929.1 Ev2n EVERTON THE NEW HOW BOOK FOR GENEALOGISTS UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGM IXfNOlS HISTORICAL SUBUEtf i \ i f: ^^HL&^ ft'Mi A'«V»lr ^;vh T/re New »!• -.si •• • '3 FOR GENEALOGISTS LI B RARY OF THE UNIVERSITY Of ILLINOIS 929.1 Ev2n K Illinois Historical Survey The NEW HOW BOOK For GENEALOGISTS A guide to give the new genealogist a proper start. A help for the experienced genealogist in the many problems connected with the search for ancestors. By George B. Everton, Sr. and Gunnar Rasmus on Published by THE EVERTON PUBLISHERS 526 North Main Street Logan, Utah 1956 Copyright, 1956 by THE EVERTON PUBLISHERS All rights reserved Printed by The Herald Printing Co. Logan, Utah. Z>^' s FOREWORD The idea of "The How Book" came to the late Walter M. Everton while engaged as an advisor to people interested in genealogical research around San Francisco. He found that scores of inquiries coining to him daily centered around a number of specific topics. Getting tired of writing the same kind of a letter several times a day in answer to inquiries he decided to mimeograph each letter he wrote on any particu- lar phase of genealogy. Eventually he found that he had seven- ty-three different short letters. From two to five of these different letters were sent to each one of the twenty or more daily inquiries. Returning to his home in L gan, Utah, in 1945, he founded the genealogical section of the Cache County Li- brary. When inquiries continued to come from near and far » from the bewildered researchers he decided to combine his let- L ~ ters into a three- and- a-half by eight-and-a-half mimeographed, "The How Book For Genealogists." It contained seventy-eight pages. The demand for this little pamphlet was enormous. \ The 1948 edition of this work was a letter-printed pam- Vphlet, four by seven, "Revised and enlarged" it sold for twen- ty-five cents per copy. In each new edition additional infor- mation was incorporated of help to the professional as well as the amateur researcher. A total of sixteen thousand copies v were distributed throughout the nation. Sensing that more information was needed to guide the re- , searcher than was given in his "How Book," Mr. Everton con- ceived the idea of "The Handy Book for Genealogists," the first [ edition of which was printed in 1949. It included, besides all the material of the "How Book," a section on "Genealogical ^Geography," and two other sections, "The Directory of Genealo- gists," and "The Genealogist's Exchange." V Since 1947 he had also published "The Genealogical Helper" a magazine which was first distributed as a monthly and then as a larger quarterly. Immediately after the publication of > "The Handy Book for Genealogists" in 1949 it became obvious to Mr. Everton that the two sections in that book, "The Directory of Genealogists and "The Genealogist's Exchange" were of such tremendous importance to the researcher that they must come out with fresh contents at least once a year. Realizing ; the impossibility of producing a yearly ten thousand edition of "The Handy Book." Mr. Everton decided to incorporate those two sections in the quarterly magazine. He was making preparation for the "First Annual Exchange Edition" of "The Genealogical Helper" in December 1950 when he was stricken by a fatal heart attack. Since then the Everton Publishers with George B. Everton, Sr., as owner and editor, have tried to emulate his efforts of "helping more people find more genealogy." The 1953 edition of "The Handy Book for Genealogists" was published by The Everton Publishers with George B. Everton, Sr. and Gunnar Rasmuson as editors. It followed the plan of the original "Handy Book" with some additional information and corrections. The next "Handy Book," now in the planning stage, will not contain the "Directory of Genealogists" and "The Gen- ealogist's Exchange" which now appear in the September issue of the quarterly, "The Genealogical Helper," nor the "General In- structions," now part of this renewed, "How Book." As now be- ing planned, "The Handy Book" will contain much new data on each state of the United States and most of the European and English-speaking countries of the world. Since 1948 which saw the last copy of the "How Book" sold, seldom a week has passed by without some one ordering a copy. At times orders came almost every day and some days saw three or four orders arriving. This continual demand, coupled with new plans and ideas which have been worked out and proven of great help to those interested in genealogical research and the gathering and writing of family and personal histories, finally brought forth this "New How Book for Genealogists." We trust it will serve its intended purpose. It is humbly presented with this in mind. We realize nothing human is per- fect, so sincerely ask in advance for your pardon when imper- fections flash before you. We solicit your suggestions, cor- rections, and additional material for future editions. George B. Everton, Sr. 5 July 1956 Gunnar Rasmuson TABLE OF CONTENTS Page HOW TO BEGIN 7 Starting your record 8 Prove your records 10 Abbreviations may be perplexing 11 A family group sheet for each marriage 12 Record the truth 13 Pictures will enhance your record 14 Use rubber cement or photo mounting tissue 16 Picture pedigrees 17 Clean old photos 18 The Pedigree chart 18 Listing names on the pedigree chart 20 An unlimited pedigree record 21 Family History sheets 24 Arranging and utilizing your record for the greatest satisfaction 25 Why a genealogical record? . . „ 26 Write a history 26 Microfilming 27 HOW TO CONTINUE 28 Little equipment needed 28 It takes time to find genealogy 29 Ask your own family first 29 Personal visits are best 30 Prove family traditions 32 Pedigrees must be correct 32 Spell place names correctly 34 Prove all work before continuing 37 Desired qualities in a researcher 37 You must write letters 37 Contact persons of similar names 39 Where to write for genealogy 42 Writing to public officers 43 Use labor saving devices 43 Family genealogists 44 Home town genealogists 44 Write to genealogical libraries 45 Printed family histories 46 Library catalogues 47 Borrowing genealogical books 48 Records in National Archives 48 Passenger lists <. 51 Land records 53 Early spelling of names 53 Whence came surnames 54 Clues in names 56 Approximating dates 56 COMMON OR CANON LAW RELATIONSHIP CHART 58 RELATIONSHIPS 59 How to use relationship chart 59 DICTIONARY OF GENEALOGICAL WORDS, TERMS AND ABBREVIATIONS 61 Explanation of terms and symbols 62 INDEX 100 I How To Begin So you axe interested in gathering information about your ancestors? You are not alone with this idea — genealogy is fast becoming a most popular hobby. Lack of tools and in- structions on how to use them - such as forms, binders, etc. - have deterred many from taking up this interesting pastime. Gradually, however, these obstacles are being overcome. With the printing of this book one more step has been accomplished to assist those who desire to occupy themselves in this avoca- tion. As suggested, one of the first things needed is tools with which to work. Many genealogical forms are now availa- ble. As these instructions proceed several will be intro- duced. First is the One Family Group Sheet. This is the base or foundation of all genealogical forms. From the information recorded on the Family Group Sheet other necessary genealogi- cal forms can be started and completed. On that sheet, when it is properly done, you have not only the names of your an- cestors or relatives, but also the time, place and relation- ship elements which are almost as essential as the name. Many names considered uncommon today may be found in abundance in certain localities in past years. Unless you can connect some dates with those names - tell where and when they were born, where and when they were married, where and when they died, and show their relationship to other persons - their identity is incomplete. It may sometimes happen that with all this in- formation available there may still be a question of identity because of conflicting information. Never be satisfied to gather names only. They may mean something to you today because of your personal acquaintance with them, but to your descendants in years to come, they will mean nothing without the mentioned identifying particulars. Thus you can see the importance of the Family Group Sheet. Different kinds of these sheets are available. Some researchers prefer one kind, others a different kind. As long as it contains the needed information, one kind is as good as 8 THE NEW HOW BOOK FOR GENEALOGISTS another. To satisfy individual whims, The Everton Publishers have available three different kinds of Family Group Sheets, designated as Fl, F2, and F3. Other forms may be had from other sources. Undoubtedly you may find all necessary forms at the store where you purchased this book. They may not have the same designation as we have given here but they may still be just about the same form, with little or no change. All of them are more or less alike. Therefore, the instructions to be given in these pages cover just about the entire field. Forms F2 and F3, measuring 8^x11, are identical except the paper on which they are printed. Form F3 is printed on a high grade rag bond paper that is not easily torn and will last for many years. Form F2 is printed on a not so heavy sulphide paper that may not withstand the ravages of time and turn yellow with age. Since Form F3 is intended for your per- sonal records it is punched to be preserved in a binder. Form F2, intended mainly as a work sheet in preparation for the long-time-to-be-saved records, is printed on a lighter weight, unpunched paper. It may also be used in sending or asking for information from other researchers. Form Fl is identical with Form F3 only that it measures 8§xl4 and in the extra space are recorded certain ordinances of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Members of that church would do well in using the Fl, non-members un- doubtedly would prefer the F3. Form F2 can be used as a work sheet by either group. Substantial and attractive loose-leaf binders to fit forms Fl or F3 can be supplied from The Everton Publishers or from most of the stores which sell this book. Many other forms mentioned in these instructions will fit either the one or the other of these two binders. STARTING YOUR RECORD The correct way to gather a genealogical record is to start with your own family. If you are married, make out form F2 for the husband, wife and children. This you should be able to do from memory or from recent records made in the Fam- ily Bible or elsewhere. Answer each blank to be filled as if you were doing it for some one entirely unacquainted with your family. If you are not absolutely sure of the dates, don't HOW TO BEGIN 9 rely on your memory. Spell all names correctly. In giving the names of your children, list them in order of birth. If a child has died, list it in the order where it belongs, just as you do the living children. Use the child's real name - not a pet-name or nick-name. If at all possible, use a typewriter in filling out the record. If a typewriter is not available, print the informa- tion in legible style. Don't trust your handwriting - when it gets cold or is read by a stranger it may be misinterpreted. When writing dates, do it the professional way - day, month, year - 10 June 1889. A little time in practice along this line will pay big dividends in the future - both in time and satisfaction. Write all names in their regular order - Christian name first, then the middle name if any, and then the surname. Never use initials unless it is impossible to find the name. Rarely you will find someone who was given as his name ini- tials only, such as R. L. Smith. In such cases, naturally, you must use the initials, since that's all given. Don't ab- breviate names of persons or localities, with the exception of the officially accepted abbreviations of states. On all genealogical records the names of females should be the maiden name only. You will avoid a lot of confusion if you adhere strictly to that rule. Regardless how many times a woman may have been married, use her maiden name only. You will notice there is a space for the names of other hus- bands she may have had. If her maiden name is unknown, but her given name is known, write it, for instance, Mrs. Bertha Cowles, or if the husband's and the children's surname is known and her names are entirely unknown, write it, for in- stance, Mrs. John Cowles. After you have made out your immediate Family Group Sheet make out a similar sheet for the family of the husband's par- ents, then one for the family of the wife's parents. If you have married brothers and sisters make out family Group Sheets for each one of them, being careful that all nai: -s and dates are correct. If you are not sure of names or dates call them on the telephone or write them for the information. Next make out family group sheets for the families of your parens* brothers and sisters. Be just as careful to get all names ana 10 THE NEW HOW BOOK FOR GENEALOGISTS dates on those sheets correct as you were with your own record You will find this experience will give you as much sat- isfaction as any other phase of genealogy. It will also train you in gathering facts and recording them correctly. It will give you such an insight into research activities that by the time you are ready to prepare the records of your grandparents and great grandparents you'll feel like a professional re- searcher. You will thus have a better insight as to what and how to do with more complicated situations as you get more and more into the distant past. PROVE YOUR RECORDS The satisfaction of a job well done comes only by doing the job at hand properly. If you want the most out of your genealogical activities use the methods which long experience has found to be the right methods. Avoid errors by correctly copying names, dates and places. Proof read carefully every- thing you have written. Prove all data and indicate how and where you have proved it. In the past many researchers have failed because they have taken too many things for granted which since then have been proven wrong. Just because you read something in a book or a newspaper, don't take for granted immediately that it is true. Prove it before you make it a permanent part of your record. And when you have proven it show where the information was obtained, so others also may be sure of its correctness. The novice may say, "Well, all of that is easy to say, but how is it done?" Some genealogists use the legal method to prove their records - they have photostatic or certified copies of birth, marriage and death certificates, wills, etc. Ordinari- ly this is not considered necessary. It may be sufficient to indicate where the information was obtained which is commonly called the historical method. If a person is widely known by a nickname or a legally assumed or adopted name, it is well to place it within paren- thesis on the record in connection with the true or original name, as, for instance, John (Jack) Jones, Mary (Polly) Smith, Thomas Polk (Paulk) , Henry Black (Schwartz). As previously mentioned, a good habit to form is to write HOW TO BEGIN 11 all dates with the day first, then the month and the year. Never indicate the month with numerals, as 7-12-1893 or 12-7- 1893, but always 12 July 1893. Various parts of the world use different numeral systems as dates. This leads to confusion and errors. All the months may be abbreviated to three let- ters with the exception of June and July and they should be written in full. The year should never be abbreviated. Gene- alogical dates cover all centuries. To eliminate the century and write '95 instead of 1695, or 1795, or 1895 would be per- plexing, indeed. ABBREVIATIONS MAY BE PERPLEXING Abbreviations of names of persons or localities should be avoided. For instance, S. A. may stand for South America, South Africa, South Australia, Santa Ana, Saint Augustine, San Antonio, or San Angelo. While you know perfectly well what you would have the initials represent, to all others they would be an enigma. Your record should withstand the eye of the critic and the test of time. Therefore, use the full name of the town or city, the county, province, shire, canton or Ian, and the nation. States in the United States may be ab- breviated or not abbreviated according to the Postal Guide, as follows: Ala. Iowa Ariz. Kans. Ark. Ky. Calif. La. Colo. Maine Conn. Md. Del. Mass. Fla. Mich. Ga. Minn. Idaho Miss. 111. Mo. Ind. Mont. Nebr. Nev. N.H. N.J. N.Mex. N.Y. N.C. N.Dak. Ohio Okla. Oreg. Pa. R. I. S. C. S. Dak. Tenn. Tex. Utah Vt. Va. Wash. W. Va. Wis. Wyo. The two lines following the name of the husband and wife records the date and place of birth and the date and place of christening. Both of these dates are not necessary. The date and place of birth is the most important, although, if it is not obtainable, the christening date and place may be substi- tuted. In olden days the clergy often neglcc ccd to register 12 THE NEW HOW BOOK FOR GENEALOGISTS the birth of the child, but made note of the christening date when the child was brought to the church for that ordinance. A similar situation exists in regard to the time and place of death and the time and place of the burial. The death date is preferable for the record, but the burial date is also ac- ceptable. A FAMILY GROUP SHEET FOR EACH MARRIAGE In these days of divorces and terrific living, it is not uncommon to find persons who have been married more than once. In the early days, the rigors, dangers and disease of pioneer life caused homes to be broken and the bereaved spouse to se- cure a new companion. The proper procedure in recording these multiple marriages poses problems to the embryo genealogist. However, there is nothing particularly difficult in the situa- tion, if you remember that for each married couple there must be a Family Group Sheet. For each wife, each husband must have a separate Family Group Sheet on which must be shown the children of that marriage, if any. Part of the information asked for under the "Husband's Name" on each Family Group Sheet says, "Other Wives, if any." If the husband has only had one wife, that particular line should remain blank. If the husband in question has had the misfortune to loose two wives and married a third, this nota- tion should be given on that line of the sheet showing the name and data of his first wife, Other Wives, if any, (2) Place maiden name of second wife; (3) Place maiden name of third wife. On the sheet showing the information concerning his sec- ond wife, that line should show, (1) Place maiden name of first wife; (3) Place maiden name of third wife. On the sheet showing the information concerning his third wife, that "Other Wives" line should read, (1) Place maiden name of first wife; (2) Place maiden name of the second wife. Following are ex- amples of the above. Husband's Name, John Jones Other Wives, if any, (2) Mary Smith, (3) Jane Roe Wife's Maiden Name, (1) Anna Brown Husband's Name, John Jones Other Wive^, if any, (1) Anna Brown, (3) Jane Roe Wife's Mai''.., Name, (2) Mary Smith HOW TO BEGIN 13 Husband's Name, John Jones Other Wives, if any, (1) Anna Brown, (2) Mary Smith Wife's Maiden Name, (3) Jane Roe Thus, with the three sheets you will be able to record the children of each marriage, placing them with the proper mother. By using the number in parenthesis each time with each wife you eliminate all questions regarding their order. The same procedure concerning her husbands should be in- dicated in the wife's information, if she has been married more than once. The Family Group Sheet is compiled to help you remember at a glance the individuals who are your direct ancestors. In the part where the children of the family are listed, place an asterisk (*) in front of the name of your direct ancestors. It naturally follows, of course, that the husband and wife mentioned on that particular sheet are also your ancestors. It may happen that two children on one Family Group Sheet may be your ancestors. For instance, on one such sheet in our possession, the second child became one of our fifth great grandmothers on our mother's side, and the tenth child became one of our fourth great grandfathers on our father's linage. An asterisk (*) is placed in front of each one of those two names on that Family Group Sheet of ten children. How should adopted children be recorded on the Family Group Sheet? After the names of such children write (Adopted) If their blood parents are known, list them on the back of the sheet. It would also be well to make out another Family Group Sheet so that their true brothers and sisters may be shown with them. If the parents are unknown, state that fact. Re- member, if possible, blood lines are the ones to follow in tracing genealogy; adopted lines are secondary. RECORD THE TRUTH Sooner or later, a majority of those who do genealogical research find "skeletons in the closet." They discover ille- gitimacy in their line or other infractions of the law. Con- sidering the practises during the period of time in question this shouldn't be too disturbing or too shocking. Under such conditions paternity is difficult to prove. Rumors and tradi- 14 THE NEW HOW BOOK FOR GENEALOGISTS tions are poor foundations on which to build a pedigree. There is no need to create a scene, to make unnecessary dis- plays. Better far to be quiet, to forget. However, you have more than likely come to the end of that particular linage. But there is nothing to hinder you from continuing the search on all other lines. Although it may be unsavory, record the truth, but avoid making it prominent. Don't go into detail about such matters. You will find plenty of things to record of which you will be proud. Mention has been made that sources of information should be recorded. A space for that purpose is reserved on the front of the Family Group Sheet. If that space is insuffi- cient, list all important data on the back of the sheet. Many times judgment must be exercised in relation to the interpre- tation of obscure facts. Your opinion may differ from that of other persons. Give every one a chance to decide for himself by letting him know the source of your information, such as: Family or Bible records (indicate location of the records); U. S. Census records (name year, state, county, etc.); family histories (by whom written and published); State Vital Statis- tics, etc. This is referred to as the "Historical Method". It is a lot easier than the "Legal Method", perhaps not so conclusive but nevertheless satisfactory in most cases. In the upper right hand corner of the Family Group Sheet is a place for recording the names of the husband and the wife, As your book grows you will find it convenient to have those names in that position to aid you in locating desired sheets as you thumb through the binder. PICTURES WILL ENHANCE YOUR RECORD One of the most interesting phases of genealogy is the gathering of pictures and mounting them with the family record - practically