-
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 adjoing 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 CUM TESTAMENTO ANNEXO - see
ADMINISTRATION WITH WILL ANNEXED
-
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
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-
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
-
BINDING OUT - see BOUND OUT
-
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. See also MARRIAGE
BOND.
-
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 - 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
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-
DAGUERREOTYPE - photographic 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; out of; about; at;
for
-
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
-
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 - 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 - document showing the transfer of ownership of
property and perhaps the ownership of a land warrant
-
DEED
OF DECREE - document showing property transferred usually as a
result of a petition or court action
-
DEED
OF GIFT - 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 - 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 - 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 - [also Doomesday Book] 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 - 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
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-
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 - one who leaves one 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
-
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 - one deported from one's native land,
or one voluntarily absent from his homeland
-
EXPEDE - to sign, seal, and deliver a
document
-
EX
POST FACTO - [Latin] after the act
-
EXTANT - in existence or not
destroyed
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-
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 chidlren of the first
taker
-
FAMILY
HISTORY LIBRARY (FHL) - of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) located in Salt Lake City has the world's
largest collection of genealogical information
-
FAMILY
HISTORY CENTER (FHC) - located in many towns throughout the
United States and many cities throughout the world, these are local
research centers where one may access the information of FHL through 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] brother's daughter (niece)
-
FILIA
SORORIS - [Latin] sister's daughter (niece)
-
FILII
NOBELIUM - [Latin] sons of nobles
-
FILIOLA - [Latin] little daughter
-
FILIOLUS - [Latin] little son
-
FILIUS - [Latin] son; male
offspring
-
FILIUS
FRATRIS - [Latin] brother's son; nephew
-
FILIUS
NULLIUS - [Latin] an illegitimate person
-
FILIUS
POPULI - [Latin] "a son of the people"; a
bastard
-
FILIUS
SORORIS - [Latin] sister's son; nephew
-
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 - public or formal objection to a
marriage
-
FORTNIGHT - two weeks
-
FRANKLIN - see STATE OF FRANKLIN
-
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 years of
age holding full rights of citizenship who is free to ply a trade, own
land, and to vote
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-
GEDCOM - acronym for GEnealogical Data
COMmunication; file format supported by most genealogy database programs
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 CHATTELS - personal property - goods meant inanimate objects;
chattels 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
incompetent, 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
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-
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
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-
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 - condition of a person who dies without
leaving a valid will
-
INVENTORY - a list of goods in the estate of a
deceased person
-
ISSUE - lineal descendants of a common
ancestor
-
ITEM - a term marking the beginning of a paragraph
in a will
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-
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 family
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-
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 and 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 - 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
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-
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 - dwellinghouse
-
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 - 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 - funeral gift
-
MOURNING PIECE - a pictorial representation of a
tomb, intended as a memorial of the dead
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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
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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."
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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
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MULATTO - the offspring of one white and one black
parent - sometimes used, especially on census schedules, for
Indians
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MUNIMENT - documents showing that a person has
legal rights to land, possessions, or other privileges
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MUNIMENT OF TITLE - all written evidence of title
which can show proof of ownership
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MUSTER
OUT - a discharge from military service
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NATURALIZATION - the process of becoming a citizen
of the U.S.
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NATURALIZE - to grant full citizenship to one of
foreign birth
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NECROLOGY - a listing of obituaries, as in a
newspaper; records of death
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N�E - born; usually refers to a woman's maiden
name
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NEPHEW - son of one's brother or sister; also an
illegitimate son of an eccleasiastic, a niece, or a male or female
grandchild
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NIECE - daughter of one's brother or sister;
sometimes, granddaughter; (pre-seventeenth century England) any
descendant, male or female, and occasionally, any younger
relative
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NON
COMPOS MENTIS - [Latin] incompetent, or not mentally capable of
handling one's affairs
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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
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NOW
WIFE - exclusively found in wills, this term implied that there
was a former wife
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OBIIT - [Latin] he/she died
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OBIIT
SINE PROLE - [Latin] died without issue
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OBITUARY - published notice of a death, sometimes
with a brief biography of the deceased
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PASSENGER LISTS - names and information of
passengers who arrived by ship, often including their age, sex,
occupation, place of origin
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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
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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.
