURITY DEATH INDEX
An index of records containing names of deceased Social Security recipients whose relatives applied for Social Security Death Benefits after their passing which includes the individual's name and Soundex code, birth date, death date, Social Security number and state where it was issued

SOUNDEX
A card index system prepared by the Works Progress Administration for the federal censuses; names are arranged by letter and number codes according to the sounds of their consonants; thus, even if a name is misspelled or spelled in an unexpected way, it can often be located in the Soundex index

SPOUSE
A husband or wife

STATE OF FRANKLIN
A state organized in 1784 in the western part of North Carolina and ceased to exist in 1788, now a part of eastern Tennessee

STEERAGE
A section in a passenger ship for those paying the lowest fare

STIRPES
[Latin] [1] A family or branch of family; [2] in law, the person from whom everyone in a family is descended

SUPRA SCRIPTUM
[Latin] As written above

SURETY
A guarantee or a person who assumes the responsibility for another such as one who promises to pay someone else's debts if he defaults

SURNAME
The last or family name that a person bears in common with others in his/her family

SURRENDER
A land record which involves giving up land before the lease has expired with the mutual consent of both parties

TAIL
An estate which does not descend to heirs generally, but to the heirs of the donee's body in a direct line if the posterity continues in a regular oder and upon the death of the first owner without issue the esate is terminated

TENANCY
Residence on, and use of land, without owning it

TENANCY BY THE ENTIRETY
The ownership of property by a husband and wife together in whcih on the death of one the entire interest in the property diverts to the other - property that is owned by both the husband and the wife will pass to the survivor no matter what the will states

TENANCY IN COMMON
Property that is held by two persons - in tenancy in common the right of survivorship does not apply - in this case the property automatically becomes part of the estate and is taken care of according to the terms of the will

TENANT
A name used for indentured servants who were settled on farms, supplied with tools, and engaged to remain on the land seven years; one who holds property by ownership or temporarily by leasing or renting

TENANT FARMER
A renter or one who is allowed to farm a particular pice of land in trade for services given; famer who did not own the land worked

TENANTS-IN-CAPITE
A person holding feudal land directly fromt the king, usually several manors, who would in turn sub-infeud to other tenants

TENANT IN COMMON
A possession of the land as a whole by several persons, each having a separate title, althought he land is not divided

TENEMENT
Any property that can be held, but most often refers to houses and land

TENOR
The exact wording in a legal document or an exact copy

TERCE
A life-rent given by law to a widow, which consists of a third of her husband's estate on the condition that the marriage has lasted one year and a day, or that there is a living child of the marriage

TERCE LAND
The rent from land given to a widow as her terce

TERRIER
A book or scroll used to record land description, usage, etc.

TESTABLE
Something that can be given by will; capable of making or witnessing a will

TESTAMENT
The disposition of one's personal property by will

TESTAMENTARY
Referring to, given by, or appointed by a will

TESTAMENTARY BOND
Security posted with the court by the executor of an estate to insure that the wishes of the deceased be followed

TESTAMENTARY GUARDIAN
A guardian appointed to be responsible for the inheritance of a minor child

TESTAMENTUM
[Latin] Will; testament

TESTATE
-Having a valid will upon death

TESTATOR
The person who makes a will

TESTATRIX
A female who leaves a valid will

TESTE
The concluding and witnessing clause of a writ or other legal document which expresses the date of its issue and the name of the judge

TESTIS
[Latin] A witness

TITHE
Associated with the payment of offerings (in kind or money) to a church or the government as tax

TRUSTEE
One who holds legal title to property in order to administer it for a beneficiary

ULTIMO
[Latin] In the month immediately preceding

ULTIMO DIE
[Latin] Final day

ULTIMUS
[Latin] Last, end, furthest

UNDERGROUND RAILROAD
The system which took slaves to freedom in fourteen Northern states by 1830, and about 50,000 between 1840 and 1860