bringing the family group alive. This is not too difficult with the living, but the farther back you go on your record the more the hardships multiply until you finally reach the time of no photos and few portraits. Some research- ers have been able to locate pictures for five or six genera- tions on all their lines. When such an array of photographs is added to the family record it is truly a wonderful sight. Many ways have been devised for sorting, classifying and HOW TO BEGIN 15 mounting pictures. To aid you and give you a start, we will discuss a simple method, then you can add to it, change it or elaborate on it to your heart* s content. Plain sheets are available for mounting your photos and other material you may want to preserve in your record. The S6 sheet, sold by The Ever ton Publishers, is 8§xl4 heavy weight bond paper especially made for mounting. The S7 sheet is the same except for size, measuring 8§xll. Both are punch- ed to fit binders. Some people have used the S4 and S5 sheets and found them satisfactory, but they are lighter weight, and most people prefer the heavier paper for their permanent rec- ords. As with other sheets you may find just what you need at the store where this book was purchased. As with your regular recording activities so is it a good idea to start your picture mounting with your own immediate family. Place a plain bond sheet on top of your Family Group Sheet. Turn the plain sheet over so it will be on your left as you face it and your Family Group Sheet is on your right. Paste your family picture on the plain sheet - thus when you open your book after it is assembled you will have your fami- ly group sheet and your picture so they can be viewed together without having to turn a page. With pen and ink print the names of the individuals on the sheet under the picture - or type them - in such a way that a stranger could identify each. Why identify those in the picture so carefully, since you are intimately acquainted with them? You'll never forget who they axel That's true, but twenty-five years from now and later wher your descendants are looking at that picture they may not know any of them. What wouldn't you give now if grandma had identified pictures by writing the names on the back of each. As it is, there isn't a mark of any kind to identify the pho- tographed person and the picture is worthless to you. Learn a lesson from it. Identify your pictures right now and write the names of each person from left to right, top to bottom. Your descendants will bless you for it! You may also desire to increase interest in the picture by indicating when it was taken and giving other pertinant data about it. You may even have a story regarding the circumstance of its being taken which would add color. If you have several pictures of the family or individuals in question taken at different times ar- range them on the same sheet. You may even have enough pic- tures to fill both sides of the sheet, or you may prefer to 16 THE NEW HOW BOOK FOR GENEALOGISTS use more sheets and mount pictures on one side only. Reserve space for additional pictures you may obtain later. Let us remind you again - always identify every individual on every picture you post. Other interesting material may be included such as birth certificates, wedding announcements, marriage licences, grad- uation certificates, discharge papers, newspaper clippings, etc., etc. Anything that is or may become interesting will add value to your record. You may have some treasured bits of cloth, locks of hair, old train tickets, a child's first art work, old letters and other material which does not lend it- self to being pasted on the sheet. You may paste a No. 10 en- velope, or larger, on the sheet and place many of these little heirlooms in it. USE RUBBER CEMENT OR PHOTO MOUNTING TISSUE Ordinary paste is rather poor for mounting pictures. It wrinkles the paper and spoils the looks of the finished job. It has a tendency to stiffen, breaking the paper or the pic- ture. Rubber cement will eliminate both of these troubles - it is always pliable and leaves no wrinkles. It can be pur- chased at most office supply houses. Another good method for mounting pictures is that used by professional photographers. They use what is called photo mounting tissue - a thin tissue with shellac on both sides. This is cut to the size of the picture. The tissue is placed on the sheet where you desire it; the picture is placed over it. An electric iron, warm e- nough to melt the shellac, is placed over the picture. It should remain long enough to melt the shellac. When cooled, the shellac hardens and makes a good bond. Photo mounting tissue in varied sizes may be obtained from photo supply houses. Snapshots as well as formal pictures will add much to your record. The snapshots will give little or no mounting difficulty but some of the formal pictures may present prob- lems, especially old pictures. For instance, you may find an old group picture of your grandfathers family which is too large to go into your book. These can be copied and reduced to make them usable. Any professional photographer will do that kind of work. If you are a handy do-it-yourself fellow here's a suggestion. Prop up the picture somewhere out in the HOW TO BEGIN 17 sun. Get as close to it as you can with your kodak or cheap box camera and still stay in focus. Shoot the picture just as you would any snapshot. A little experimenting will soon teach you how close you can get and still be in focus. We've seen quite satisfactory results from this method. Those two methods are, perhaps, the extremes in photo copying. Lying between these are the vast resources of the clever amateur photographer with a variety of equipment and devices. Do it yourself or let your professional photographer do it. Use any method you like but never neglect any opportunity to enrich your genealogical record just because some of the available pictures are too large. Photo copying also comes in handy when you find a rare old picture and the owner refuses to part with it. Have a copy made of it - there is absolutely no danger of harming the pic- ture since only ordinary photo processes are used. PICTURE PEDIGREES Sometimes you may want a copy of only one person in a group picture. Take the picture to a professional photogra- pher and he will have the desired individual in what ever size you may desire. If you want to do the work yourself follow previous instructions. After the print is made you can trim away everything but the part you want. Copying one face from a group picture becomes a necessity when you are making up a picture pedigree. This is also a most interesting phase of genealogy. For instance, start it with your children, then father and mother, grandparents and great grandparents and so on back as far as you can go. Form S8 is a picture pedigree sheet for use in our 9x15 binders. Form S9 is for use in the 9x12 binder with spaces provided for pictures. Or you may wish to use one of the plain heavy sheets and arrange them along your own ideas. We have seen them so arranged and the photo copied so that other members of the family may obtain them if they desire. For your own or close relative picture groups you may want to arrange them in special sections, such as "Babyhood," "Schooldays," "Hobbies," " Married Life," "Travels," "Friends" etc. Each section may be divided by the use of separation sheets, which may be decorated with cut-out highly colored 18 THE NEW HOW BOOK FOR GENEALOGISTS flowers and/or as much art work as your ingenuity permits. Guide Sheets for Book of Remembrance to fit the 9x15 binders are available from The Everton Riblishers and other supply houses. CLEAN OLD PHOTOS Proper handling of old photos will enhance their appear- ance. Quite often they are blotched and dirty. To clean them, dip a cotton pad in turpentine or M PM Solution,' 1 and rub vigorously. Turpentine may be purchased at paint stores, "PM Solution" at photo supply houses. Many old photos are mounted on heavy cardboard. If you are going to have a copy made, there is no need to disturb the backing, just clean the photo as suggested. If you contem- plate mounting the original photo on one of the sheets in your book, you will find it can be handled much better if the back- ing is removed. To do this, take a sharp knife; insert it into one of the corners of the backing and tear away the cor- ner to the back of the picture. Catch the edges along the torn part and continue to tear to the back. Repeat until you have enough of the cardboard backing removed to make the pic- ture pliable and suitable for cementing to the plain sheet. Never try to run a knife or other sharp object under the pic- ture or try to lift it from the backing. If you do, you will more than likely ruin it - the only picture of its kind that is accessible to you. If you have a picture of little value it will be well to do a little practicing before trying it on a picture of greater value. By using this method it will only take you about two or three minutes to strip the backing off any of these old pictures. After the backing is removed you may find it desirable to trim the picture to fit it to the space on the page or to remove superfluous sections. THE PEDIGREE CHART Many people unacquainted with research activities have looked on the pedigree sheet as the most important genealogi- cal record. It does have its place, but in some respects is not so important as the family group sheet. The pedigree chart shows only part of the family record. From the Family Group Sheet comes the information for the pedigree sheet. However the pedigree chart is a good index of the research HOW TO BEGIN 19 accomplishments on direct ancestral lines. In other words, in the pedigree chart you have a record showing direct ascent or descent. It does not show brothers and sisters, but par- ents, grandparents and great grandparents. And still, broth- ers and sisters are important factors in the identification of the family. They are shown on the Family Group Sheet. After you have done considerable research work and have located most of your ancestors, say to the fourth and fifth generation, your pedigree chart becomes a guide for your fu- ture research. The fan-shaped nine generation pedigree chart, Form P6 , with spaces for 511 names of direct ancestors, is especially designed for that purpose. If you keep that chart abreast with your research continuously, a glance at it will tell you immediately in which direction you should devote your research activities. It measures 19§ x 25§ inches, It is easily handled by pasting each end between two pieces of card- board one-eighth of an inch thick by one inch and a half wide. Several kinds of pedigree charts are available from The Everton Publishers and other stores carrying genealogical supplies. The PI and the P3 are for the 9x15 binder. The PI takes five generations - names of thirty-one ancestors. Each sheet is so arranged that the pedigree may be continued for any number of generations simply by adding more sheets. The P3 measures 14x25 inches but folds into 8§xl4 and is punched to fit the 9x15 binder. Eight generations may be listed on the sheet - 255 names. Form P2 is a duplicate of PI but is print- ed on lighter weight pink paper and is intended only as a work sheet. It can also be used in sending and receiving informa- tion through the mails. Form P7 is a pedigree sheet designed for the 9x12 binder. It lists five generations - thirty-one names and has the simi- lar system for extending the pedigree on following sheets as mentioned previously concerning the PI. The PI and P7 are printed on heavy rag bond paper, punched for their respective binders. The P8, a work sheet for the P7, is printed on a light weight sulphid paper and is not punched. Form P4, measuring 19x23 inches, lists eight generations, 255 names. It is more of a display chart to demonstrate on one sheet as many of your ancestors as possible. In that re- gard it is somewhat similar to P6 , the nine generation fan- 20 THE NEW HOW BOOK FOR GENEALOGISTS shaped chart and the P3, listing eight generations. Most researchers at some time or another have to write for information on a particular phase of their family line to some unknown individual. To many people letter writing is a diffi- cult chore. They take too much time and space to express their need. Form P5 is designed to make such a task a most pleasant undertaking. On one side is a short printed letter asking for the needed infromation with spaces to insert a minimum of words. On the same side is a three generation ped- igree chart on which the sender notes the names and the rela- tionship of the persons whose data is desired. On the oppo- site side of the sheet is a four generation pedigree chart to be completed by the receiver of the inquiry and returned to the sender. A lot of time and bother is saved by all con- cerned by use of this handy sheet. Remember, P5 may save you hours of correspondence! LISTING NAMES ON THE PEDIGREE CHARTS When looking at a pedigree chart for the first time the genealogical novice may feel bewildered and uncertain how to proceed. It should be remembered, first of all, that a pedi- gree chart is a genealogical tree, a table presenting all known ancestors of person No. 1. Brothers and sisters of one family may be listed in a group as No. 1 on chart No. 1, but all others listed must be parents, grandparents and great grandparents. The name in the No. 1 space on the first chart may be your own, your spouse, your children, your brothers and sisters, your father or mother, or any one whose ancestry is to be traced. If you take one or all of your children for No. 1, it will be your family group pedigree chart, the only one of its kind in the whole world, entirely different than all others. It ties together your family and that of your spouse - only you and your children can claim it. Each person has the most important part of his or her identifying data, such as the full name, when and where born, when married, and when and where died. As in the case of the Family Group Sheet, the married name of women should never appear on the pedigree chart - always it should be the maiden surname. The abbreviation of names - even the common ones such as Geo., Thos., Chas. , etc - should be avoided on the pedigree and the Family Group Sheet. It is well to indicate HOW TO BEGIN 21 on the back of the pedigree chart where the data was obtained. Refer to names by their number. The father of No. 1 is placed on line No. 2; the mother of No. 1 on line No. 3. The father of No. 2 becomes No. 4, the mother No. 5. The father of No. 3 becomes No. 6, the mother No. 7. By following this pattern all males will have even numbers and all females odd numbers, with the exception of No.l which may be either male or female. Father of 8. Father of #4. 4. #2. 9. Mother 2. Father of #1. 5. Mother of of #4. 10. Father of #5. #2. 11. Mother Father of of #5. 1. 12. Father of #6. 6. #3. 13. Mother 3. Mother of #1. 7. Mother of of #6. 14. Father of #7. #3. 15. Mother of #7. AN UNLIMITED PEDIGREE RECORD As previously mentioned charts Nos. PI and P7 are de- signed to accommodate five generations which can be continued by using additional charts. In using this system, fill out your pedigree on any one line until you come to the fifth gen- eration which is represented by Nos. 16 to 31, inclusive. In- dicate in the space provided that the line is continued on chart Number Two. Take your next chart, mark it No. 2 and place the name of the above mentioned person in the No. 1 po- sition. You will also find a space on this sheet which refers back to the previous chart. Fill in the needed information showing that this person (No. 1) is the same person as No. on Chart No. 1 - thus giving your reference directions back- wards as well as forward. Continue on with the pedigree of the above person (No. 1 on Chart No. 2) as far as you can. When you again reach the fifth generation position on Chart No. 2, which of course, would be the ninth generation from the original No. 1, mark the next chart No. 3. Indicate in the proper places provided on the sheet that this person 1 s 22 THE NEW HOW BOOK FOR GENEALOGISTS pedigree is continued on Chart No. 3 and again make the back reference indicating that person's number on Chart No. 2. Continue this process as far as is necessary to record the information you have gathered on this direct ancestral line. You may then take another line on Chart No. 1 and follow it through in the same manner. It doesn't make much differ- ence which ancestral line you trace first or the order in which they are traced so long as you indicate on each fifth generation name the sheet which continues that line and that your reference numbers on each chart are correct. The follow- ing examples may help you to understand the written directions ************************************************************** Chart No. 1 ^ 16 . Aaron Brown •h Continued on Chart No. 4. You ______ _19. Mary Smith — _, £ . L ^Continued on Chart No. 2. +*26. William White •^Continued on Chart No. 5. ************************ ************ 1 ************************** Chart No. 2 Person No. 1 on this chart is the same person as No. 19 on Chart N o. 1 1. Mary Smith ______ 24. John Jones Continued on Chart No. 3. ************************************************************** Chart No. 3 Person No. 1 on this chart is the same person as No. 24 on chart No . 2 1. John Jones ______ ********* ***************************************************** Chart No. 4 Person No. 1 on this chart is the same person as No. 16 on Chart No . 1 1. Aaron Brown ______ 16. George Brown Continued on Chart No. 6 HOW TO BEGIN 23 Chart No. 5 Person No. 1 on this chart is the same person as No. 26 on Chart No. 1 1. William White ______ Chart No. 6 Person No. 1 on this chart is the same person as No. 16 on Chart No. 4 1. George Brown ______ By following this system you can add to your pedigree as the information is gathered - some today, some tomorrow, and some next year. Pedigrees needing thirty or forty sheets are not at all uncommon. Occasionally some are found with one hundred to several hundred sheets. However, no matter what size it is, it is an easy matter to trace any family line ei- ther backwards or forwards. The important thing is to keep the charts in numerical order and to be sure the reference numbers are correct in both directions. This method does not show at a glance the whole pedigree as do some of the specially drawn charts. But for permanent records these are more easily handled and better protected in a substantial binder. Each chart has plenty of space with each name for identifying information on each person as to birth, marriage and death. Additional leaves may be added as the lines are extended. Chart forms PI and/or P7 lay the foundation for any special pedigree chart you may wish to con- struct, and assist you in organizing your research campaign. Under ordinary circumstances only blood lines should be followed on the pedigree chart. However if you do find foster parents on your lines and wish to trace their ancestry because it is impossible to connect to the blood line, clearly indi- cate on your chart that they are foster parents. Record the truth - nothing else will stand the test of time. As you become more acquainted with genealogical books and charts you will find some very complicated pedigree charts. 24 THE NEW HOW BOOK FOR GENEALOGISTS Almost every one of these have been arranged in a special man- ner to show special connections. None of them show all the ancestors which might have been found as can be shown when us- ing the above system. To make an explanation of the construc- tion methods used to draw up these special pedigrees would take considerable space and would be of little value as each one would require special treatment and they are all differ- ent. Don't worry about them until you have to, if ever, then get an expert to help you if you can't figure them out for yourself. Simplicity and completeness are embodied in the system using Forms PI and P7 more than in any other system we are acquainted with. FAMILY HISTORY SHEETS Genealogy and history are closely connected. In many ways they complement and assist each other. In fact, it is diffi- cult to separate them. Genealogists have learned it is well to keep a record of historical facts pertaining to family mem- bers. It enriches the family record, preserves notable family deeds, unites more firmly family members, freshens family tra- ditions, assists in the identification of family members, and, above all, adds interest to the genealogical record. Often, when in a meditative mood, you have chuckled in- wardly as almost forgotten incidents have passed in review be- fore your inner eyes. If they were known to your children or children 1 s children wouldn't they cause them to chuckle, too? And, yet, when some one suggests to you that you should write a history of your life, you shrug your shoulders with the com- ment, M 0h, nothing of importance ever happened to me. My life is just a dreary repetition of uninteresting events." You better discard that notion right now. If you don't use a typewriter, you better take your pen in hand and write some of the things you can remember from your childhood and courtship days. As you get started, you will be surprised over the many incidents that come rushing through your mind. Your pen can't keep up with the onrushing memories of by-gone days. If you have a son or daughter or other relative acquainted with shorthand tell your stories to one of them. It would be bet- ter if the two of you were in a room alone, where nothing can disturb or interfere with you. In an hour you would have quite a bit of fascinating history. You could repeat that every day or so for a month or longer and you would have a HOW TO BEGIN 25 priceless history to leave with your posterity. If any member of your family has a recording machine, which are now in vogue, you may merely tell your story to it. Before starting you should make up a draft or an outline of the things you want to talk about. Undoubtedly you can dot down a lot of things to write a- bout, but here are a few to guide you: childhood, school days, memories of grandparents and other relatives, pranks, child- hood home, visits to relatives in distant parts, church, lodge, and club affiliations, religious beliefs and activities, war record, military service, courtship, marriage, children, ambi- tions, disappointments, accomplishments, likes and dislikes, etc. , etc. Family History Sheets are available from most genealogi- cal supply houses. SI measures 8§xl4, S2 8§xll, both are ruled and punched on a fifty percent rag bond twenty pound pa- per. It is a good practice to place the Family History Sheet following the Family Group Sheet - then with the pictures fac- ing the front of the Family Group Sheets and the history on the back, the record of one family is complete. ARRANGING AND UTILIZING YOUR RECORD FOR THE GREATEST SATISFACTION Many advantages will be gained by using loose leaf sheets and binder for the preservation of your valuable records. You can add to