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PEDIGREE - a list of ancestors; a
lineage
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PEDIGREE CHART - graphic document that begins with
one person and moves backward in time, showing the parents of each
person in the tree
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PERSONAL PROPERTY - property other than real
estate
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PER
ANNUM - [Latin] by the year
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PER
STIRPES - [Latin] distribution of an inheritance by giving equal
shares to family groups rather than an equal percentage to each
descendant
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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
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POSTHUMOUS - after death
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POSTHUMOUS CHILD - a child born after the death of
the father
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PRIMARY RECORD - a record created at the time of
the event (birth, marriage, death, etc.) as opposed to records written
years later
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PRIMOGENITOR - the earliest ancestor or forefather
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PRIMOGENITURE - an old common-law system of
inheritance whereby the oldest son inherited the father's
property
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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
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PROGENY - the issue or descendants of a common
ancestor
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PROGENITOR - an originator of a line of descent,
frequently used in reference to the immigrant ancestor
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PROLES - offspring
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PROVED - documents such as wills, deeds, bills of
sale, etc., having their accuracy and honesty attested to through legal
proceedings in a court of law
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QUADROON - a child of a mulatto and a white; a
child with one black grandparent
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QUID
PRO QUO - [Latin] "value for value"; that which is received in
consideration for something that is requested, done, or
given
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QUIT-CLAIM DEED - a deed releasing claim to an
estate or property by an individual to another person
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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
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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
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QUORUM - the legal number of persons required to be
present to conduct business
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RAGMAN'S-ROLL - a register, compiled by a
representative of the pope, of the beneficiaries in
Scotland
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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
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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
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REDEMPTION - the regaining of property once lost to
forfeiture or foreclosure
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REGISTRAR - an official who registers/records
events such as land transactions, probates, births, deaths,
etc.
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RELICT - a widow or widower; the surviving
spouse
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REMAINDER - the part of the estate that is left
after a prior interest ends
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REMOVED - moved; left
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RESIDUARY BEQUEST - a bequest which consists of
anything left over after the fees and debts have been paid in an
estate
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RESIDUARY CLAUSE - a clause in a will which conveys
any and everything left of a residuary legacy to the
beneficiary
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RESIDUARY DEVISEE - beneficiary in a will who is to
take all real property remaining after other legacies have been
satisfied
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RESIDUARY ESTATE - all the rest and residue;
everything that has not been disposed of other than what remains in the
residuary clause
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RESIDUE - the surplus of a testator's estate when
all other obligations have been legally taken care of
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RESIDUUM - [Latin] the remainder of an estate after
all debts and legacies have been dispersed
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REVENUE STAMP - a stamp placed on goods and
documents to show that the tax had been collected
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REVERSE INDEX - in probate, an index listing those
involved in the probate process, not the deceased
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SECONDARY RECORD - or secondary source; a record
created some time after the event or copied from other
sources
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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
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SEISED/SEIZED - to be the legal fee simple
possessor
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SELECTMAN - in New England, one of 3 to 7 men
chosen annually to manage to affairs of a small town
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SEPARATISTS - [also Independents] those who
withdrew from the Church of England in the sixteenth
century
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SEQUENTIA - [Latin] the following
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SHARECROPPER - a person who would farm ground owned
by another, and divide the crops or the profits with the
owner
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SHILLING - an English coin equivalent to twelve
pennies or one twentieth of a pound
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SHIRE - a county in Great Britain
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SIBLING - a brother or sister
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SINE - [Latin] without
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SINE
DIE - [Latin] "without a day"; dismissing a proceeding, such as a
court term, without determining a day for it to begin
again
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SINE
LOCO - [Latin] without place
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SINE
PROLE - [Latin] without issue; without children
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SINE
PROLE SUPERSITE - [Latin] without surviving issue
(children)
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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
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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
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SPOUSE - a husband or wife
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STATE
OF FRANKLIN - a state reorganized in 1784 in the western part of
North Carolina and which ceased to exist in 1788, now a part of eastern
Tennessee
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STEERAGE - a section in a passenger ship for those
paying the lowest fare
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STIRPES - [Latin] [1] a family or branch of family;
[2] in law, the person from whom everyone in a family is
descended
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SUPRA
SCRIPTUM - [Latin] as written above
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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
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SURNAME - the last or family name that a person
bears in common with others in his/her family
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SURRENDER - a land record which involves giving up
land before the lease has expired with the mutual consent of both
parties
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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
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TENANCY - residence on, and use of land, without
owning it
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TENANCY BY THE ENTIRETY - the ownership of property
by a husband and wife together in which 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
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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
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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
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TENANT
FARMER - a renter or one who is allowed to farm a particular
piece of land in trade for services given; famer who did not own the
land worked
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TENANTS-IN-CAPITE - a person holding feudal land
directly from the king, usually several manors, who would in turn
sub-infeud to other tenants
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TENANT
IN COMMON - a possession of the land as a whole by several
persons, each having a separate title, although the land is not
divided
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TENEMENT - any property that can be held, but most
often refers to houses and land
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TENOR - the exact wording in a legal document or an
exact copy
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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
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TERCE
LAND - the rent from land given to a widow as her
terce
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TERRIER - book or scroll used to record land
description, usage, etc.
