Genealogy Terminology

Ancestor: A person from whom you directly descend; grandparents, great-grandparents, 2nd great-grandparents (also called great great-grandparents), 3rd great-grandparents, and so forth.

Ahnentafel: A genealogical chart that lists a person's ancestors in a specific order. The word "ahnentafel" is German for "ancestor table".

Autosomal DNA (atDNA): Genetic material inherited equally from mother and father. 

Bond: A written, binding agreement to perform as specified. Bonds have existed for centuries and appear in marriage, land, and court records. Historically, laws required administrators and executors of estates, grooms, and guardians of minors to post bonds. It is not uncommon for a bondsman to be related to someone involved in the action before the court.

Christian (Given) name: Names other than a person's last name.

Church records: Formal documents that churches have kept about their congregations through the years. Churches normally record information about christenings, baptisms, marriages, and burials.

Circa: Meaning "about" or "approximately" in reference to a date or a year.

Common ancestor: Person through whom two or more persons claim descent or lineage.

Delayed birth certificate: Birth documentation created a significant period of time after a person’s birth. In the absence of a birth certificate, a person could provide the government with sufficient evidence and have a vital record generated that could be used for official purposes.

Double cousin: Non-siblings who share both sets of grandparents. This can happen, for example, if two brothers from one family marry two sisters from another. Their children will all be double cousins. 

Dower: Legal provision of real estate and support made to the widow for her lifetime from a husband's estate.

Dowry: Land, money, goods, or personal property brought by a bride to her husband in marriage.

Ephemera: Items of collectible memorabilia, typically written or printed, that were originally expected to have only short-term usefulness or popularity.

Enumeration: The process of counting people; a list of people, as in a census.

Family Group Sheet: Forms that record families as groups. Complete a family group sheet for any couple and their children in the family tree. The sheet will include birth, death, and marriage information for each couple and all their children, listed in order of birth.

GEDCOM: An acronym for GEnealogical Data COMmunication, the universal file format for genealogy databases that allows users of different software programs to share their data with others.

Grantee: Person purchasing, buying or receiving property.

Grantor: Person selling, granting, transferring or conveying property.

Guardian: Person lawfully appointed to care for a person and their interests (such as education, property management, and investments).

Heir: Person who succeeds, by the rules of law, to an estate upon the death of an ancestor; one with rights to inherit an estate.

Intestate: Used to denote a person who died without leaving a will.

Land records: Deeds; proof that a piece of land has been legally transferred to a particular individual.

Letters testamentary: Court document allowing the executor of an estate named in a will to carry out their duties.

Marriage bond: Document obtained by an engaged couple prior to marriage. It affirmed that there was no moral or legal reason why the couple could not be married. 

Marriage contract: Legal agreement between prospective spouses made before marriage to determine their property rights and those of their children

Marriage records: Record containing information about a marriage.

Maternal line: Line of descent traced from the mother's side.

Migration: Refers to movement of people within the same country such as moving from state to state.

Mitochondrial DNA: Genetic material both males and females inherit from their mothers. 

Mortality schedule: A section of the federal census listing information about persons who died during the census year.

Naturalization records: Documents recording the process by which an immigrant becomes a citizen.

Oral family history: A collection of family stories told by a member of the family or by a close family friend.

Parent county: The county from which a new county is formed.

Parish: Ecclesiastical division or jurisdiction; the site of a church.

Passenger lists: Compilation of the names and information about passengers who arrived on ships into the United States. These lists were submitted to customs collectors at every port by the ship's master. Passenger lists were not officially required by the United States government until 1820.

Paternal line: Line of descent traced through the father's side.

Pedigree Chart: A diagram that tracks your direct family line back through several generations—Parents, Grandparents, Great Grandparents, etc.

Primary evidence: Original or first-hand evidence; the best evidence available that must be used before secondary evidence can be introduced as proof.

Primary source: Records created at the time of an event. Included are: census records, birth, marriage, and death records, medical records, and other published records such as newspapers, court and land records.

Probate: Legal process used to determine the validity of a will before the court authorizes distribution of an estate.

Probate records: Documents recording the disposition of a deceased individual's property.

Quitclaim deed: Transfer of land or claim without guaranteeing clear title.

Removed: A term that describes a situation in which two relatives have a different number of generations between them and a most recent common ancestor. 

Secondary evidence: Evidence that is a substitute for an original document or item of proof, used when the primary or more direct evidence is unavailable.

Secondary source: A record that was created a significant amount of time after an event occurred.

Soundex: A system of coding surnames based on how they sound, which was used to index the 1880 and later censuses. The Soundex system is useful in locating records containing alternate surname spellings. 

Transcript: Something transcribed (a written, typewritten, or printed copy). In a transcript, it is assumed that everything from the original was transcribed or copied. 

Vertical File: Collection of loose materials, like newspaper clippings, pamphlets, brochures, and genealogies stored upright in filing cabinets, organized by subject and/or surname and used for ready reference and quick information retrieval.

Warranty deed: A real estate document in which the seller asserts that the title is valid and not subject to any outstanding liens. 

Will: A document stating how a person wants real and personal property divided after death

Writ of attachment: A court order authorizing the seizure of property sufficient to cover debts and court costs for not appearing in court

Writ of summons: Document ordering a person to appear in court.

X: What the signer of a document would often write if he couldn’t write his name. A witness would typically label this “his mark.” 

Y-DNA: Genetic material passed down from father to son.