your book at will or re-arrange it as you may de- sire any time. You may find additional historical facts or discover some valuable pictures which you want to add to your collection. You can make such changes any time you desire. Additions to living families, new marriages or deaths can be added as they occur. The place for recording these events is the Family Group Sheet. The time for recording these events is immediately after they have occurred while it is still on your mind. "A stitch in time saves nine." In putting your book together some order is necessary if you are to locate with ease the sheets you have compiled. Many have found it a good idea to place the pedigree sheets in the front of the book followed by their own family group pictures, record and history. After this they place the re- 26 THE NEW HOW BOOK FOR GENEALOGISTS cords of their married children, if any, and then the records of all ancestors and relatives in alphabetic order, using the husband f s surname as a guide. If you find several husbands with the same surname, arrange them according to their age, the eldest first and so on. If a husband has had more than one wife, place wife No. 1 first, No. 2 second, and so on. WHY A GENEALOGICAL RECORD? It is a real honor to claim descent from pioneer ances- tors. Many have traced their lines to progenitors who landed on the bleak shores of New England on November 20, 16 20. De- scendants of that brave band now belong to "Society of May- flower Descendants." It was organized in December 1894 to preserve the memory, the records, the history, and all the facts relating to the "Mayflower" Pilgrims, their ancestors, and their posterity. All lineal descendants of the original pilgrims are qualified for membership. Many societies have grown out of the desire to honor the memory of those stalwarts who fought for the independence of our nation. "The National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution," (DAR) , and the "National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution," (SAR), two of the largest, have thousands of members proud of the part their ancestors played in the establishment of our beloved country. All of the original colonies have similar societies, all of them dedica ced to honoring the memory of the originators. Those desiring membership in these patriotic organizations must prove their eligibility with an authentic pedigree show- ing their descent from the claimed ancestors. Your genealogical record will form the basis of the re- cord necessa y to join many of these organizations. You will be proud to prove that on your family tree are some who helped lay the foundation for this nation or performed other notable deeds worthy of unceasing praise. WRITE A HISTORY Another use for the information you may gather and assem- ble in your genealogical record is as a basis for a printed book honoring the memory of your ancestors - giving their his- HOW TO BEGIN 27 tory and recording their descendants. Recognizing a great truth, Daniel Webster said, "He who careth not from whence he came, careth little whither he goeth." Your vision will be focused on the future by seeking the records of and venerating those who gave you your heritage. You are looking ahead by looking back. MICROFILMING It may be that you will not be prepared to publish a book after your work of assembling your loose-leaf record, yet you recognize that something should be done to preserve it for generations to come. In such cases, you may find microfilming the solution to your problem. By this method your record can be put on a small roll of film at a small cost. If you take your record to a genealogical library they may be willing to make a copy for their own use at no cost at all to you. In most large cities are companies who make a business of micro- filming. Look in the classified pages of the telephone book if you desire their services. A few microfilm copies placed strategically with genealogical libraries would assure the preservation of your records for all time. But, what if you neither want it published or microfilmed? Well, the personal satisfaction of having compiled the record ordinarily compensates for all the time, effort and money ex- pended in the pursuit of your family tree and the record of your relatives. It is a fascinating hobby, delving into his- tory, geography, court records, church records - on familiar ground as well as in foreign places. It has been reduced to a science and is now taught in many schools in many parts of the world. Once it is started, it is difficult to abandon. But it should be done right to derive the greatest pleasure. You will be on the right tract if you follow the instructions in this book. Practice will eventually lead to perfection. II HOW TO CONTINUE Genealogy has attracted more people in the past ten years than ever before. During that time more ancestral information has been gathered than during any previous decade. More gene- alogies and family histories have been published. With such pronounced interest and increased availability of printed mat- ter, genealogical research today is not the bugaboo it was even twenty or thirty years ago. And, yet, genealogy is not easy to find. It still re- quires lots of ingenuity and long hours and months of diligent study. But a sincere researcher never gets discouraged. Al- though it takes a lot of work, he knows success seldom comes without planned and applied effort. If one method fails, an- other is tried until the needed information finally is found. The suggestions that follow should be read and reread time and again since it is difficult to retain everything read in one sitting. One of the best memory systems is to tell someone else what you have read. After you have repeated it four or five times, it stays with you. In other words, if you want to keep anything, you must give it to others. The often- er you give it away, the more it remains with you. LITTLE EQUIPMENT NEEDED If you are just beginning your genealogical research ac- tivities, you don't need to load yourself down with a lot of equipment. All you need is a ten cent notebook you can carry in your coat pocket, or, if a woman, in your handbag, and a few sharpened soft-lead pencils. If you use a mechanical pen- cil, it may be well, for the sake of insurance, to bring along an extra box of leads. If you are going to call on some rela- tives for whatever information you can pick up, you may take along a fountain pen, if you desire. But you should remember that most libraries prohibit the use of ink when copying from their books. If the pen leaks there is a chance some of the printed words may be completely obliterated. The most impor- tant part of your "equipment" is an inquisitive mind, a pleas- ant attitude, and a knack in asking questions. HOW TO CONTINUE 29 IT TAKES TIME TO FIND GENEALOGY The suggestions offered here may help you find some of your ancestors. Again, they may bring you no results. No one can tell for sure where you can find genealogy. The best any one can do is to suggest where you may find it. If you hire a professional genealogist, he will search where he thinks your records are. Regardless how careful he may be, he will find nothing if your records are not there. No reliable gene- alogist ever guarantees to find any particular record unless he definitely knows it is there. Hence, you should not feel discouraged or cancel the search, should you have the experi- ence of paying for a search that brings no returns. Likewise, you may write thousands of letters without re- sults. Most of them may never be answered, the others have nothing to tell you. Many family events, such as marriages, births, and deaths were never recorded where we would expect them to be. If you fail to find them at once, don*t quit, but try the harder. Undoubtedly they were recorded somewhere, and eventually you will find it, even if it should take years. By following the suggestions recorded here many people have found the desired results. ASK YOUR OWN FAMILY FIRST It is not at all uncommon for the beginner in research activities to spend time and money in genealogical pursuits only to find that other members of the family have already searched and found the same names. To avoid such unnecessary waste of time and means always start your research in your own family. Here are some questions to which you should have the answers before going too far into your research. 1. Is some other family member searching for genealogy on your branch of the family? 2. What family member has more genealogical data than you have? 3. Does any branch of the family own an old family Bible containing any genealogical information? 4. Does any family member have in his possession copies of gravestone inscriptions in old, forgotten family grounds? 30 THE NEW HOW BOOK FOR GENEALOGISTS If yours is a large family scattered over many states, it may require many letters and more months to get the needed in- formation. Besides uncles and aunts, you should write to cousins of the third, fourth, and fifth degree, as well as first and second cousins, and in-laws who may have records and information of some of your dead relatives. In "A Guide for GeneaJ ogical Research," Archibald F. Bennett says that letters you send out for genealogical infor- mation should be "clean in appearance, clear in expression, concise in wording, convincing in tone, courteous in style, and correct in margins, spelling, grammar, paragraphing and punctuation." Letters reveal your character, your personality, just as does your face and actions. Since you desire to make a good impression on the persons from whom you are seeking family in- formation, you should be careful that the looks and the tone of your letter represent you precisely as you would want to present yourself personally to these individuals. While we should remember that genealogical letters are not particularly love letters, it is nevertheless not amiss when writing to recall the effusion of Ella Wheeler Wilcox in her beautiful poetical story, "Maurine": "Letters all blots, though finely written, show A slovenly person. Letters stiff and white Bespeak a nature honest, plain, upright. And tissuey, tinted, perfumed notes, like this, Tell of a creature formed to pet and kiss." PERSONAL VISITS ARE BEST Letter writing is a good way for you to gain the needed information, but personal visits are far better. Most people would rather talk than write. That's why thousands of letters go unanswered. If your grandparents or other older members of your family, like brothers or sisters of any of your grandpar- ents, live even two or three hundred miles away, it would pay you in the long run, to visit with them. Many experienced researchers spend their vacation periods doing research work in the community where their grandparents HOW TO CONTINUE 31 or great grandparents lived. They visit not only with rela- tives but with former neighbors or intimate associates of their ancestors, most of whom generally have something worth- while to add to the data desired. On-the-spot research gen- erally is productive of a wealth of information. To be a successful genealogist you must be a willing lis- tener. You must train yourself to ask short, direct questions, and then listen intently to the, perhaps, long drawn-out story of the interviewed relative. Be careful that you never offend or injure the feelings of the person questioned. Never men- tion anything to him that may be repulsive to him. On the contrary, do everything possible to gain his friendship, good will and confidence. Remember that you are trying to get from him family information unknown to you. Until you get that, let your conversation with him be strictly genealogical. Keep your notebook handy while he is talking with you. As you listen, carefully select from his story the points of value and interest you need for your records. Write them in your notebook while he is talking. If dates and names are given, be sure to write them correctly, being careful to get the right spelling of names and places. Don't take anything for granted. Whenever you're in doubt, ask questions and re- cord the answers. If he has any old family Bibles or records, ask permis- sion to see them. Copy from them whatever valuable family in- formation they may contain. Don't be satisfied with information received from one relative or a single source. Contact other family members and relatives and compare the information they give you with what you have already gathered. Never discard any information un- till you are sure it is wrong. Sometime it may happen that the interviewed person seems loath to discuss some member of the family. You may feel he is hedging or hiding things from you — that he wants to cover up things rather than to bare them. Assure him quickly that you are not particularly interested in any "sketetons-in-the- closet," that nothing like that will be mentioned or revealed by you in your records, but that you are primarily interested in getting the statistical information about the individual - 32 THE NEW HOW BOOK FOR GENEALOGISTS birth, marriage and death dates, and other pertinent facts about the family in question. PROVE FAMILY TRADITIONS Tradition is a statement, opinion or belief, or a body of statements or opinions or beliefs, that has been handed down from age to age by oral communication, without the aid of written memorials. Many families have traditions that have come down from earlier days. In olden times there were no movies, no theaters, no radio, no television. During the long, dark nights of those years, the family gathered around the fireplace watching the burning logs. Older family mem- bers told and retold stories about the family ancestors and their accomplishments. Those stories grew with each telling and eventually developed into traditions to which the family has clung as valuable mementoes. Some of these traditions are true. Others are based on inaccuracies and the more vivid im- aginations of the story tellers. Never embrace any family tradition with too much enthusi- asm. Search, investigate and prove every pretended relation- ship with men of high estate - statesmen, barons, nobles or royal family members. Carefully trace the tradition to its origin and it may appear more drab and common place than it did after years and years of industrious applications of an imaginary lustrous tint, continuously polished by an over-in- flated ego. However, if the tradition is founded on fact, you will be able to extend that particular family line on your pedigree chart for several generations since such families have maintained printed genealogies for many centuries. PEDIGREES MUST BE CORRECT An accurate genealogy is priceless. Diligence is the price paid for accuracy. All source material must be thor- oughly searched and weeded. If the remaining material is com- plete it can be woven into an accurate family record. J u st to scan the source material will not insure an accurate record. Accuracy is of prime importance. Even though it may take a longer time, it will bring a lasting satisfaction. By em- ploying all available sources of information errors can be e- liminated and the work done well. HOW TO CONTINUE 33 Every pedigree delineation must be based on facts. One little mistake may invalidate months of research on a wrong line. Too often tradition is built on misinformation and false hearsay. Let us caution you again to check carefully all rumors or traditions before you start to incorporate them into your pedigree. Some people have the false notion that anything appearing in print is correct. The person who pre- pared the material for printing may have built the article on a wrong premise. If he were correct, the typesetter or the proofreader may have made an error. While reporters and news- paper workers don't make mistakes deliberately, sometimes they may be careless. In checking an obituary in an old newspaper, we found three glaring mistakes in one name. That's poor proofreading! We have seen beginners in research extend an already started pedigree. They failed to check on the accuracy of the data given. They were unaware of the fact that the person who had started the chart had jumped at conclusions and had en- tered names and other data entirely foreign to that pedigree. Naturally all of that work was worthless and had to be dis- carded. Several months of hard work had to be eliminated . There are thousands of persons with exactly the same name. In checking a name file in a genealogical library, we found nine hundred different individuals bearing the name of Nils Rasmusson, all of them born at different times and different localities in Sweden. In one community we knew two men bear- ing the name of William West. One of them lived in the east part of town, the other in the west, To distinguish them the townspeople called one of them William East. But fifty years from now if the researchers are looking for them they will find both of them on the records as William West. A woman in an adjoining state wrote us to help her find one of her husband's ancestors by the name of Christopher Black who came from Germany to Maryland before the Revolution- ary War. In reading her letter we said to ourself , "There never was a man coming out of Germany with the name of Black." We checked several early records but were unable to find a Christopher Black. When we followed our first hunch on read- ing the letter, we found a Christopher Schwartz who had been named an Ensign in the armed forces supplied by Maryland for the war. 34 THE NEW HOW BOOK FOR GENEALOGISTS There are in America many Nelson families who originated in Sweden. Should you look for them in Sweden remember that the name is Nilsson. Many Families coming from various coun- tries of Europe have Americanized their names after being here for a while. Be sure to take that into consideration when you are looking for your ancestors in their original habitat. Many of these foriegn descendants know little or nothing about their mother tongue. They have only their names, perhaps wholly or partially anglicized, to remind them that their background is different from those of their neighbors. Also, be sure to consider the possibility of a different spelling of any name if you have difficulty in extending your lines. Prior to the 20th century comparatively few people could spell their own names. They had to rely on the priest, the clerk of the court, the tax collector or other recorders to do the spelling for them. It is not unusual to find one per- son with the records of the church spelling his name one way, the court another way, the census another way and the vital statistics still another way. He pronounced his name to the recorder in each case - the recorder wrote it as it sounded to him. If the recorder had English training he wrote it the English way. If he was of French origin he brought the French influence into the spelling. In one case a family had been known by the name of De Mille for several generations in Dutchess County, New York. They moved to New Jersey and the pastor of the Reformed Dutch Church recorded their names as Vandermilt, reverting to the Dutch custom. And so it is with practically every name - you don't have to go very far back tc find it spelled differently - sometimes entirely different. As you add names to your pedigree, identify them with the names of the places in which they were born and died also the dates of birth, marriage and death. If your Family Group Sheets are complete, this should be an easy matter. SPELL PLACE NAMES CORRECTLY Most obituaries of foreign born persons printed in Amer- ican newspapers contain wrong or misspelled place names. The reason, in most cases, is about like this: Grandma came from Europe before her teens. She could talk her native language, but couldn't spell. If and when anyone wanted to make a rec- ord of her birthplace , it was written as it sounded to the HOW TO CONTINUE 35 American- trained ears of the writer when Grandma pronounced it. In ninehundred-ninety-nine cases of a thousand it was misspelled. Sometimes the spelling is so corrupt it is impos- sible to find the correct interpretation. The correct spell- ing of place names are of tremendous importance. Gazetteers are very useful in this connection. If your library does not have those you need, you may be able to have them get the ones you want from a lending library. Another way to help untangle twisted up place names is to contact natives of those countries. Every American city has residents from almost every nation. Go to one of those born in Grandma* s country and have him help you determine the cor- rect spelling of her birthplace. They will feel honored you came to them for the assistance. Some American-born children of European-born parents have the erroneous idea that more dignity comes to the family if its ancestors came from the capital of their native land. And so, when the birthplace is unknown to them, they sometimes add in explanation, "It was near Oslo, or Berlin, or Stockholm, or Amsterdam, or Copenhagen, or London, or Paris, or Bern." And this, even though the place may be hundreds of miles from the capital. It muddles instead of clarifies the situation. Let us repeat to emphasize a serious situation. Many pedigree charts contain incorrect place names. Some of these errors come from faulty spelling. Ridiculous mistakes occur when names are spelled as pronounced, and often the pronuncia- tion is entirely wrong. This is true not only in case of for- eign place names but of American place names also. In other cases carelessly written records have been miscopied time and again. Sometimes the names of an estate, farm or of little neighborhoods are given which are neither post offices nor churches. The post office name may be right, but it may be connected with the wrong county or state. It even occurs that names of rivers, canyons or lakes are given instead of the post office or parish. In most of the European countries are towns and localities in thirty or forty different parts of the particular country which bear exactly the same name. For that reason it is necessary that the name of the particular county accompanies the name of the locality. The same holds true in the United States. For instance, there is a Glenwood in at least twenty states in the union. Most of us know that Maine 36 THE NEW HOW BOOK FOR GENEALOGISTS and Oregon each have a Portland, but how many know there are Portlands in fourteen other states. The same holds true with every nation in the world, no doubt. To differentiate between them we must have the town or city, the county, and the state or country. Otherwise you would not be able to pursue your genealogical research correctly. You may be able in each of those counties to find families of your surname, but it is doubtful if any of them but those in the correct county or nearby counties would belong to your ancestors. Since these designations, town and county, are different in the various languages, we present herewith a list of them to make your research work lighter: State or Country County Denmark amt England shire Finland laani France departement