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TESTABLE - something that can be given by will;
capable of making or witnessing a will
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TESTAMENT - the disposition of one's personal
property by will
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TESTAMENTARY - referring to, given by, or appointed
by a will
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TESTAMENTARY BOND - security posted with the court
by the executor of an estate to insure that the wishes of the deceased
be followed
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TESTAMENTARY GUARDIAN - a guardian appointed to be
responsible for the inheritance of a minor child
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TESTAMENTUM - [Latin] will;
testament
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TESTATE- having a valid will upon
death
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TESTATOR - the person who makes a
will
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TESTATRIX- a female who leaves a valid
will
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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
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TESTIS - [Latin] a witness
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TITHE - associated with the payment of offerings
(in kind or money) to a church or the government as tax
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TRUSTEE - one who holds legal title to property in
order to administer it for a beneficiary
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ULTIMO - [Latin] in the month immediately
preceding
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ULTIMO
DIE -[Latin] final day
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ULTIMUS - [Latin] last, end,
furthest
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UNDERGROUND RAILROAD - the system which took slaves
to freedom in fourteen Northern states by 1830, and about 50,000 between
1840 and 1860
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UNIGENA - [Latin] only-begotten; only; of one
family
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UNIGENITUS - [Latin] the only son
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UNLAW - any transgression of the law, act of
injustice, a fine, or a law that has no real authority
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UNOFFICIOUS WILL - a will made without any regard
as to natural obligations of inheritance
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UNPROBATED WILL - a will which was never submitted
for probate, which may have been lost for a time
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UNREGISTERED WILL - 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
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UNSEATED - persons who were taxed for land that
they owned but did not live on
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UNSEATED LAND - unsettled area
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UNSOLEMN WILL - a will where no executor is
named
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USUFRUCT - the right to enjoy property and the
benefits thereof as long as the property itself is not harmed nor
depleted
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USURY - the practice of lending money at a rate of
interest that is excessive or unlawfully high
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UT - [Latin] in what manner; in the manner
that
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UTERINE - having the same mother but different
fathers
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UT
INFRA - [Latin] as below
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UT
SUPRA - [Latin] as above
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UXOR - [Latin] wife; spouse;
consort
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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
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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
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VALID - that which is legally binding, legitimate
or good
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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
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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
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VENDUE - a public auction or sale
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VERBATIM - [Latin] word for word
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VICULUS - [Latin] village; hamlet
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VIDELICET - [Latin] namely; to wit; that is to
say
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VIDEUS - [Latin] living; true to life;
vigorous
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VIDUA - [Latin] widow
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VIDUUS - [Latin] widower; widow
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VILLANAGE - base servitude; tenure on condition of
doing the lowest kind of services for the lord
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VILLEIN - serf
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VILLEINAGE - see VILLANAGE
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VIR - [Latin] man; boy; male; husband;
soldier
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VIRGIN - in bonds or licences of England, an
unmarried woman
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VITAL
RECORDS - civil records of birth, marriage and
death
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VITIOUS INTROMISSION - the unwarranted dealing with
the movable estate of a deceased person
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VIVUS - [Latin] alive; living
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VIXIT
ANNOS - [Latin] he or she lived (a certain number)
years
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VIXOR - [Latin] wife
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WAIVER - an intentional and voluntary giving up of
one's rights
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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
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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
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WILL - the legal document containing the statement
of a person's wishes regarding the disposal of his or her property after
death
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WRIT
OF ARREST - see WRITE OF CAPIAS
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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
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WRIT
OF CAPIAS - a formal arrest document; warrant
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WRIT
OF CAPIAS AD SATISFACIENDUM - a document which required the loser
(debtor) to be imprisoned until the debt was paid
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WRIT
OF FIERI FACIAS - a court order to seize (attach) and sell goods
belonging to the loser in a court case to pay debts
owed
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WRIT
OF SUMMONS - a document commanding a person to appear in
court
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WRIT
OF VENIRE FACIAS - a document issued to call men to be
jurors
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YARD
LAND - land area which varies from fifteen to forty acres,
depending on the locality
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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.