UNIGENA
[Latin] An only-begotten; only one of family

UNIGENITUS
[Latin] The only son

UNLAW
Any transgression of the law, act of injustice, a fine, or a law that has no real authority

UNOFFICIOUS WILL
A will made without any regard as to natural obligations of inheritance

UNPROBATED WILL
A will which was never submitted for probate, which may have been lost for a time

UNREGISTERED WILL
A will that has been proved but not entered into a volume of copy or registered wills at the probate court, either because an executor was not disposed to pay fees for registering, or because the probate court did not maintain registered copies at that period of time

UNSEATED
Persons who were taxed for land that they owned but did not live on

UNSEATED LAND
Unsettled area

UNSOLEMN WILL
A will where no executor is named

USUFRUCT
The right to enjoy property and the benefits thereof as long as the property itself is not harmed nor depleted

USURY
The practice of lending money at a rate of interest that is excessive or unlawfully high

UT
[Latin] In what manner; in the manner that

UTERINE
Having the same mother but different fathers

UT INFRA
[Latin] As below

UT SUPRA
[Latin] As above

UXOR
[Latin] Wife; spouse; consort

VACANCY
[1] An opening refering to land or housing; [2] a pause or break in the workings of a probate court because of the death or resignation of the main official; [3] in Texas, an area of unsurveyed school land, not listed in land office records, between two or more recorded surveys

VACANT LAND
Unappropriated public land, including land that has been occupied but on which no binding title had been given and the land thus reverted to the state

VALID
That which is legally binding, legitimate or good

VANITY BOOK
A county (any local) history book for which people subscribed before the book was written on the conditiont their families would be included in its pages

VASSAL
In the Middle Ages, a person who held land under the feudal system by pledging loyalty to a lord and performing services, miitary or otherwise, in return for his protection

VENDUE
A public auction or sale

VERBATIM
[Latin] Word for word

VICULUS
[Latin] Village; hamlet

VIDELICET
[Latin]Namely; to wit; that is to say

VIDEUS
[Latin]Living; true to life; vigorous

VIDUA
[Latin] Widower; widow

VILLANAGE
Base servitude; tenure on condition of doing the lowest kind of services for the lord

VILLEIN
Serf

VILLEINAGE
See VILLANAGE

VIR
[Latin] Man; boy; male; husband; solider

VIRGIN
In bonds or licences of England, an unmarried woman

VITAL RECORDS
Civil records of birth, marriage and death

VITIOUS INTROMISSION
The unwarranted dealing with the movable estate of a deceased person

VIVUS
[Latin] Alive; living

VIXIT ANNOS
[Latin] He or she lived (a certin number) years

VIXOR
[Latin] Wife

WAIVER
An intentional and voluntary giving up of one's rights

WAMPUM
Small cylindrical beads made from polished shells and fashioned into strings or belts, formerly used by certain Native American peoples as currency and jewelry or for ceremonial exchanges between groups; also called peag

WARNING OUT
The practice of ordering poor or indigent persons or families to leave a community if they are looked upon as potentially becoming dependent upon the town, township, city, etc. for support

WILL
The legal document containing the statement of a person's wishes regarding the disposal of his or her property after death

WRIT OF ARREST
See WRITE OF CAPIAS

WRIT OF ATTACHMENT
A court order to a court official to seize and hold property enough to cover debts and court costs for not appearing in court

WRIT OF CAPIAS
A formal arrest document; warrant

WRIT OF CAPIAS AD SATISFACIENDUM
A document which required the loser (debtor) to be imprisoned until the debt was paid

WRIT OF FIERI FACIAS
A cout order to seize (attach) and sell goods belonging to the loser in a court case to pay debts owed

WRIT OF SUMMONS
A document commanding a person to appear in court

WRIT OF VENIRE FACIAS
A document issued to call men to be jurors

YARD LAND
Land area which varies from fifteen to forty acres, depending on the locality

YEAR'S PROVISIONS
A widow is entitled to a twelve months supply of goods and money or provisions out of her husband's estate - this specified amount cannot be used or given to creditors to clear her husband's debts.