Ge rmany kreis Iceland sysla Ireland shire Netherlai ids provincie Norway amt or fylke Scotland shire Sweden Ian Switzerland bezirk, kanton Wales swydd Town or City by or stad borough or city kyla, kauppala or kaupunki village or ville ort, dorf, or stadt sokn, baer borough, city dorp, stad by, sogn, stad registration branch or city by, koping, stad dorf, stadt pentre, terf, dinas Be extremely careful that your pedigree chart is correct. If the personal names are known but the place names are un- known or wrong, it is impossible to do effective research. When errors are located in your record, be sure to correct all copies, so that the old error will not be recopied. The dates should also approximate those belonging to oth- er individuals in the similar brackets on the chart. That is to say, there should not be too great a variance in the birth and the marriage dates of the four grandparents, the eight great grandparents, etc. For instance, one pedigree chart we checked recently showed the greatest variance between the four grandparents to be twenty-seven years, between the eight great HOW TO CONTINUE 37 grandparents twenty-nine years, between the sixteen second great grandparents thirty years, between the thirty-two third great grandparents forty-nine years. Generally the ancestors on your father* s side are older than those of your mother. PROVE ALL WORK BEFORE CONTINUING You can't be reminded too often that should you extend an already started pedigree chart, first be sure to prove the work done. Before you extend such a chart, you should be able to answer two questions: "Who placed this name on the chart?" and "How did he know it is correct?" DESIRED QUALITIES IN A RESEARCHER Donald L. Jacobus, one of America* s foremost genealogists, in his highly instructive book, "Genealogy as Pastime and Pro- fession," says, "The genealogist should possess certain natural aptitudes, sharpened by experience. He should be painstaking, thorough, and accurate. He should be able to weigh evidence; to assemble in logical order a host of details; to construct hypotheses and test them. He needs the detective instinct, and experience must have taught him which of several clues is most likely to lead him to his object. He needs imagination, toned down by long training, and directed by sound reasoning. Especially he needs an excellent memory. Granted this natural equipment, much study and special knowledge are essential. "A genealogist should not be opinionated, but should al- ways keep an open mind and be ready to admit, on occasion, that his first conclusion was a mistaken one. Those who fear that admission of error will damage their professional reputa- tions as genealogists will not suffer much from any admission. Adherence to truth is more important than professional pride." YOU MUST WRITE LETTERS Making personal visits in search of your genealogical data is undoubtedly the best method, but also the most expen- sive. Some letters must be written anyhow to bring together the needed information. Whether you live in a remote part of a desolate country section or ad jacent to the largest library in a populous city, letter writing brings good returns to the re- searcher. However, it may also be the slowest method. Not 38 THE NEW HOW BOOK FOR GENEALOGISTS many people are inclined to letter writing. It is a chore they hesitate to undertake and therefore put it off as long as they can. That is the reason so many of the letters you send out go unanswered. In writing your letters never mention anything about re- ligion or politics. That may stir up a hornet's nest. Hun- dreds of thousands of American families today are genealogi- cally minded. Hence it is absolutely unnecessary for you to tell why you are compiling your genealogy. Nobody particular- ly cares whether you are doing it as a hobby, that you are writing a family history, or that you want to leave with your children a knowledge of their heritage. You are gathering your genealogy - compiling your family tree - that is suf- ficient. Unless you are writing to an intimate friend, don't write long, drawn-out letters - at least not the first ones you write to anybody. Make them brief, but to the point. State briefly and clearly what you are looking for. Give enough in- formation as to names, dates and places to put the recipiant on the right track. One of the easiest ways to explain rela- tionships is to send a short completed pedigree chart, showing the particular individuals involved in your inquiry. You will save a lot of time and effort when writing for information if you use our Pedigree Chart No. P5. One side of that chart contains a short pedigree form and a printed letter asking for information. The pedigree form is a three genera- tion chart. If you are asking for information on your pater- nal side, you need only to fill in the upper blanks of the chart; if on the maternal side, only the bottom section of the chart. The printed letter contains five blank spaces for you to fill in with a word or two. The opposite side of the chart contains a four-generation pedigree chart which the recipiant of your letter can fill in with the requested information. Don't ask too many questions in your first letter. In subsequent letters, after relationship has been established, you may write more fully and more intimately. Then you may ar- range your questions so that each one has a space following it for insertion of the answer. Always make it convenient for your correspondent to answer your questions with the least ef- fort and in the shortest time possible. Courtesy demands that HOW TO CONTINUE 39 you enclose in your letter a stamped self- addressed envelope unless you are writing to a public official or other person who is granted funds for such supplies. You should always of- fer to pay for any expense which might be incurred by the per- son gathering and compiling the information you want. Be considerate in your requests. Don*t ask for the sun, moon and the stars. Nobody will ever send them to you! One woman just starting out on her genealogical research wrote a man to send her "all the records you have on the So-and-So family." With a chuckle he tossed the letter in his yawning waste basket, while he removed the three-cent stamp from the self-addressed envelope that had been enclosed with the let- ter. He deemed the request unworthy of any kind of a reply. For more than thirty years he had been gathering information on the So-and-So family until at that time his records were bulging with almost twenty thousand individual names and the necessary data pertaining to them. Had she been conservative and asked for information about one particular individual, it would have been sent to her gladly. Her letter revealed to him that she knew absolutely nothing about genealogical activities. Sometimes your letters will go unanswered though you have used all the proper methods and your requests have been within reason. It is our opinion that many of these letters are not answered because the person who received them just didn't have the information to help you. At least let us hope this is the case. Someone has said that the best way to get people to treat you nice is for you to treat them nice. Some researchers have had good success by sending a little gift in the letter, a handkerchief for a lady, etc. One man had some relatives in England who ignored his letters completely. He sent them a few cans of peaches. They didn*t ignore him any more. CONTACT PERSONS OF SIMILAR NAMES When searching for your family genealogy, you should nev- er overlook any opportunity to contact people who may give you valuable information. In every large city in the nation are persons with the same surname as yours. Some of them may be 40 THE NEW HOW BOOK FOR GENEALOGISTS distant relatives of yours. A short pleasant note identifying yourself by naming your father, grandfather, and great grand- father, i n starting your relative hunt generally will bring some answers in the self-addressed stamped envelope you en- closed in your letter. If there is no relationship, they may refer you to someone elsewhere who may be a relative. Or they may tell you of some one in their family who is compiling a family genealogy. But how are you to find these people of your surname? Nothing difficult about that, at all. Most libraries now days have in their files city directories and telephone directories from various parts of the country. If they haven't, you may have access to telephone directories in your local telephone office. At the office of your Chamber of Commerce, you may find city directories from many other cities. The Genealogical Helper, a quarterly magazine now in its tenth year, has aided thousands of people all over the world. It is dedicated to helping more people find more genealogy. It is not confined to any particular section of the country but serves people in every state and many foreign countries. It is edited and published by the same concern publishing this booklet, THE EVERTON PUBLISHERS, 526 North Main Street, Logan, Utah. Three of the four yearly issues contain not less than twenty pages, eight-and-a-half by eleven inches. The Septem- ber issue contains from sixty to a hundred pages. The March issue contains a listing of family associations in the United States with the name and address of the president, and some- times the secretary, of the organization. The June issue con- tains the addresses of genealogical societies and libraries in the various states. In each March, June and December issue is a "Question Box" in each one of which generally about sixty or seventy-five researchers ask for information on about two hundred fifty or three hundred different families on which they are working. The 1956 September issue, which had eighty- four pages, contained the registrations of 1,340 researchers who asked for information on more than 12,000 families. These families had 5,556 individual names. Some were repeated from twice to eighty-eight times. All but one of the forty-eight states in the United States were represented, North Dakota being missing. Also represented were the District of Columbia HOW TO CONTINUE 41 Hawaii, Canal Zone, Guam, Canada, and Germany. All names are arranged in alphabetic order, making it easy to find names and addresses of everybody represented. To give an indication of the wide variety of surnames listed in the 1956 Annual Exchange Edition of THE GENEALOGICAL HELPER, let us explain there were 155 surnames beginning with A, 572 B, 384 C, 322 D, 155 E, 227 F, 254 G, 457 H, 29 I, 90 J, 181 K, 286 L, 150 Mc, 323 M, 94 N, 85 0, 279 P, nine Q, 260 R, 574 S, 209 T, 15 U, 93 V, 308 W, 29 Y, and 16 Z. In the section pertaining to "County Directory of Gene- alogists" indications are made showing in which county and state each one of the 1,340 researchers are living. Represen- ted are 560 Counties. If you have any research problems in or near any of these counties you may receive some suggestions by writing the one closest to the locality in which you are in terested. The easiest way in which to find relatives is to check your family names in "The Genealogists' Exchange" in the var- ious September issues, which are known as the Annual Exchange Editions, locate the name and address of the registrant or registrants and write them about your problems. These Annual Exchange Editions have been published since 1950. At this writing (May 1956) only two editions are available - 1952 (Vol. 6, No. 3) and 1955 (Vol. 9, No. 3). All others are out of print. They may be purchased at one dollar each from THE EVERTON PUBLISHERS. You may also find copies of many of the back numbers in public libraries with genealogical sections as they have had a wide distribution. Hundreds of researchers have extended their pedigrees many generations by utilizing the facilities offered in THE GENEALOGICAL HELPER. It is the most widely read genealogical magazine published. The subscription price is $2.00 per year; $3. 75. for two years, and $5.00 for three years, paid in ad- vance. Single copies can be obtained at 50 cents each, with the exception of the Annual Exchange Editions, the September numbers, which are one dollar each. Subscribers are entitled to be listed or registered free of charge in the Annual Exchange Edition with their names and addresses and five family names on which they may be work- 42 THE NEW HOW BOOK FOR GENEALOGISTS ing. Non-subscribers would pay one dollar for a similar reg- istration. WHERE TO WRITE FOR GENEALOGY A lot of personal and family information is available if we only knew where to go to find it. Although it takes a longer time, it is cheaper to write for that information un- less you live in proximity to the old family home. Before ad- dressing your envelopes, make out a list of the persons and organizations to which you intend to write. List the name and the complete address of each. After you are through with the list place it in your genealogical file so you can find it any time you desire to check it. When writing to strangers or or- ganizations, it is always best to enclose a stamped self-ad- dressed envelope for the expected reply. Don't be irritated if we remind you of that courtesy too often - we believe it is for your best interests. The following list is only sugges- tive. You may think of many more. Relatives, all kinds, everywhere. Friends of the family, all dates. Residents and former-neighbors of the old home town. Postmaster of the above, to locate relatives. Names found in newspapers. Names from directories. City recorders, to locate records. County judges, or county clerks, about marriage bonds or licences. Family genealogists on your surname. Genealogists living near the old home town. Genealogical book stores for family and county histories. Genealogists who search census records. National Archives for early census. Quaker researchers. Revolutionary War soldiers. Immigration Bureau for arrivals. Persons of your surname. Genealogical Libraries. Bureau of Vital Statistics, each state capitol. Newspapers for classified advertisements and old obituary notices. LDS Church Historian's Office, Salt Lake City, Utah. Rectors of English Parishes. HOW TO CONTINUE 43 Genealogists searching Great Britain Census. Dominion Archives for Canadian census. "Letters to the Editor" or forums of newspapers to locate unknown friends or relatives of the old home town. WRITING TO PUBLIC OFFICERS No uniform method of record keeping is used by town and county offices. Some have cemetery or burial records that be- gan many years ago. Some have birth records. Others have printed records of births, marriages and deaths, as well as other vaulable information about the early settlers of the community. In each case it would be well to write the city recorder and ask him for the information you want. If he does not have the records you want, he will direct you where to write. The same is true of the county records. Various counties have used different methods of record keeping. Many counties throughout the United States have printed county histories with a lot of genealogy. Some have good records of wills and deeds and civil court actions. From all of these a great deal of genealogical information can be culled. If you find they have wills or other records pertaining to your family, a photostat copy will cost very little. A letter to the county clerk will bring from him the information you desire. USE LABOR SAVING DEVICES To locate a lost relative sometimes you have to write to many people. It takes a lot of time and effort to write the same kind of a letter to fifty or a hundred persons. It will be easier on your nerves to have the letter mimeographed. If you have a typewriter you can cut the stencil yourself, thus cutting the cost materially. Almost every county seat will have a typewriter service equipped with mimeograph material. In that way you can cut the cost of your letters down to a cent or two each. In some cases it may pay you to include a pedigree chart to give the recipiant a better idea of your family connections. We again refer you to the p5 pedigree chart mentioned in the previous chapter - it will save a lot of labor, will clearly state your wants and make it easy f«^r your cotiospondents to answer. Possibly you can make up your own letter and chart to serve your purposes even better. 44 THE NEW HOW BOOK FOR GENEALOGISTS FAMILY GENEALOGISTS There are no more willing cooperators in this work than the family genealogists. They are active in this pursuit for the same reason that you are working in it. The easiest way to learn of them and their addresses is to secure a copy of one of the Annual Exchange Editions of THE GENEALOGICAL HELPER Many libraries in the nation are subscribers to that magazine. If they are not, suggest to them to subscribe to it now, or you can send for a copy yourself. Remember, also, that the March 1956 issue of the "Helper" has s list of family organi- zations and it is intended that each March issue from now on will continue this feature. You may greatly enrich your records by writing to all those compiling data on the families shown on your pedigree chart. This is especially true if their family and your fami- ly, the original families, lived in the same state. Like you, those people are compiling their own family genealogy, and they have access to information not printed in any book. HOME TOWN GENEALOGISTS A genealogist living where your ancestors resided gen- erally has access to records unknown to you. He is undoubted- ly a member of a county historical society which has spent years in collecting data on the early inhabitants of the coun- ty. He has access to birth and marriage records, death and cemetary records. Sometimes you may get a lot of information for nothing. However, you should remember that it takes a lot of time to search the records. If you get a letter telling you of the available material but that it will cost you a certain amount of money for the time involved, accept the offer, if you can afford to pay for it and the offer seems reasonable. Family genealogists oft times, have had limited experi- ence in research. Generally they have been concerned with the records of one family only. Like the carpenter who has built only one house, they lack experience. Learning to be a good genealogist is like learning to be a carpenter or a lawyer. You can't learn it in a few easy lessons in a few weeks or months. It takes time and effort and perserverance. Years HOW TO CONTINUE 45 of practice, diligent application, will make you prof icient, if you have the capacity to learn. Most researchers occasionally find a knotty problem which stumps them. The quickest way to get it solved may be to engage the services of an expert. A professional genealogist, one who has spent years in research, who has searched for many family lines in many places and who is a specialist in the genealogy of one particular part of the country or of one spe- cial kind of records, often can solve a hard problem quickly because he knows just where and how to look. Time has been a great aid to the researcher. What years ago appeared as an insurmountable problem can be solved easi- ly today. Thousands of old records hidden away in unknown places have been discovered. They have been indexed and made easily available to the researcher. They have cleared up many problems that previously baffled the searcher. WRITE TO GENEALOGICAL LIBRARIES Good results have been obtained from writing to genealog- ical libraries. The librarian knows what is in the library. With a minimum of effort she can find the data wanted. If you send a stamped envelope you will receive a courteous reply in most cases. Past experience indicates most librarians will attempt to find the information you are seeking, if it does not entail too much searching. Information regarding residents of their home county is a specialty with most libraries. For that reason it may be well to write the library in the state and county where your people lived. Many times the small local libraries have information not obtainable in the larger libraries. When you write to a library do not send a list of names. Ask about the ancestry of just one man or a man and his wife. Make identification easy by giving names of persons desired and whatever statistical information you have about them. The easiest way to find genealogy is to find a printed book that gives the results of research done by others. Men some time spend a lifetime and a small fortune in searching for their family history and getting it printed in book form. 46 THE NEW HOW BOOK FOR GENEALOGISTS When it is printed you can buy the book for five or ten dol- lars, even though thousands of dollars have been expended to get it printed. You may even be able to borrow it from the library. PRINTED FAMILY HISTORIES During the past fifty years or more thousands of people have become interested in genealogy. Doctors, lawyers, educa- tors, workmen in various fields, housewives, and office work- ers, in fact, people in all walks of life have suddenly be- come interested in searching for their ancestors. The desire to find out something about their progenitors seems to have struck them all at once. Enthusiastically they have searched among family relics, histories and official records. They have gathered information tirelessly for twenty or thirty years or more to satisfy the urge that has constantly been with them, spurring them on in their efforts to locate every source of information possible. Many of them have expended many thousands of dollars to secure their records. Generally few of them become satisfied with their work until they have produced a printed volume for the safe keeping of their hard- earned history. With the invention of new printing methods these family records can now be produced to fit almost any purse - they can be mimeographed, lithographed or letter-press printed. One of the neatest and most interesting we have seen was also the easiest understood. It was the work of an architect and was built around our Pedigree Chart No. P8 and Family Group Sheet No. F2. Each sheet was first typewritten. Inter- spersed among these sheets were plain bond sheets, S5, on which were typewritten family and personal histories about the individuals mentioned on the preceding charts. This matter was typewritten in two four- inch columns on each sheet. The families were arranged and mentioned in the following order: The author, his wife and their children, his parents and their children, his grandparents and their children, his great grand- parents and their children, his great great grandparents and their children, etc., etc. Picture pages were also included. If the wife*s family is to be included that can be done following the completion of the husband's family in the same HOW TO CONTINUE 47 manner. Other family histories begin with the oldest known pro- genitor and comes down step by step to the present. In some cases each individual mentioned has been ingeneously numbered. For instance, if the first progenitor known is numbered 1, his first child, regardless of sex, becomes 11, the second 12, the third 13, etc. If someone is of the tenth or eleventh gener- ation, the number may be one such as this: 1253-10-264. Let us explain this numbering: No. 1 is the original ancestor thus far known; the figure 2 indicates the second child of No. 1; the figure 5 indicates the fifth child of the preceding No. 2; the figure 3 indicates the third child of the preceding No. 5; the number 10 indicates the tenth child of the preceding No. 3 (only numbers above ten are hyphenated); the following No. 2 indicates the second child of the preceding No. 10 and so on. Only the direct descendants in the family are numbered. Wives and husbands of the direct descendants are mentioned only, not numbered. With this method, no two descendants of the same individual can have exactly the same number. LIBRARY CATALOGUES More and more libraries are printing catalogues of the books they have in their various departments. The names of family histories and their authors are always included. If such catalogues are not available it is sometimes possible to learn from the librarian of any of the libraries in or near the locality of your early families whether or not histories of those families are available. If they refuse to let you borrow the book you may be able to hire some one there to check it for you to determine if any of your relatives are in- cluded. By getting the name and address of the publisher of the book you may be able to purchase a copy, or gain access to one. It often costs less to buy a genealogical book than to hire someone to copy the information you need. It is always more satisfactory to own a book than to borrow it, if it con- tains much information for you. Today there are more family histories than ever before. Because only a limited number of copies of such histories are printed, the cost is much higher than the popular novel which are printed by the tens or hun- dreds of thousands. A genealogical book that looks like a 48 THE NEW HOW BOOK FOR GENEALOGISTS dollar book may sell for $5.00 or more. Still, if you can buy a book for $5.00 you cannot afford to pay for getting it copied. If you live in or near a large city, it will always pay you to spend several hours in a second-hand book store once in a while. Brouse around, thumb through book after book to get the general idea of their contents. Some time you'll find something that is just exactly what you want. Do the same thing in libraries you visit. BORROWING GENEALOGICAL BOOKS One of the privileges that comes with joining some genea- logical societies is that of borrowing books from their li- brary even if you live thousands of miles from it. The annual dues generally are around $15. Besides that you have to pay the postage both ways on the books you borrow. If you are interested write to the society for information as to costs, etc. One of the foremost of these societies is the New Eng- land Historic Genealogical Society, 9 Ashburton Place, Boston, Mass. The dues entitle you to the magazine published quarter- ly. The society owns one of the largest genealogical li- braries in the United States. If you join some of the patriotic societies, such as the Sons of the American Revolution, or the Daughters of the Amer- ican Revolution you may also have access to information they have gathered over a hundred years or more. Sometimes libraries in smaller cities are able to borrow books from the state library or other large institutions. Contact your librarian and ask her to help you get what you would like to obtain. Always treat her with courtesy and consideration and she may help you in ways unknown to you. RECORDS IN NATIONAL ARCHIVES WAR RECORDS. Every state in the union which furnished soldiers for the Revolutionary War has histories containing the names of these men, and the branch of the service in which they were enlisted. In 1818 Congress passed an act es- tablishing the first service pension law in the United States and provided pensions for all who had served at least nine months and were in indigent circumstances. In 1820 the War HOW TO CONTINUE 49 Department published the names of those who had applied for this pension. They were listed according to the states in which the enlistment was made. In 1955 the Southern Book Co., 6 East Franklin Street, Baltimore 2, Maryland, reprinted this valuable list containing more than 17,000 names. If one or more of your early American ancestors participated in the Rev- olutionary War and later received a pension, the names should be in that book. The names from each state are arranged in alphabetic order, making it easy to find the names in which you are interested. If they did not apply for a pension you may be able to find the names in the rosters published by the various states. More often than not, the applications of these soldiers contain a lot of valuable genealogical information. Sometimes it pays the researcher to obtain at a resonable cost a photo- stat copy of the application. The pension records are in the National Archives in Washington, D.C. If you can't personally visit the Archives, it is necessary for you to employ a re- searcher to search the records for the needed information. The Historical Societies in the respective states often times have valuable information about these men also. Most libraries throughout the United States have on their shelves copies of the state histories containing the informa- tion about the soldiers of the various wars of the United States, and the earlier Colonial America. If your ancestors date to the earliest days of America they may have been par- ticipants in some of the following wars fought here: King Wil- liam's War, 1690 to 1697, fought mainly in Canada; Queen Anne's War, 1702 to 1713, also fought in Canada; King George's War, 1744 to 1748, conducted on this side of the Atlantic mainly on the island of Cape Breton, between Nova Scotia and Newfound- land, where the French military post of Louisburg was captured by the British in 1745, but returned to the French in 1748; French and Indian War, 1745 to 176 3, involving Ohio and Que- bec, through which England gained control of everything east of the Mississippi River; the Revolutionary War, 1775 to 1783, which brought about the founding of the United States of America; the War of 1812, declared by the United States against Great Britain, and fought in diverse places, north and south, and brought about no new borders; the Mexican War, 1846 to 1848, which gained us the territory now including several of our western states; the Civil War, 1861 to 1865, the conflict 50 THE NEW HOW BOOK FOR GENEALOGISTS over slavery between the north and the south; the Spanish American War, April 1898 to August 1898, which added to our ownership the Phillippines, Puerto Rico and Cuba. CENSUS RECORDS. A census, a registration of the names of all inhabitants, has been taken in most countries since the days of the Roman Empire. It was to comply with that practise that Mary and Joseph left their home in Nazareth to go to Bethlehem to be counted among the descendants of David, at the time of the birth of Christ. Since then it has been practised in all countries under various names. In Europe it is done under the auspices of the dominant church, as well as by the respective governments. Since 1790 the government of the United States has con- ducted a census every ten years. At first only requiring the name of the head of the family, while indicating the number of persons in the family within specific age groups, it now lists not only the complete name but age of each person, his address and vocation or profession, and other information. The 1790 census was taken in all of the seventeen states then existing. Since then each state as it has been created has been included in the succeeding enumerations. Fifty years must elapse after the taking of a census be- fore it is removed from the "confidential" list and made ac- cessible to the public, making the 1900 census now available. However, only a few libraries have the 1880 census (the latest microfilmed) and most of them go back to an earlier date if they have them at all. NATURALIZATION RECORDS. All foreign born residents of the United States have had the opportunity to become citizens of this nation by observing certain stipulations, which have changed from time to time. A record of these naturalizations have been kept since 1740. If the naturalization took place before 27 September 1906, the search for it should be conduct- ed in the office of the respective county clerk; after that date information may be obtained from the Commissioner of Im- migration and Naturalization, Washington 25, D.C. The naturalization paper contains the following descrip- tion of the holder: age, height, color, complexion, color of eyes, color of hair, and visible distinguishing marks; name, HOW TO CONTINUE 51 name of spouse and residence; names, ages and places of resi- dence of minor children; and the name of the country from which the holder came. Earlier naturalization certificates also gave the place and date of entry of holder to the United States. In this way naturalization records direct attention to passenger lists maintained in the National Archives. PASSENGER LISTS Among important books of the earliest arrivals of persons in America are John Camden Hotten*s "The Original Lists of persons of Quality; Emigrants, Religious Exiles, Political Rebels, Serving Men Sold for a Term of Years; Apprentices; Children Stolen; Maidens Pressed; and Others Who Went from Great Britain to the American Plantations 1600-1700, with their Ages, the Localities Where They Formerly Lived in the Mother Country, the Names of the Ships in Which They Embarked, and Other Interesting Particulars," printed originally by Mr. Hot- ten in London, 1847; reprinted: Empire State Book Co., New York. Charles Edward Banks, "The Planters of the Commonwealth - a Study of the Emigrants and Emigration in Colonial Times: to which are added Lists of Passengers to Boston and the Bay Col- ony; the Ships which brought them; their English Homes, and the Places of their Settlement in Massachusetts - 1620 - 1640, printed in Boston by the Riverside Press for Houghton Mifflin Co. in Park Street near the Commons, 1930. Strassburger and Hinke, "German Pioneers - Original Lists of Arrival in Philadelphia, 1727 to 1808, three volumes, 1934. Emigrants via Holland," Genealogist Magazine (new series,) published in London, volumes 23 to 26, 1907 to 1910. I. Daniel Rupp, "30,000 Emigrants to Pensylvania - Ger- man, Swiss, Dutch, and French, 1727 to 1776," 1931. Charles Henry Pope, "Pioneers of Massachusetts," 1900. Walter Allen Knittle, "Early 18th Century Palatine Im- migration," 1937. John C. Evjen, "Scandinavian Immigrants in New York, 1630 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY 52 THE NEW HOW BOOK FOR GENEALOGISTS to 1674, with Appendices on Settlements in Mexico and South America, 1530 to 1640, and in Canada, 1619 to 1620." 1916. Jonathan Pearson, "First Settlers of Schenectady, N.Y., 1662 to 1800, " 1873. New York Historical Collection, volume 18, "Roll of Free- men of New York, 1675 to 1866 with indentures of apprentice- ships, 1694 to 1707 to 1727." "Early Settlers of Georgia, prior to 1741," 1949. "Huguenot Emigration to Virginia," edited by R. A. Brock, Virginia Historical Society Publications, volume five, 1886. Ora Eugene Monnette, "First Settlers of Piscataway and Woodbridge, N.J., 1664 to 1714, includes source records and genealogical foundations on New England, New Hampshire, Massa- chusetts; also England and Scotland progenitors with West In- dian migrations, especially French Protestants from France be- fore 1700." Ethel Stenwood Bolton, "Immigrants to New England, 1700 to 1775." John Farmer, "First Settlers of New England, Genealogical Register of." Swem, "Virginia Historical Index," (look under emigrants, passengers, etc.) two volumes. Henry F. Waters, "Genealogical Gleanings in England," two volumes. Noyes, Libby, Davis, "Genealogical Dictionary of Maine and New Hampshire," five parts. Indexes to New England Historical and Genealogical Reg- isters. Donald Lines Jacobus, "Index to Genealogical Periodicals." (In indexes see particular family names or localities of in- terest to your families.) HOW TO CONTINUE 53 Charles Edward Banks, "English Emigrants to New England, 1620 to 1650. " Samuel G. Drake, "Founders of New England as found in the British Archives." The National Archives also have the passenger lists of vessels from foreign ports arriving in Baltimore, 1820 to 1919; Boston from 1883 to 1899; New Orleans from 1820 to 1897; and New York City from 1820 to 1919; lists of sailors on vessels of American Merchant Marine from 1916 to 1941, and lists of numerous persons formerly employed by various agencies of the American government. LAND RECORDS Of equal value to statistical information, such as birth, marriage and death records, as genealogical information are the land records and wills. They reveal, often times, rela- tionships not otherwise recorded. These records are not dif- ficult to obtain. You may have a photostat copy at a reason- able cost from the clerk of the county in which your ancestors lived. To help find the information you must give the time in which they lived there and their full names. To get similar information from Europe it is best to hire a professional genealogist in the particular country, or find some place where the microfilms of the records are available. EARLY SPELLING OF NAMES Every surname may be spelled in several ways. The re- searcher should try to know all of them. You may be proud of your family name - justly so - but do not imagine that it has always been spelled as it is now. As a warning to tyro researchers to weigh carefully the spelling of early century family names, let us recall that the familiar Kress name has been written in twenty-one different ways by priests and recorders of Europe, namely, Krehs, Kresz, Kresze, Kreshe, Kresse, Kresso, Crezzo, Creso, Cresso, Chresos, Chrehse, Cresse, Chreshe, Crese, Cresze, Cres, Cras, Cresen, Creseno, and Cresonis. 54 THE NEW HOW BOOK FOR GENEALOGISTS What is the reason for so many different spellings of names? Not so many hundreds of years ago few people could read and fewer could write. The spelling of a family name was not of any particular interest to members of the family. The minister or the lawyer or the landlord or the county clerk spelled the names that came to them in their line of duty as they sounded to them. Any way they were spelled drew no com- ment from the family members. It is not particularly strange that each one who wrote the name may have spelled it in a new way, a different way. The same name may be spelled one way in the church record, another way in a deed, a third way in a will and a fourth way in the cemetary record, etc., etc. Whatever names you are interested in try to find out the many different ways they may be spelled. When you come across the different varieties in your research, don't toss any of them aside, but take note of them and keep them in your record. They may come in handy some time. If you pass up any of the different varieties of spelling, you may have to retrace your steps later and pick them up. WHENCE CAME SURNAMES Strange as it may seem, surnames have not always been used to designate a particular family. Early Bible charac- ters, for instance, had only one name, such as Seth, Noah, Abraham. It was not until the days of Moses, when the popula- tion had grown into millions, that it became necessary to dis- tinguish individuals having the same given name. There was Koran, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, recognizing four generations; there was Joshua the son of Nun; Jair the son of Manasseh. By the time of Christ, the custom of adding surnames had become common. We read of Simon Bar- Jona. The word Bar meaning son, it would be Simon son of Jona, or, to put the later Scandinavian touch to it, Simon Jonasson. About that time are also noted the locality and the character descriptive names, such as Simon of Cyrene, and Simon the Zealot. In the Roman heyday we find the aristocratic families rather generous with their use of names, giving each person a Christian name, a clan name and a family name. Thus we meet Caius Julius Caesar, Marcus Tullius Cicero, Publius Vergilius Maro, and many other similar three-part names. HOW TO CONTINUE 55 With the fall of the Roman culture and the ascendency of barbarianism names went back to the simple standard. According to Prof. Osborne J. P. Widtsoe, on whose "An Introduction to the Study of English Surnames" these paragraphs are based, surnames have originated in the following ways; patronymic, derived from the father's name; local, from the designation of the property owned, or from some local peculi- arity of the home; occupational, from trades or occupations followed; official, from some rank or office held; or nicknames. France adopted surnames about 1000 A.D.; England, at least among the leading families, about the time of William the Conquerer. The Doomesday Book reveals the early use of surnames. Before that time it was common to speak of a man as the son of his father. In Wales was used the word ap , mean- ing son of, as a£ Rice, a£ Evan, etc. When ^a£ came before a vowel sound, the two words were combined, resulting in a new name, as Pugh from Ap-Hugh, Price from Ap-Rice, Bowen from Ap-Owen, Pritchard from Ap- Richard, Powell from Ap-Howell, etc. Similarly surnames were derived from the French prefix fitz, coming from the Latin filius meaning son, such as Fitz- simon, Fitzgerald, Fitzpatrick, etc., or from the Gallic mac, also meaning son, resulting in McFarland, MacDonald, McMaster, etc. The Norman-French diminutives ot and ejt have formed many surnames, such as Emmett from little Emma, Eliot from little Elias, Marriot from little Mary, Wilmot from little William; also the diminutives jon and en have formed Alison from the son of little Alice; Huggins, the son of little Hugh, Robinson, the son of little Robert. More names have been derived from localities than any- thing else. John of Gaunt (Chent) became John a Gaunt, and then John Gaunt; or Henry of Hull became Henry a Hull and then Henry Hull; Jack of London became Jack a London and finally Jack London; Richard of Lancaster, Richard a Lancaster, Rich- ard Lancaster. Contraction of words have created these cycles in names: John at the Brook, John atte Brook, John at Brook, John a Brook, John Brook. When studying the old original records, it is well to remember that the name will no doubt appear in one 56 THE NEW HOW BOOK FOR GENEALOGISTS or the other of these designations. One who lived near some oak trees first became atte Oaks, n Oaks, Noakes or Nokes. It is easy to see the derivation of Bywater, Bywood, Bytheway, Bygates, Byatts, or Fieldman, Fielding, Bridgraan, Beecher, Beechman, Churcher, Churchman, Kirkman, Wood, Atwood, Openshaw (an open small woody covert), Ogden (hog den), Swinden, Graves, Cluff, Knowles (tree-less gently-rising grassy slopes). Till- ers of the soil have been named Farmer, Plowman, Gardiner, Tillman, Mower, Cropper, Dyker, Dykeman, Drayner, Marler, Akerman, Beeman, Beaman, Beman, Woodman, Hewer, Herd, Hurd, Heard, Stotherd, Stoddard, Shepherd, Goddard, (goat herd) Swinart, Hoggart, Soward, Thatcher, Hillyer (from hillier, a roofer), Tyler, Slater, Slatter, Cotter, Cotterel, Cotterell, Miller, Milne, Milner, Mills, Smith, Wright, Cartwright, Wag- oner, Driver, Chapman, Chipman (the buyer), Packman, Paxman, Weaver, Wolman, Woolsey, Webster, (female weaver), Dyer, Brew- er, Brewster, Tapper, Tapster, Potter, Crocker, Chandler (can- dlemaker,) Forester, Forster, Foster, Woodruff, (guard of the woods), etc. CLUES IN NAMES Unusual Christian names often furnish a clue to which family a group may belong. For instance, one of the early Hales was named Jonathan. This Jonathan has thousands of des- cendants now, scattered far and wide. Wherever you find des- cendants of this Jonathan you are apt to find a Jonathan Hale in the proximity. In unrelated Hales families this is more than likely not the case. There are some names, such as John, Thomas, James, etc., that are common in almost all families and one could not get a reliable clue from such. Of course, care must be exercised even with the most unusual names as there is no proof unless corroborative evidence is found. When you find a record of a name that sounds like a sur- name, that is often the surname of his mother or his grand- mother. This clue is worth investigating. APPROXIMATING DATES Quite often you may find among your relatives one whose birth date is not available. To place such a one in relation to other names on your chart it is advisable to use an approx- imate date of birth. It is always well to take into consider- HOW TO CONTINUE 57 at ion the marriage date of the parents, if that is available, and the birth dates of other children in the family. Statistics have been gathered from thousands of families in various countries and the following figures represent the average of the whole group. The average age of fathers at the birth of the first child is 26 years and of mothers it is 22 years. If you have the birth date of only one child and do not know which child it is, first or a later one, the average age of the father will be 32 years and of the mother 28 years. Remember that these figures are averages only and will be wrong more often than right. Count the approximate age at marriage at 25 years for the man and 21 years for the woman. If you have the death date you are fortunate but you cannot approximate the birth date from that unless the age at death is given. Approximate dates should be marked "about" and it is well to indicate how the approximation was arrived at. COMMON OR CANON LAW RELATIONSHIP CHART B = Brother or Sister C = Cousin CP = Common Progenitor GGN = Great Grandnephew or Great Grandneice GGS = Great Grandson or Great Granddaughter = Grandson or Granddaughter N = Nephew or Neice R = Times removed S = Son or Daughter Ill RELATIONSHIPS There are at least two accepted ways of figuring relation- ships. One is called the Common or Canon Law method, and the other the Civil Law method. Both agree when figuring the di- rect or lineal descent. They differ only in figuring the col- lateral relationships. As the Common or Canon Law method is now in general use and gives a more accurate discription of "cousin relationship," we will not consider the Civil Law method, but present for your use a chart, especially prepared for this publication, which shows (according to the Common or Canon Law), the relationship of descendants to a progenitor to the tenth generation. Also the relationship between his des- cendants, in any combination of degrees from him, down to and including the tenth generation. HOW TO USE RELATIONSHIP CHART You will note that the two upper columns are outlined in heavy lines. These are the common progenitor and his descen- dants. "CP" stands for common progenitor, the one who is the head of the two lines of descendants. "S" is his son or daugh- ter as the case may be; "GS" his grandson or granddaughter; "GGS" his great grandson or granddaughter; "2GGS" his second great grandson or granddaughter, and so on down to his eighth great grandson or granddaughter. All the diamonds inside these heavy lines show the rela- tionship between his descendants. By following columns "1" from both sides of the chart we find they cross on the "B" diamond, showing that the sons of the common progenitor are brothers. By following columns "2" to the center we find they cross at the "1C" diamond, indicating that grandsons of the common progenitor are first cousins to each other. And so on down: his great grandsons are second cousins; his second great grandsons are third cousins; his third great grandsons are fourth cousins, etc. To this point few people have trouble in figuring rela- tionships. It is when they start to figure the "cousinship" and "times removed" that they have difficulty. But with this chart you will find no trouble with any combination up to the 60 THE NEW HOW BOOK FOR GENEALOGISTS tenth generation, and by following the pattern set by this chart you can go as many generations as you desire. Say you want to figure your relationship to a distant cousin. You are eight generations removed from the common progenitor, or his sixth great grandson. Your "distant cousin" is six generations removed or his fourth great grandson on another line. To fig- ure your exact relationship simply follow columns "8" on the one side and "6" on the other to where thev cross and you find "5C 2R" indicating you are fifth cousins twice removed. If you want to find your relationship to the son of your fifth great grandfather, follow columns "1" and "7" which show you are his fourth great grandnephew (4 GGN) . Likewise, you are a first cousin six times removed (1C 6R) to the grandson of your sixth great grandfather. This method of figuring relationships is in general use by most courts of the country and was recently adopted for use of the patrons of the Genealogical Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As additional aids to understanding terms used in rela- tionship discriptions we give the following: The parents of your father or mother are your grandfather or grandmother and you are a grandson to them. (GS) The parents of your grandfather or grandmother are your great grandparents and you are a great grandson to them. (GGS) The parents of your great grandmother or great grandfather are your second great grandparents and you are a second great grandson to them, etc., etc., (2GGS) The children of your brothers and sisters are your nephews and neices (N) and you are uncle or aunt to them. The children of your neices and nephews are your grand- neices or grandnephews (GN) and you are granduncle to them. The children of your grandnephews and grandneices are your great grandnephews or great -randneices (GGN) and you are great granduncle to them. Your father* s brother or sister is your uncle or aunt and you are a nephew or neice to them. (N) The children of your uncle or aunt are your first cousins and you are also their first cousin. (1C) The children of your first cousins are first cousins once removed to you and you are the same to them. (1C 1R) IV Dictionary of Genealogical Words, Terms and Abbreviations This dictionary of genealogical terms and abbreviations is the largest ever presented to aid the novice or profession- al genealogist. It includes Latin, law and general words and phrases, as well as abbreviations, all arranged in alphabeti- cal order for ease of use. References are made in the case of some terms as to where additional information may be found. A system has been devised to indicate which abbreviations are recognized by Webster's New International Dictionary and those not officially approved at this time. Many of the abbrevia- tions not approved officially are in general use today by gen- ealogists and may some day receive recognition through con- stant use. Others are abbreviations of the past - which at times give the researcher considerable trouble because of their obscure meanings. Latin terms and abbreviations are in- cluded because it was the dominant language of schools, courts and churches during olden times and its influence is still felt in many records of modern times. In the case of some words, only those meanings pertaining to genealogy are listed. No attempt has been made to segre- gate the meanings as to whether the word used in that sense would be a noun, verb, verb transitive or intransitive, adjec- tive, adverb, etc. In some cases only the old or obscure meanings are given. The following dictionaries were used in the compilation: "Webster* s New International Dictionary", Second Edition, Un- abridged, G. C. Merriam Co., 1949; "The American College Dic- tionary", Random House, 1951; "Handy Dictionary of the Latin and English Languages", David McKay Co., Philadephia, 1948. The books listed under "Explanation of Terms and Symbols" were also used as well as others, including "Proving Your Pedigree" by Archibald F. Bennett, published by The Deseret Sunday School Union Board, 1955. Your comments, suggestions and corrections will be wel- comed for future editions. 62 THE NEW HOW BOOK FOR GENEALOGISTS EXPLANATION OF TERMS AND SYMBOLS * - the asterisk indicates abbreviations not recognized in Webster's New International Dictionary, Second Edition, G. C. MerriamCo., 1949. Examples: 1. adm. ; *adrain.; admr.; admstr., indicates all except "admin." are recognized as proper abbreviations of "administrator". 2. in the case of the abbreviation "an.", you will find listed *annus; anno. This indicates that "an." is recognized for anno but not for annus. 3. k.= *killed; king., indicates that "k. M is a proper abbreviation for king and not killed. Nevertheless, you will find in some of the old records that "k." is used for killed. It may be used for other words as well, as it would be almost impossible to gather all abbreviations that have ever been used in genealogical records - attempt has been made only to gather and list the more common ones. ABC = "The ABC's of American Genealogical Research", by E. Kay Kirkham, published by Deseret Book Co., 1955. GGR = "A Guide for Genealogical Research", by Archibald F. Bennett, published by Genealogical Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1951. 1953 HB ■ "The 1953 Handy Book for Genealogists", by George B. Ever ton and Gunnar Rasmuson, published by The Ever ton Pub- lishers, 1953. (L) = a Latin word or phrase. p. = page. pp. = pages. (q.v.) = the Latin abbreviation for "quode vide", meaning "which see". (qq.v.) = the Latin plural of "which see". In other words when you find (q.v.) following a word, if you will turn to that word you will find additional information on the sub- ject; (qq.v.) means to look up the words preceeding. SR = "Search and Research", by Noel C. Stevenson, copyright 1951 by Forrest Cool. SYA = "Searching for Your Ancestors", by Gilbert Harry Doane, published by University of Minnesota, second printing, 1952. WMIA = "Ways and Means of Identifying Ancestors", by Evan L. Reed, published by Ancestral Publishing & Supply Co., 1947. DICTIONARY OF GENEALOGICAL WORDS, TERMS AND ABBREVIATIONS 63 a. = ^administration; annus (qq.v.); about; age. ab. = *abbey (q.v.); about. abavus (L) - second great grandfather; ancestor. abbey - a monastery ruled by an abbot or a convent ruled by an abbess. Abbr. - *ab.; abb. abbr.; abbrev. = abbreviated; abbreviation. abjure - to renounce upon oath; to forswear; disavow. To ab- jure the realm was to swear, or take oath, to leave the country and never to return without leave of the king. abjurer - one who abjures (q.v.) abortivus (L) - stillborn. abruptio (L) - breaking off; divorce. Abstract Books - books which list individual entries chronologically by district land office. (ABC p. 76). abstract of title - a summary of the history of the title to land, showing liabilities and charges subject to the same. abstract of will - a summary or an epitome of the will. In the genealogical sense an abstract of a will gives only the parts of the will which help in determining relationships, locations, etc. abt. = about. ace. = according (to); account accompanied. AD = ^archdeaconry (q.v.). A.D. = Anno Domini (q.v.). ad. = addatur (q.v.). a.d. = ante diem (q.v.). adcon. = ^archdeacon; *arch- deaconry (qq.v.). add. = addatur; adde (qq.v.). addatur (L) - let there be added; add. Abbr. -ad.; add. adde (L) - add. Abbr. - add. adj. = ^adjoining; adjourned. ad loc. = ad locum (q.v.). ad locum (L) - to or at the place. Abbr. = ad loc. adm. ; admin. = administrator (q.v.); administrative. administration - the settling of an estate by one appoint- ed by the proper court. Abbr.-*a.; *adm. ; *adom. administrator - the person ap- pointed by court to settle an estate, either of one who is alive and proved incompe- tent, or an intestate (q.v.) He differs from an executor as he is appointed by the court, whereas the executor is appointed by the deceased and approved by the court. Should an executor be proved incompetent or other- wise unable to serve, the court may appoint an admin- istrator in his place. Abbr. adm.; *admin. ; admr. ; adms.; admstr. admr. = administrator (q.v.). adorn. = *administration(q.v. ). adopt - to take voluntarily a child of other parents to be in the place of, or as one's own child. adoption- the act of adopting. ae.; aet. = aetatis (q.v.). aetas (L) - life- time; age; generation. 64 THE NEW HOW BOOK FOR GENEALOGISTS aetat. = aetatis (q.v.) aetatis (L) - of age. Abbr. - ae.; aet.; aetat. aetatula (L) - very tender childhood. affidavit - a sworn statement in writing, sworn to before proper authority. Abbr.-aff t. affinity - relationship by mar- riage between a husband and his wife's blood relations, or between a wife and her husbands blood relations ; in-law relationship. afft. = affidavit (q.v.) afsd. = ^aforesaid. aft. = *after; afternoon. A.H. = Anno Hebraico (q.v.) alienus (L) - another's; for- eign; contrary; averse; hos- tile; insane; distracted. alleg. = ^allegiance (q.v.). allegiance - the relation of a feudal vassal, or liege man to his superior, or liege lord (qq.v.); the tie or ob- ligation of a subject to his sovereign or government. Abbr. - *alleg. amateur genealogist - one who cultivates the science or study of genealogy as an av- ocation for personal pleas- ure or gratification, with- out thought of monetary re- ward; not a professional. The matter of skill or abil- ity has no weight, necessar- ily, in determining amateur or professional standing. amicus (L) - friend, ally, lover; patron; counsellor. amita (L) - father's sister; aunt. amita magna (L)-grandf ather' s sister; grandaunt. an. = *annus; anno (qq.v.). ancestor - one from whom a person is descended; any person of lineal or collat- eral relationship from whom property has been derived by descent. (An "X" is used in front of the name of a child on some family group sheets to designate one's ancestor) . An. Do. = *Anno Domini (q.v.) anni (L) - years. anno (L) - in the year. Abbr. - an. Anno Domini (L) - in the (spec- ified) year of the Christian Era. Abbr. - A.D.; An. Do.; *Anno. Dom. Anno Hebraico (L) - in the (specified) Hebrew year. (Add 3760 to the Christian year). Abbr. - A.H. anno regni (L) - in the year of the reign. Abbr. - a.r. Anno Regina Regis or Reginae (L) - in the year of the King's or Queen's reign. Abbr. - A.R.R. annor (L) - see annus. annosus (L) - aged, old. annos vixit (L) - he lived (so many) years. Abbr. - a. v. annus (L) - year; season; year's produce; age. Abbr. - a.; *an.; *ano.; (also anno, annor). ano. = *another; *annus (q.v.) Ano. Dom. = *Anno Domini (q. v.) anonyma (L) - stillborn daugh- ter. DICTIONARY OF GENEALOGICAL WORDS, TERMS AND ABBREVIATIONS 65 anonymus (L) - stillborn son. ante (L) - before. ante diem (L)t - before the day. Abbr. - a.d. ante-hac (L) - before this time; earlier. anus (L) - old woman. app. = appretice (q.v.); *ap- proximately. apprentice - one who is bound by indentures or by legal agreement to serve another person for a certain time, with the view to learning an art or a trade. Abbr. -app. apud (L) - at; by; near; with; among; in; before; in the time of. a quo (L) - of or from whom. a.r. = anno regni (q.v.) arbiter - judge, umpire. archaic script - handwriting, or characters used in hand- writing, belonging to or hav- ing the characteristics of an earlier or more primative time. archdeacon - the chief deacon. Abbr. - Archd; *arches (pi.) archdeaconry - the office, state, tenure or residence of the archdeacon; a sub- division of a diocese (Church of England). Abbr. - *AD; *adcon. arches. = *archde aeons (q.v.). archives - places in which pub- lic records or historic doc- uments are kept; public rec- ords or documents preserved as evidence of facts. archivist - a custodian of ar- chives or records. arms - the hereditary ensigns armorial of a family, con- sisting of figures and col- ors borne in shields, ban- ners, etc., as marks of dig- nity and distinction. (GGR, pp. 217 - 223). armifer (L) - bearing arms or weapons; shield bearer. armiger - formerly, an armor- bearer, as of a knight; an esquire. Later, one next in degree to a knight, and entitled to armorial bear- ings. armigerous - bearing (heral- dic) arms. A.R.R. = Anno Regina Regis (q.v.). atavus (L) - great great grandfather's father; third greatgrandfather; ancestor at que (L) - and; and also or even; and too; as much as if; than; yet; nevertheless. atqui (L) - but; yet; notwith- standing; however; rather. attest - to bear witness to; to certify; to affirm to be true or genuine. attorney, letter of - see let- ter of attorney. authentic - having a genuine origin or authority, as op- posed to one that is false, fictitious, counterfiet, or apocryphal; genuine. autobiography - a biography written by the subject of it; memoirs of one's life written by oneself. a.v. = annos vixit (q.v.). avia (L) - grandmother. avunculus (L) - (maternal) uncle. 66 THE NEW HOW BOOK FOR GENEALOGISTS avunculus major (L) - grand- mother* s brother; granduncle. avus (L) - grandfather; ances- tor. b. = born; *birth; bachelor (q.v.); brother (q.v.). ba. = ^baptized (q.v.). bach. = bachelor (q.v.). bachelor - a knight who fol- lowed the standard of an- other, either because of his youth or of having too few vassals of his own; a man who has not married. Abbr. - b.; bach; *bachr. bachr. = *bachelor (q.v.). banns - a notice of a proposed marriage, proclaimed in a church or other place pre- scribed by law, in order that anyone may object, if he knows any impediment to the marriage. Also - bans; banns of matrimony. bans - see banns. bap. = baptized, (q.v.). baptisata; baptisatus (L) - baptized. baptisma; baptisus (L) - bap- tism. baptized - having had the rite of baptism. Abbr. - *ba. ; bap. ;' bapt. ; *bp. baptizo (L) - baptize. barbatus (L) - bearded; adult. baron - orig., one of a class of tenants in chief of the king or other feudal super- ior holding by military or other honorable service . Later, baron became restric- ted to the king's barons who were summoned to the council by writ; a nobleman. Herald- ry, a husband; as, baron and feme = husband and wife, (see feudal system). baseborn - of low parentage; born out of wedlock. B.C. = before Christ (67 B.C. = 67 years before Christ). bearing- (usually plural) any single emblem or charge in an escutcheon or coat of arms (qq.v). bene quiescat (L) - may he rest well. Abbr. - b.q. bequest - act of bequething, or leaving by will; also, that which is left by will. bibliography - the descrip- tion of books and manu- scripts, with the notices of editions, dates of print- ing, etc. biennium - a period of two years. bill of sale - a formal in- strument for the conveyance or transfer of title to goods and chatties. biography - the written his- tory of a person's life. bis (L) - twice; in a two- fold manner. bis - a duplicate; repitition; a replica. bndsmn. = *bondsraan (q.v.). bo. = *born; *bought; *bottom. bondsman - a slave; villein; serf; a surety on a bond; one who is bound for an- other. Abbr. - *bndsmn. bonus (L) - good; kind; high; honourable. borough - among the Anglo- Saxons, the enclosure pro- tecting a house; a fortified DICTIONARY OF GE;wiALOGICAL WORDS, TERMS AND ABBREVIATIONS 67 house; a fortified group of houses; later: a town, or urban constituency sharing in the election of a member or members to P a rliament. bounty land warrant - a right granted for military service involving a specific number of acres of unallocated pub- lic land. (ABC p. 75; SRp. 19) bovate - an obsolete English unit of land measure, vary- ing from 7 to 32 acres. Boyd's Marriage Index - an in- dex to many of the early marriages of England. bp. = ^baptized (q.v.). b.q. = bene quiescat (q.v.). br.; bro; = brother (q.v.). bro-i-1; bro-il.; bro.il. = *brother-in-law (q.v.). brother - son of your father & mother; one of a common fam- ily; in a more general sense, a fellow man. Abbr. - b.; br.; bro. (see SYA p. 140 for instability of use). brother-in-law - husband of your wife's sister; husband of your sister. Abbr. - *bro- i-1.; *bro. il.; *bro.-i-l. (see SYA p. 140). bur. = *buried. burgher registers - registers maintained as proof of citi- zenship in a given town in Switzerland. (GGR p. 262). bustum (L) - tomb, sepulchral. c. = circa; circum (qq.v.). ca. = circa (q.v.). cadaver (L) - dead body; corpse, cado (L) - to be slain; to a- bate; to decay; to end; to fail. caedes (L) - slaughter; mur- der; persons slain or mur- dered. caelebes (L) - unmarried; single. calends - the first day of the Roman month; a calendar; a record; a register. calendar, Old Style - see Ju- lian calendar; double dating. call number - the number as- signed a book in a library, used when calling or asking for the same. calo (L) - soldier's boy; low servant. canon - a decree, decision, regulation, code or consti- tution made by ecclesiastic- al authority; a law, or rule of doctrine or discipline., enacted by a council and confirmed by the Pope or the sovereign. canton - a small territorial division of a country; one of the states of the Swiss Confederation; a rectangular division of the shield, used in modern heraldry for the diminutive of the old quar- ter. canus (L) - hoary, gray; f ormy- old age. caput (L) - head; source; life; person; intelligence; chief. card catalogue - a catalogue, list or index of the books and other material of a li- brary entered on cards. Most genealogical libraries have a surname catalogue and a place or geographical catalogue. Also-card index. 68 THE NEW HOW BOOK FOR GENEALOGISTS cath. = cathedral (q.v.). cathedral - the principal church of a diocese. Abbr. - cath. censeo (L) - to count; to reck- on; to tax; to vote to. census (L) - valuation of every Roman Citizen's estate; mus- tering of the people. census - an official enumera- tion of the population of a country, city or other ad- ministrative district, with statistics of commerce, wealth and social conditions; a tax, esp. a poll tax. census records or returns - the records compiled by the cen- sus takers and kept mostly by the Bureau of Census. certified copy - a copy made or attest by officers having charge of the original and authorized to give copies. certified extract - in geneal- ogy, a certified copy of parts of a document, such as a will , giving only the in- formation pertaining to re- lationships, locations, etc. ch. = Church; child; children; chief. chapelry-the territorial dis- trict assigned to a chapel; the chapel with all its ap- purtenances (records, etc.) (see GGR p. 223). ch/o = *child of. chr. = christened (q.v.). christened - to receive or in- itiate into the visible church of Christ by baptism; to baptize; to name at bap- tism; to give a name to. churchyard - the yard or en- closure belonging to a church part of which is of- ten used as a burial ground; God's acre. cir. = circa; circum (qq.v.). circ. = circa; circum (qq.v.) circa (L) - about; near to. Abbr.-c; ca. ; cir.; circ. circiter; circum (L) - about; near; towards. Abbr. - c; cir.; circ. city - a large important town; U'S.; an incorporated muni- cipality; Canada: a munici- pality of high rank, usual- ly based on population; British: a borough, usually the seat of a bishop, upon which the dignity of the title has been conferred by the Crown. ciuitate (L) - city. civicus (L) - civic; civil; pertaining to the Roman state. civil law - the laws of a state or nation regulating ordinary private matters (distinguished from crimi- nal, military, or political matters); the body of law proper to the city or state of Rome, as distinct from that common to all nations; the systems of law derived from Roman law (distin- guished from common law, cannon law). cloister; cloyster (L) - a monastery or convent. co. = county (q.v.); company. coat of arms - a surcoat or tabard embroidered with her- DICTIONARY OF GENEALOGICAL WORDS, TERMS AND ABBREVIATIONS 69 aldic devices, worn by medi- eval knights over their ar- mor; the heraldic bearings of a person; the hatchment; an escutcheon. (GGR 217-223) codicil - a supplement to a will, modifying, adding to or changing it; In Roman, canon and early English law a kind of informal will made without the appointment of executors, said to be essen- tial to a formal will. cognatus (L) - related by birth; kinsman; kinswoman. cognomen (L) - family name; epithet; the Roman name cor- responding to our surname. c.o.h.; coh = *coheir (q.v.). coheir; coheiress - a joint heir. Abbr. *coh.; c.o.h. col. = colony; colonel. coll. = college; collections. collateral ancestors = belong- ing to the same ancestral stock but not in direct line of descent; opposed to lineal; father and son are lineal, uncles, aunts, cousins, etc., are collateral kinsman. collateral lines - persons de- scending from collateral kinsman. College of Arms = Heralds' Col- lege (q.v.). College of Heralds • Heralds* College (q.v.). colona (L) - country woman. colonus (L) - husbandman, farm- er. com. = *comitatus; *county (qq. v.); commissioner; commander; commentary; committee; com- mon; commoner; communicate. comitatus (L) - English coun- ty; escort; train, retinue; company; troop. Abbr.-*com. commoner - a citizen or bur- gess; one of a town council; one of the common people, having no rank of nobility. common law - a system of law originating in England, as distinct from the civil or Roman Law and the canon or ecclesiastical law; the un- written law. common-law marriage - a mar- riage without ceremony, civ- il or ecclesiastical. Recog- nized at times in some places, mostly unrecognized. communicant - one who partakes of, or is entitled to par- take of, the sacrament of the Lord's Supper; a church member. comp. = "^company. compar (L) - alike, equal; comrade; lover; consort. con. = conjunx (q.v.). condito (L) - condition; sit- uation; agreement; marriage; married person. confirmation - in various churches: a rite supplemen- tal to baptism. conjugium (L) - marriage; wed- lock; husband. conjunx (L)-wife. Abbr. -con. conjux (L) - spouse; wife; bride; husband. consanguineus (L) - related by blood; brotherly; sister- iy. consanguinity - state of be- ing related by blood, or descended from a common an- 70 THE NEW HOW BOOK FOR GENEALOGISTS cestor. consobrina (L) - first cousin on the father's side. consobrinus (L) - (female) cous- in-german (on the mother* s side) . consort - a partner, companion, or collegue; a wife or hus- band; spouse; mate. (SYA 79) cont. = continued; contract. contemporary records - records written or compiled at the time the event occured; rec- ords originating or record- ed in the same period. contr. = ^contrast; contract. corp. = corporal. corpus (L) - body, substance; flesh; corpse. couns. - ^counsellor. county - an earldom; the domain of a count or earl. In Great Britain and Northern Ireland one of the territorial divi- sions constituting the chief units for administrative, judicial and political pur- poses. The first districts to be called counties were the old Anglo-Saxon shires, often called the ancient, or geographical counties, or, more commonly, counties at large, which had various his- torical origins going back to Anglo-Saxon days. Later the term was applied to: 1. Certain districts consisting of towns or cities with neigh- boring territory separated out of the older shires and given the organization of counties (and called coun- ties corporate or corporate counties). 2. Certain duch- ies (as Cornwall, Shetland, etc.). 3. Administrative divisions (often not co- incident with the older counties) to which the administrative functions, (but not the judicial or political ones) of the old- er counties have been trans- ferred under the Local Gov- ernment Act of 1888 and which are called administra- tive counties. In Scotland, the 33 civil counties into which the country is divided, is substantially the same as that of England. In the U.S., it is the largest di- vision of local government in all the states except Louisiana, where the corre- sponding division is the parish. Abbr. - Co.; co.; ct.; Latin - *com. county palatine - dominion or territory of a count or earl palatine. In England , county of which the earl or count had originally royal powers with exclusive civil and criminal jurisdiction (now abolished). county town - an English town which is the seat of county administration. court docket - see trial dock- et. cous. = *cousin (q.v.). cous-i-l=cousin-in-law(q. v. ) . cousin - any one collaterally related more remotely than DICTIONARY OF GENEALOGICAL WORDS, TERMS AND ABBREVIATIONS 71 a brother or sister; pater- nal ccusin - on the father* s side; maternal cousin - on the mother's side. (see re- lationship chart for detailed cousin relationship) Cousin is sometimes used in a gener- al sense as a sort of title of endearment even when there is no blood relationship. Abbr. - *cous. cousin-german - first cousin; a son or daughter of your father's or mother's brother or sister. cousin-in-law - one married to a cousin. Abbr. *cous-i-l. C.R. = *church record. crest - a bearing or device set not upon the shield but on the helm, and used separately as an ornament or cognizance for plate, liveries, and the like, (see bearings, shield, coat of arms, arms). croft - a small agriculture holding worked by a peasant tenant. crofter - one who rents or tills a croft (q.v.). ct. = court; county. cuis susceptores (L) - godpar- ents. cum (L) - with; along with; under; in; by. curate - one who is a deputy of a rector or vicar(qq. v. ) . d. = date; daughter (q.v.) day; days; dead; died; *death da. = daughter (q.v.); day days. D. & C. = Dean and Chapter (q. v.). d & coh. = ^daughter and coheir- ess. (q,v.). d. & h. = ^daughter and heir- ess, (q.v.). D.A.R. = Daughters of the American Revolution (q.v.). dates, double - see double- dating. dator (L) - giver. dau. = daughter (q.v.). daughter - one's female child; also used as a title of en- dearment for any female, whether there be blood re- lationship or not. Abbr. - d.; da.; dau.; *daugr.; *dt. (see SYA p. 140). daughter-in-law - the wife of one's son. Abbr. dau-i-1 . (see SYA p. 140). Daughters of the American Rev- olution - a patriotic soci- ety of American women, or- ganized to preserve the mem- ory of those active in a- chieving American indepen- dence. Abbr. D.A.R. Daughters of the Revolution - a patriotic society of wom- an, similar to D.A.R. Abbr. - D. R. daugr. = ^daughter (q.v.). dau-i-1. = *daughter-in-law. (q.v.). D.B. = *Domesday Book (q.v.). de (L) - down from; from; out of; about; at; for; etc. Dea. = deacon. deac. = *deacon. dean - a chief or head of ten men; hence, a tithingman; a head over ten monks in a monastery; the head of the chapter, or body of canons or prebendaries, (see Dean 72 THE NEW HOW BOOK FOR GENEALOGISTS and Chapter). Dean and Chapter - constitutes the legal corporation of the church. The dean is the head of the chapter which is a regular assembly of the canons of a cathedral or a collegiate church, or of the members of other religious orders. Abbr. - D. and C. deanery - the office, position or official residence of the dean; a subdivision of an archdeaconry. Also Rural De ane ry . death notice - in some coun- tries, the notice of death filed with the probate court with or without a will, giv- ing considerable genealogical information. dec.; deed.; dee'd. = deceased. decedent - a deceased person. decessit sine prole (L) - he died without issue. Abbr. - d.s.p. decessit vita matris (L) - he died in his mother* s life- time. Abbr. - *d.v.m. decessit vita patris (L) •- he died in his father's life- time. Abbr. - d.v.p. decido (L) - to fall down; to die. deed - a sealed instrument in writing, on paper or parch- ment, duly executed and de- livered, containing some transfer, bargain, or con- tract; also loosely, such an instrument before it has been given effect by delivery. In its broadest sense deed prop- erly included every such in- strument; but it is often used specifically of an in- strument conveying a fee of land, as distinguished from a mortgage, lease or other instruments under seal. A will, although under seal is not a deed, because not delivered and accepted. deed of indenture - see inden- ture! degener (L) - degenerate; low- born; base. denicalis (L) - solemn puri- fication of a house, on the tenth day after the death of a person. denomino (L) - to name; to call. denubo (L) - to marry; to mar- ry beneath one's condition. deposition - a testifying or testimony taken down in writing under oath of affir- mation in reply to inter- rogatories, before a compe- tent officer to replace the viva voce (oral) testimony of the witness. descendant - one who descends, as an off spring, however re- motely; opposed to ancestor, ascendent. devisor - a giver of lands or real estate by will; a tes- tator. dico (L) - to tell; to order; to call; to plead; etc. die (L) - see dies. died without issue - died without having children. dies (L) - day; daylight; day of burial. Abbr. - d. dio. = *diocese (q.v.). DICTIONARY OF GENEALOGICAL WORDS, TERMS AND ABBREVIATIONS 73 diocese - the administrative division of a country; esp., a division of the prefecture of the Roman Empire; the cir- cuit or extent of a bishop T s jurisdiction; the district in which a bishop has au- thority. Abbr. - *dio. discidium (L) - separation; divorce. disinherit - to cut off from, or deprive of, an inheri- tance or hereditary succes- sion. distribution - the apportion- ment, by a court, of the per- sonal property of an intes- tate among those entitled to it. District Land Office Plat Book - books or rather maps which show the location of the land of the patentee, (see patent; also ABC p. 76). District Land Office Tract Books - books which list in- dividual entries by range and township. (ABC p. 76). do. = ditto; the same. d/o = ^daughter of. document - an original or of- ficial paper relied upon as the basis, proof or support of anything . documented history - a history which has as its basis docu- ments, such as certified, photostat or originals copied verbatim (see legal and his- torical methods). Domesday Book - the ancient record of the Grand, or Great Inquest or Survey of the lands of England, made 1085- 86 by order of William the Conqueror. It consists of two volumes same times called the Little Domesday and the Great Domesday. The Domes- day Book gives a census-like description of the realm, with the names of the pro- prietors, the nature, extent value, liabilities, etc., of their properties. Abbr. - *D.B. domina (L) - mistress of a family; lady; wife. dominus (L) - master of the house; owner; ruler; "Sir". domus (L) - house; home; fam- ily; native country; temple. donation application - appli- cation for frontier land in Florida, New Mexico, Oregon or Washington. Given to an actual settler upon certain conditions, (see ABC p. 75; SR p. 19). donation lands - see donation application. double-dating - a system of double-dating was used in England and America from 1582 to 1752 because it was not clear as to whether the year commenced on Jan. 1 or Mar. 25. The new Gregorian Cal- endar (q.v.) year started Jan. 1 and the old Julian (q.v.) year started on Mar. 25. Double-dating is very common during the years 1582 to Sept. 2, 1752 but was only necessary from Jan. 1 to Mar. 24 of each year. During this period most dates were written similar 74 THE NEW HOW BOOK FOR GENEALOGISTS to this: 25 Jan. 1944/5, indi- cating that the year was 1744 by the old style or Julian Calendar and 1745 by the new style or Gregorian Calendar. However, some of the churches did not recog- nize the new style and care must be used in figuring dates of this period. From Mar. 25 to Dec. 31 the year was the same on both calen- dars so no double dates were necessary, (see GGR pp. 320 -330; ABC p. 90; 1953 HB p. 220). dower - that portion of, or in- terest in, the real estate of a deceased husband which the law gives to his widow during her life; the property which a woman brings to a husband in marriage - now usually called dowery. D.R. = Daughters of the Revo- lution (q.v.). d.s.p. = decessit sine prole (q.v.). dt. = ^daughter (q.v.). duco (L) - to marry; to take; to bring; to persuade; etc. dux (L) - leader; guide. duxit (L) - married; husband. d.v.m. = *decessit vita matris (q.v.). d.v.p. = decessit vita patris (q.v.). ead. = *eadem (q.v.). eadem (L) - in the same way. Abbr. - *ead. earl - among the Anglo-Saxons, a warrior, esp. one of noble rank; a man; the viceroy of one of the four great divi- sions of England; a nobleman ranking below a marquis, and above a viscount. ecclesia (L) - church. editicius (L) - named; allowed. educ. = education or educated. ego (L) - I; I myself ;house; family. ej. = *ejus (q.v.). ejus (L) - his; hers; of him; (filius ejus = son of him; uxur ejus = wife of him). Abbr. - *ej. elugeo (L) - to mourn the full time. emigrant - one departing from a country to settle perma- nently elsewhere. (see im- migrant) . emigration records - the re- cords made of persons leav- ing a country, (see GGR pp. 34-37). emorior (L) - to die; to per- ish; to cease. Eng. = England; English. eno. = ^enough. Ens. = Ensign. entry -the act of making or entering a record; that which is entered. enubo (L) - to marry out of one*s rank; to marry and leave the paternal house. enumeration - a census (q.v.). enumerator - one who counts or lists; the census taker. enuptio (L) - marrying out of one's rank. enutrio (L) - to nourish; to bring up. eo (L) - thither; so far; to go; to walk; there; etc. eodem (L) - to the same place DICTIONARY OF GENEALOGICAL WORDS, TERMS AND ABBREVIATIONS 75 or purpose. Ep. = Episcopus (q.v.). Episcopus (L) - bishop. Abbr.- Ep.; Epus. epitaph - an inscription on or at a tomb or grave in memory of the one buried there. epitaphium (L) - funeral ora- tion. Epus. = Episcopus (q.v.). ergo (L) - wherefore; there- fore; then; now. erratum (L) - error, mistake. escutcheon - the variously shaped surface, usually a shield, on which armorial bearings are depicted, mar- shaled and displayed. (see GGR p. 217; also heraldry). est. = *estate; ^established. estates in litigation - estates left with no apparent heir or with no will and going through the judicial process to determine who shall in- herit. et (L) - and; also; yet; etc. et ux. = et uxor (q.v.). et uxor (L) - and wife. Abbr. - et ux. evidence - that which is sub- mitted as a means of ascer- taining the truth of any al- leged matter of fact. It may be done by means of witness- es, records, documents, con- crete objects, etc., and may be for the purpose of prov- ing or disproving any matter. evito (L) - to kill. ex, e (before consonants) CD- out of; from; down from; after, etc. ex asse heres CL) - universal or sole heir. exc. = except; excellency; excepted; exchange. excerpt - an extract; a pas- sage selected or copied from a book or record. excessus CL) -departure; death Exchequer Rolls - financial account of various sheriffs and their assistants, who collected rents and fines in Great Britain Csee GGR p. 261). excise - any duty, toll or tax; to lay or impose an excise upon. exciseman - an officer who inspects and rates articles liable to excise duty. exec. = executor Cq.v.). executor - the person appoin- ted by a testator to execute his will, or to see its provisions carried into ef- fect, after his decease; the personal representative of the testator Cq.v.). Abbr. - exec.; *exec; ex- ors. executrix - a woman exercising the functions of an execu- tor. Abbr. - *exox. exeo CL) - to go out or away; to escape; to end; to die. exhalo CL) - to breath out; to evaporate; to die. exheres CL) - disinherited; disinherited person. exor. = ^executor Cq.v.). exorior CL) - to arise; to begin; to originate. exors. = ^executors Cq.v.). exox. = ^executrix Cq.v.). exscribo CL) - to write off; 76 THE NEW HOW BOOK FOR GENEALOGISTS to copy. exsequialis (L) - funeral. exspiro (L) - to breath out; to exhale; to cease; to die. extract - a selection from a writing; a quotation. (see certified extract). extra-parochal district special district with certain independent jurisdictions in England. f . = f ather(q.v. ); feast; feet; feminine; form; folio; fol- lowing; foot; for; etc. f aber (L) - artisan; workman; smith; carpenter. fabricator (L) - artificer; farmer; contriver. facsimile - an exact and de- tailed copy of anything. fam. = family. familia (L) - family; servants or slaves belonging to one master; household; sect. famula (L) - female slave; maid- servant. famulus (L) - slave, servant; attendant. father - the nearest male an- cestor; any male ancestor; a title of endearment be- stowed upon an older, close associate with no blood re- lation ship; a dignitary of the church. Abbr. f. father-i-1 = *f ather-in-law. father-in-law - father of your wife or husband. Abbr. *f ather-i-1. feast days - a holy day set apart annually for solemn commemoration. In the Mid- dle Ages and later many re- cords established their dates from various feast days, some fixed and some movable, (see GGR p. 320). fecerunt (L) - they did it. Abbr. - ff. fee - an estate of inheri- tance in land, being either a fee simple or a fee tail (qq.v.); an estate in land held of a feudal lord on condition of the performing of certain services. fee simple - a fee (q.v.) without limitation to any particular class of heirs or restrictions upon alien- ation. fee tail - an estate of in- heritance or fee (q.v.) lim- ited to lineal descendant heirs (or heirs of the body) of the person to whom it is granted. feet of fines - began with the reign of Richard I, of Eng. and were practically deeds transferring land, though nominally the "finis" or end of a fictitious suit; they are of great value to the genealogist, giving mi- nute accounts of land trans- fers at a date when deeds were exceedingly rare, (see GGR p. 230). femina (L) - female, woman; she feod - feud (q.v.). fere (L) - nearly; almost; about; very; in general. feud - an estate of land held of a feudal lord on condi- tion of the performing of certain services; a terri- DICTIONARY OF GENEALOGICAL WORDS, TERMS AND ABBREVIATIONS 77 tory held in fee (q.v.). feudal system - the system of polity which prevailed in Europe in the Middle Ages, based upon the relation of lord to vassal, with the holding of the land in feud, fief or fee (qq.v.) (baron). ff. = fecerunt (q.v.); follow- ing (pages); ff is also used in Old English script as a capitol "F". FF. = Fratres (q.v.). F.F.V. = First Families of Virginia. fief - a feudal estate; a fee; a feud (qq.v. ) . filia (L) - daughter; female offspring. filia fratris (L) - sister's son; nephew. filia sororis (L) - sister's daughter; niece. filiola (L) - little daughter. filiolus (L) - little son. filius (L) - son; male off- spring. filius fratris (L) - brother's son; nephew. filius sororis (L) - brother's daughter; niece. fixed feast days - see feast days. fl. = floruit (q.v.). floruit (L) - he flourished. Abbr. - fl. Fr. = frater (q.v.). frank - free; not in bondage; to exempt from charge from postage; to enable to pass or go freely or easily. franklin- an English freehold- er in the 14th & 15th cent- uries; a middle-class land- owner. Franklin, State of - the area once known as the "State of Franklin was never official- ly recognized and was under consideration for only a short time. It is of impor- tance to research in the southern states. Organized 1784 from the western part of North Carolina, ceased to exist 1788. (see ABC p. 96). frank marriage - the tenure by which a man and his wife held an estate granted by a blood relative of the wife in con- sideration of their marriage (whether before or after it) to be held of the donor by the issue of the marriage to not less than the fourth gen- eration and without other service than faithfulness to the grantor. Franks - members of the con- federated German tribes who founded the Franklin Empire which eventually gave place to the medieval kingdoms that became France, Germany and Italy. frater (L) - brother; cousin; brother-in-law; kinsman. Abbr. - Fr. Fratres (L) - Brothers. Abbr.- FF. fratricida (L) - murder of a brother. fratris (L) - see frater. freehold - an estate in fee simple, in fee tail (qq.v.). of for life. freeholder - the owner of a freehold. THE NEW HOW BOOK FOR GENEALOGISTS freeman - one who enjoys lib- erty, or who is not subject to the will of another; not a slave or vassal; one having the freedom of a company or municipality; (see SYA 141). Friends - a religious sect with various divisions such as; Society of Friends, Reli- gious Society of Friends, Orthodox Conservative Friends and Primative Friends. They are popularly called Quakers. The minutes of their Monthly Meetings (q.v.) furnish a wealth of genealogical in- formation, (see ABC p. 111). funebris (L) - funeral; deadly; mortal; cruel. funereus (L) - funeral; deadly; destructive. funero (L) - to kill, ruin; death. g. = grand; *great, (qq.v.). gazetteer - a geographical dic- tionary; a book giving names and descriptions of places in alphabetical order. geld - a payment; a tax paid to the crown by landholders under Saxon and Norman kings. gemelli (L) - twin. gemellus (L) - twin-born; twin. geminus (L) - twin-born; dou- ble; both. geneal. = genealogy (q.v.). genealogy - an account or his- tory of the descent of a per- son, family, or group from an ancestor or ancestors; the study of family pedigrees and the methods of investi- gation of them, regarded as a science or an art. Abbr. - geneal. gener (L) - son-in-law; broth- er-in-law. generation - a single step or stage in the succession of natural descent; a rank or remove in genealogy; the av- erage lifetime of man, or the ordinary period of time at which one rank follows an- other, usually taken to be about 33 years. generosos (L) - of noble birth; noble; generous; brave. genetrix (L) - mother. genialis (L) - pertaining to generation or birth; marry. genitalis (L) - birth. genitor (L) - begettor; father. genitrix (L) - mother. gens (L) - gentleman (q.v.). gentilis (L) - of the same clan or race. gentis (L) - gens (q.v.). gentleman - a man well born; one of a good family though not noble; one entitled to bear a coat of arms; some- times, any one above the so- cial condition of a yeoman (q.v.). Abbr. - gent. gentry - people of good breed- ing; gentlefolk; in England, those between the nobility and the yeomanry (q.v.). genus (L) - birth; descent; origin; race; family. germani (L) - brother. germanus (L) - (of brothers and sisters), full; genuine, true. gg = *great grand ,(q.v.). DICTIONARY OF GENEALOGICAL WORDS, TERMS AND ABBREVIATIONS. 79 gigno (L) - to beget; to bear; to be born; to produce. giv. = giving; given. gloris (L) - sister-in-law. glos (L) - sister-in-law. goodman - householder; husband; an appellation of civility, equivalent to "Mister" or the like, prefixed to the names of persons, as yeomen, under the rank of gentlemen, (see SYA p. 141). goodwife - the same as goodman for the female sex. G.R. = grave record. gr. = grand; great (qq.v.); -grant; ^graduate. grand - standing in the sec- ond or some more remote de- gree of ancestry or descent; two or more generations re- moved; generally used in composition, as grandfather, grandson, granduncle, grand- niece, etc. Abbr. - g; gr. grandaevus (L) - of great age, old. grant - a general term applic- able to all transfers of real property. grantee - one to whom a grant is made. grantor - a person by whom a grant or conveyance is made. gravestone inscription - the inscription on a stone laid over or erected nearagrave. (for information on customs of the past regarding grave- stones see SYA pp. 77-78). gr/d/o = *granddaugher of. great - older, younger or more remote by one generation used before grand to indi- cate one degree more remote in the direct line of descent; as, great grandfather (a grandfather's or grandmoth- er's father); Abbr. - *g.; gr.; gt. Great great grand- father is one more generation removed and may also be writ- ten: 2 gg father; second great grandfather. Mother, uncle, aunt, son, daughter, nephew and niece may all be used in combinations as above. Gregorian Calendar - the calen- dar now in general use, in- troduced by Pope Gregory VIII A.D. 1582 and adopted by Great Britain and the English colonies in America in 1752; a reformation of the Julian Calendar, (q.v., also double-dating; GGRp. 320 ff; SYA pp. 135-38; 1953 HB p. 220). gr. f. = *grandf ather. gr. m. = ^grandmother. gr/s/o = ^grandson of. gt. = great (q.v.). gt. gr. = great grand (q.v.). guardian - one who has, or is entitled to, the care and management of the person or property, or both, of anoth- er, as of a minor or of a person incapable of managing his own affairs. h. = heir (q.v.); husband. habitator (L) - dweller, in- habitant. hac (L) - by or this way or side; here; hither. half aunt - the half sister of a parent. half brother- a brother by one 80 THE NEW HOW BOOK FOR GENEALOGISTS parent only. half cousin - the child of half uncle or half aunt. half uncle - the half brother of a parent. hamlet - a small group of houses belonging to a parish or village; a little cluster of houses in the country. hearsay - something heard from another; rumor; report. hearsay evidence - out-of-court statements, oral or written, when offered as evidence. Not acceptable as evidence under ordinary circumstances. heir - one who inherits, or is entitled to succeed to the possession of, any property after the death of its owner; inheritor. Anciently the heir, coheir, heiress or co- heiress had the right to transmit arms to their issue, the details of the manner of which have always been reg- ulated by strict rules. The inheritance of land or money does not enter in when con- sidered under the rules of heraldry (q.v.). heiress - a female heir, (see heir). hera (L) - mistress of a house; lady; dame. herald - in Great Britain and Ireland, an officer charged with the care of genealogies and armorial bearings (qq. v. ); one who publishes or announces; a forerunner. (see Heralds* College). heraldic - of or pertaining to heralds or heraldry (qq.v.). heraldic bearing - heraldic symbol or emblazonment. heraldry - the art or science of a herald (q.v.); the art practice, or science of rec- ording genealogies and bla- zoning arms, or ensigns ar- morial, (see SYA pp. 144-46; GGR pp. 217-222; also heir, Heralds' College). Heralds* College - in England, a corporation, dependent up- on the crown, instituted about 1460-85, consisting of King s-of -arms, Heralds and pursuivants. This retains from the Middle Ages the charge of the armorial bear- ings of persons privileged to bear them, as well as of the genealogies and kindred subjects, (see heraldry). heredis (L) - heir. hereditary societies - associ- ations formed by descendants to honor common ancestors or groups of ancestors, such as Daughters of the American Revolution, First Families of Virginia, etc. hereditas (L) - heirship; in- heritance. hers. = *herself. herus (L) - master of the house or family; lord; owner. hie (L) - here; in this matter. hie jocet sepultus (L) - here lies buried. Abbr. - H.J.S. hie requiescit in pace (L) - here rests in peace. Abbr.- H.R.I.P. hie sepultus (L) - hie situs (q.v.). hie situs (L) - here is buried. DICTIONARY OF GENEALOGICAL WORDS, TERMS AND ABBREVIATIONS 81 Abbr. -h.s. hide of land - a measure of land common in Domesday Book and in old English charters varying from 80 to 120 acres. hims. = *himself. hist. = history, historian. historical method or form - the mode or system used by writers and teachers (gene- alogists) basing their work and teachings upon the facts shown by historical research and the inductions to be drawn from them. (see legal method). H.J.S. = hie jocet sepultus (q.v.). h.m. = hoc mense (q.v.). hoc loco (L) - in this place. hoc mense (L) - in this month. Abbr. - h. m. hoc tempore (L) - at this time. Abbr. - h. t. homestead application - the application filed under the Homestead Act authorizing the sale of public lands, in parcels of 160 acres to each settler, (see ABC p. 75) hon. = *honor; honorary; honor- able (q.v.). honorable - a title of distinc- tion given to certain offi- cials and others, usually, simply as a courtesy title. Abbr. - hon. hora (L) - hour; season (of the year); time. H. R. I.P = hie requiescit in pace (q.v.). h.s. = hie situs (q.v.). h. t. = hoc tempore (q.v.). Huguenot - a French Protestant in the 16th and 17th centu- ries; one of the members of the Reformed or Calvinistic communion who were driven by the thousands into exile in England, Holland, Germany and America. hujus (L) - his; this. hujus mense (L) - this month's. hund. = hundred (q.v.). hundred - in England, later also in Ireland, a division of a county, formerly having its own local court (the hun- dred court or moot); also, the body of land holders and residents of the hundred; in U.S., derived from the Eng. hundred, formerly existed in Virginia, Maryland and Penn- sylvania and still survives in Delaware. Abbr. - hund. husbandman - a master of the household; a farmer. Abbr.- *husbn. husbandry - farming; the var- ious branches of agriculture. husbn. = ^husbandman (q.v.). I. = * inventory (q.v.). i - sometimes interchanged with j in Old English. iacet hie (L) - here lies. Abbr. - i.h. ib.; ibid. = ibidem (q.v.). ibidem (L) - in the same place; the same book, chapter, page, etc. Abbr. ib.; ibid. idem (L) - the same. idem quod (L) - the same as. Abbr. - i. q. id est (L) - that is. Abbr. -i.e. I.D.N. = In Dei Nomie - in the Name of God. i.e. = id est (q.v. ) . 82 THE NEW HOW BOOK FOR GENEALOGISTS i.f. = ipse fecit (q.v.). ign. = *ignorant; ignotus (q.v.) ignotus (L) - unknown; low born. i.h. = iacet hie (q.v.). il.; i-1. = *in-law (q.v.). ille (L) - he; she; it; that one, the aforesaid; the very same. immigrant - one who immigrates; one who comes to a country for the purpose of permanent residence; the correlative of emigrant (q.v.). imprimis (L) - in the first place; chiefly; especially. incognitus (L) - unknown. incompertus (L) - unknown. Ind. = ^Indians. inde (L) - thence; from that place; from that time. indenture - a mutual agreement between two or more parties, whereof each party has usu- ally a counterpart or dupli- cate; a contract by which an apprentice is bound to a master; a formal or official document, as a certificate or an inventory (originally one prepared in duplicate). indidem (L) - from the same place or thing. Ind. T. ; Ind. Ter. = Indian Territory. ined. = ineditus (q.v.). ineditus (L) - not made known; unpublished. Abbr. - ined. inf. = *infant; ^informed. infans (L) - childish;' speech- less; mute; little child. infans cui quis in baptismo sponsor exstitit (L) - god- child. infra (L) - under; below, (in- fra will = below 40 pounds sterling). inhab. = ^inhabitant. inheritance - the acquisition of property, real or personal by one person as heir to an- other; that which is or may be inherited. inheritor - heir; he that in- herits, (see inheritance). inhibition - restraint; prohi- bition; a writ from a high- er court staying an inferior judge from futher proceed- ings in a specific case. in-law- a relative by marriage, (cousin-in-law, son-in-law, relative-in-law, ( qq.v. ). Abbr. - *il.; * -1. in loc. cit. = in loco citato (q.v.). in loco citato (L) - in the place cited. Abbr. - in loc. cit. in mem. = in memoriam (q.v.). in memoriam (L) - in memory of. Abbr. - in mem. innubus (L) - unmarried. innupta (L) - unmarried. inq. = ^inquiry. inquilinus (L) - of foreign birth; inmate; lodger. ins. = *inse7t. institus (L) - inborn; natural adopted. inter (L) - between; among; in comparison. intermarriage - reciprocal mar- riage, as between two fami- lies tribes or casts; con- sanguineous marriage; in- breeding. intestate - dying without hav- ing made a will (he died in- DICTIONARY OF GENEALOGICAL WORDS, TERMS AND ABBREVIATIONS 83 testate). intestatus (L) - intestate. inv. = ^inventory (q.v.). inventory - an account, cata- logue, or schedule, made by an executor or administrator, of all the goods and chat- tels, and sometimes of the real estate, of a deceased person. Abbr. - *I.; *inv.; invt. invt. = inventory (q.v.). ipse fecit (L) - he did it him- self. Abbr. - i.f. i.q. = idem quod (q.v.). issue - progeny; a child or children; offspring. j - sometimes interchanged with "i" in Old English (iij = 3, Roman Nume r al ) . jour. = journal (q.v.). journal - a diary; an account of daily transactions and events; a record of trans- actions kept by a deliberate body or assembly. Abbr. -jour. Jr. = junior (q.v.). juba (L) - crest (of a helmet) (see coat-of-arms). jud.; *judic. = judicial; jud- icious. jugo (L) - to marry; to join. Julian Calendar - the calendar introduced by Julius Ceasar in 46 B.C. and replaced by the Gregorian Calendar (q.v. ) 1582 A.D. jun. = junior (q.v.). junior (L) - younger. During the Middle Ages and later the terms Jr. andSr. applied only until the eldest died, then Jr. might change to Sr. if he also had a son with the same name. Thus, he might be Jr. the fore part of his life and Sr. the lat- ter. Abbr. Jr.; jun.; junr. junr. = junior (q.v.). juv. = juvenis (q.v.). juvenalis (L) - youthful. juvenca (L) - young cow; girl. juvencus (L) - young bullock; young man. juvenilis (L) - youthful. juvenis (L) - young. Abbr. - juv. k. = *killed; king. kindred - belonging to the same family or race; related. king-of arms - the chief her- aldic officer of a country, (see heraldry; Heralds* Col- lege). kirk (Scot) - church. Kirkby*s Inquest - a survey of the English county of York taken by John de Kirkby 1284- 5 A.D. (see GGR p. 229). kn. = *known. knight - a military attendant, servant, or follower; in feu- dal times a mounted man-at- arms serving a king or other superior, commonly in return for a tenure of land, espec- ially, one, generally of no- ble birth, who, after serv- ing regularly as a page and squire was admitted to a spe- cial military rank; in modern times, a man upon whom a cor- responding dignity has been conferred by a sovereign in recognition of personal mer- it. Abbr. - knt. knight bachelor - a knight of the most ancient, but lowest, 84 THE NEW HOW BOOK FOR GENEALOGISTS order of English knights, and not a member of any order of chivalry. knt. = knight (q.v.). L.; *(L) = Latin (q.v.). 1. = liber (q.v.). labr. = *laborer. Land Entry Papers - documents filed in connections with entry on public land. (see ABC p. 74). land grant - a grant of land by the government, esp. for roads or railroads, or for agricultural or industrial colleges. land records - various records which have been made regard- ing the transfer of land from the government to individuals and from person to person, (see ABC p. 74; GGR p. 81). Lat. = Latin (q.v.). Latin - the language of ancient Latium and of Rome, and until modern times the dominant language of school, church and state in western Europe. Because of its widespread use in recording genealogical data, we present this index with many of the more common terms and their translations to assist you when searching the older records. Abbr. L.; *(L); Lat. Id. = *land. legacy - something coming from an ancestor or predecessor; a gift of property by will, esp. money or other personal property. legal method - documentary meth- od of recording history or genealogy. Each and every step or point is established by original, certified or pho- tostat copies, acceptable in court, (see historical method) letter of attorney - see power of attorney. letters of administration - the instrument by which an admin- istrator or administratrix is authorized to administer the goods or estate of a de- ceased person. letters testamentary - an in- strument issued by a court or public official author- zing an executor to take con- trol of and dispose of the estate of a decedent. lib. = liber (q.v.). liber (L) - book; free spoken; wine. Abbr. - 1.; lib. liberi (L) - children; grand- children. lie. = "^licence. liege - a liege lord; a feudal superior to whom allegiance and service are due; a liege subject; a vassal bound to feudal service and alle- giance; a liege man. Lieut. = Lieutenant. lineal - consisting of, or be- ing in, a direct line of an- cestry or descendants; de- scended in a direct line; in the line of succession through lineage. Collateral relationship is not "lineal" though the expression "col- lateral lines" is not uncom- mon. liv. = *living; *lived. liv. abt. = *lived about. DICTIONARY OF GENEALOGICAL WORDS, TERMS AND ABBREVIATIONS 85 1.1. = loco ladato (q.v.) locale - a place or locality. locality file - the geograph- ical catalogue of a genea- logical library. loc. cit. = loco citato (q.v.) loco (L) - to place; to lay; to let for hire; to farm out. loco citato (L) - in the place cited. Abbr. - loc. cit. loco laudato (L) - in the place cited. Abbr. - 1.1. locus (L) - place; position; rank. longeavus (L) - of great age; ancient. loyalist - in the American Rev. , one opposed to separation from Great Britain, (see ABC p. 71). M.; m. = man; maritus (q.v.); married. Magna Charta; Magna Carta - the Great Charter to which the English barons forced King John to affix his seal June 15, 1215; a constitution guaranteeing rights and priv- ileges. maiden name - the name of a woman prior to marriage. Maj. = Major. majoris (L) - greater; older. major natu (L) - (in date) prior. mak. = *making. manor - house against which geld (q.v.) was charged; hence, the land represented in the house, or any plot of land treated as a unit for that purpose; a landed estate or territorial unit, orig. of the nature of a feudal lordship; the mansion of a lord and the land pertaining to it. manuscript - a composition writ- ten with the hand, as an an- cient book, document, etc., or an imprinted modern book, piece of music, etc. Abbr. - ms.; MS.; plural Mss.; mss. marita (L) - married woman; wife. maritus (L) - bridegroom; (of man) married. Abbr. - M. marriage bond - a financial guarantee that no impediment to the marriage existed. Furnished by the intended bridegroom or by his friends. marriage by contract or mar- riage of convenience - a marriage contracted, rather for the advantage arising out of it, such as keeping an estate in a family, acquiring social position, etc. marriage license - a written authorization granted by a qualified governmental offi- cial to a (named) man and woman to marry. marriage out of unity - a mar- riage contrary to the Friends (q.v.) order. Also referred to as "marriage byapriest." "outgoing marriage", "mar- riage out of meeting". mater (L) - mother; matron; maternal love, etc. matertera (L) - mother's sis- ter; aunt. matrimonium (L) - matrimony. Abbr. - mm. maximus natu (L) - eldest; first born. 86 THE NEW HOW BOOK FOR GENEALOGISTS Mayflower Compact - an agree- ment, constituting the first written American constitu- tion, signed by 41 of the Pilgrim Fathers in the cabin of the "Mayflower" Nov. 21, 1620, to serve as a form of government, because the Pil- grims possessed no charter. Many ancestral lines run back to and beyond these Pilgrim Fathers (q.v.). (see 1953 HB p. 220). md. = %iarried. memorial - anything intended to preserve the memory of a person or event; a record or memoir; a note; an abstract. mensis (L) - month. ment. = ^mentioned. Messrs. - plural of mister (q. v.). microflim - a strip of photo- graphic film, often of stan- dard motion-picture film size, used for making photo- graphic record on reduced scale of printed matter, man- uscripts, etc., as for stor- age or transmission in small space, which is enlarged for reading. Used extensively for copying genealogical records of all kinds. Middle English - the English language of the period A.D. 1100 - 1500. milit. = ^military. min. = minister; minor; minutes. minimus natu (L) - youngest. minoris (L) - lesser; younger. Mister - in early times, a ti- tle of respect given only to those who held important civ- il office or were of gentle blood. If a man did not act in accordance with the dig- nity of the title it was taken away from him . (see SYA p. 141). Abbr. - Mr. Mistress -in the 17th and 18th centuries the title "Mis- tress" was one of social distinction as a general rule and did not necessarily mean that the woman to whom op- plied was or had been mar- ried. Sometimes it meant widowhood. Abbr. - Mrs. (see SYA p. 141). MM = ^Monthly Meeting (q.v.). mm. = matrimonium (q.v.). mo. s month; *mother. moiety - about a half; part. Monthly Meeting - the Society of Friends (q.v.) is regu- lated by periodic meetings known as Meetings for Busi- ness. One or more congrega- tions comprise a Monthly Meeting, held once a month; one or more Monthly Meetings form a Quarterly Meeting, held once in three months; the Quarterly Meetings with- in a stated geographical area form a Yearly Meeting, called a Society of Friends. Many records are preserved of these meetings giving much genea- logical information. The re- cords kept in Monthly Meet- ings consist of birth, mar- riage and death, also minutes or proceedings, discussions, condemnations and disown- ments. Two sets of meetings were kept, one for male and DICTIONARY OF GENEALOGICAL WORDS, TERMS AND ABBREVIATIONS 87 one for female members. (see marriage out of unity) . Abbr. - *MM. mors (L) - death; corpse. mortality schedules - taken by census enumerators in 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880, they give information as to all persons dying within the twelve months preceeding the taking of the census. They are filed in Washington, D.C. (see ABC p. 117). morte sua defungi (L) - to die a natural death. mother - female parent; in early times "mother" might mean mother-in-law, stepmother, or even one not of blood or marital relationship; a title of endear nent. (see SYAp.140) mother-in-law - the mother of one's husband or wife; a stepmother (not in standard use at present). mortis (L) - death; corpse. movable feast days - see feast days. Mr. = Mister (q.v.). Mrs. = Mistress (q.v.). Ms.; ms. = manuscript (q.v.). Mss.; mss. = manuscripts. my/d = *my daughter. mythology - the collective myths describing the gods of a people, esp., demigods and legendary human beings in stories which involve super- natural elements; the science which treats of myths. n. = natus; *nephew; nomen; *nupta (qq.v.); name. nactus (L) - born. nam. = *named. nat. = *natus (q.v.). natural son or daughter - ac- tually begotten by one (opp. to adopted), esp., in wed- lock; it also means born out of wedlock or illegitimate; consanguineous; Native-born. natus (L) - birth; age; son; offspring. Abbr. - n. ; *nat. N.E. = New England. nephew - a son of one's brother or sister; a son of one's husband's or wife's brother or sister; (in euphemistic use) an illegitimate son of an ecclesiastic; a grandson; a male descendant of more remote degree. Abbr. - *n. nephew- in-law - husband of one's niece. Abbr. - *neph-i-l. neph-i-1 s*hephew-in-law (q.v.) nepos (L) - grandson; nephew. nepotis (L) - grandson; nephew; descendant. neptis (L) - granddaughter. new style calendar - see Greg- orian calendar; double dat- ing. nickname - a name added to or substituted for the proper name of a person, place, etc. a familiar form of a proper name, as Jim for James. nobilitas (L) - high birth; renown. nomen (L) - name; family; Abbr. - n. non (L) - not. not. = *noted. nothis (L) - spurious; illegit- imate. nova nupta (L) - bride. noverca (L) - stepmother. novus (L) - new; young; fresh. THE NEW HOW BOOK FOR GENEALOGISTS novus maritus (L) - bridegroom. n.p. or d. = no place or date. nr. = near. nubo (L) - to marry (a husband) nuncupative - (of wills, etc.) oral rather than written; given before witnesses. nupital - of or pertaining to marriage or the marriage cer- emony. nupta (L) - (of a woman) mar- ried. Abbr. - *n. nuptiae (L) - marriage. nuptialis (L) - nupital (q.v.). nurus (L) - daughter-in-law; young woman. N.X.N. =*no Christian name. o. = *oath; optimus (q.v.). ob. = obiit; obiter (qq.v.). ob. caelebs (L) - died unmar- ried. obiit (L) - he or she died. Abbr. - ob.; obt . obiit sine prole (L) - he or she died without issue, (childless). Abbr. - ob.s.p. obiit sine prole masculus (L)- he or she died without male issue. Abbr. - *ob.s.p.m. obiit vita patris (L) - died in the lifetime of his or her father. Abbr. *ob.v.p. obiter (L) - incidently. Abbr. - ob. obituary - pertaining to or recording a death. ob.s.p. = obiit sine prole (q.v.). ob.s.p.m. = *obiit sine prole masculus (q.v.). obt. = obiit (q.v.) ob. unm. = *he or she d.i^d unmarried. ob.v.p. = *obitt vita patris (q.v.). o.c.=only child; opere citato (q.v.). OE.; O.E. =01d English (q.v.). off; *offi. = official. oft. = *often. Old English - the English of periods before 1100; Anglo- Saxon; the form of black let- ters used by English printers from the 15th to the 18th century. Abbr. - OE.; 0-E. old style calendar- see Julian calendar, double-dating. Abbr. - O.S.; o/s. op.cit. = opere citato (q.v.). opere citato (L) - in the work cited. Abbr. -o.c; op.cit. oppeto (L) - to go to meet; to perish; to die. oppidanus (L) - of or in a town (other than Rome). optimas (L) - aristocrat. optimus (L) - the best. Abbr.- o. orbitas (L) - orphanage; widow- hood. orbo (L) - to bereave (of par- erts, children, etc.). orbus (L) - bereaved, child- less; parentless. ord. = ordained; ordinance. orig. = origin; original. origo (L) - beginning; birth; origin. oriundus (L) - descended; sprung from. orphan - a child bereaved by the death of both parents, or, less commonly, of one parent. orphan chamber - the chamber or court having jurisdiction over minors, wills, etc., DICTIONARY OF GENEALOGICAL WORDS, TERMS AND ABBREVIATIONS 89 and presided over by the or- phan master. orphan's court - in the U.S. and other countries orphans have been recognized as wards of the state and governmental provision is made for their care through the orphan's courts. The duty of the state to provide for orphans was first recognized in the early part of the 17th cen. ortus (L) - rising; sunrise; birth. O.S.; o/s = old style calendar (see double-dating; Julian calendar). oxgang - a bovate (q.v.). p. = page; paterjper; populus; post; pro (qq.v.). p. a. = pro anno; per annum (qq.v.). page - one side of the leaf of a book, etc.; a boy servant or attendant; a youth in training for knight- hood. Abbr. p.; pp. = pages. palaeography - old or ancient writing; the science that treats of the writing of the ancients. palatinate - a province or ter- ritory of the palatine or county palatine; a native or inhabitant of the Palatinate. Palatinate - a state of the old German Empire, lying a- long the Rhine. The present Palatinate is a district of Bavaria. palatine - of or pertaining to a palace; possessing royal privileges, as, a count or earl palatine; an officer of an imperial palace; a native or inhabitant of the Palat- inate; a palatinate or coun- ty palatine. Palatines of Pa. - early set- tlers, who through persecu- tion were driven from their homes a Ions the Rhine River, their home being called the Palatinate (q.v.). parens (L) - father; mother; parents. parentis (L) - father; mother; parents. parento (L) - to offer solemn sacrifice in honor of de- ceased parents or relatives; to revenge (a person's death by that of another). parish - originally, in Great Britain and some British col- onies, the ecclesiastical unit of area consisting of the circuit or district com- mitted to the charge of one parson or vicar or other minister. Originally this district consisted of one or more vills or towns (in the south of England usually one, in the north several). parish register - a book kept for the recording of all the christenings, marriages, and burials in a parish, (see SYA p. 95; GGR p. 196; 1954 HB p. 140). Abbr. - *P.R. paroch - a clergymen in charge of a parish. parochia (L) - parish. parochial - of or pertaining to a parish. passenger list - a ship's list of passengers. Generally 90 THE NEW HOW BOOK FOR GENEALOGISTS referring to the lists of pas- sengers arriving in the U.S. from European countries. (see ABC p. 87). pastor (L) - herdsman; shepherd. patent - an instrument or deed making a conveyance or grant of public lands; the land of territory so conveyed. pater (L) - father; sire. Abbr. - P. pater familias (L) - head of a household; father of a family. paternal - of or pertaining to a father. patres (L) - fathers. Abbr. -PP. patria (L) - fatherland; native country. patrius (L) - fatherly; pater- nal; hereditary; innate. patronymic - in strict usage, a name formed by the addition of a prefix or suffix indi- cating sonship or other re- lationship to the name of one f s father or paternal an- cestor, as Johnson, son of John - Macdonald, son of Donald - Ivanovich, son of Ivan, etc. patruelis (L) - cousin on the father's side. patruus (L) - (paternal) uncle; severe reprover. P.C.C. = ^Prerogative Court of Canterbury, (see prerogative court); privy council cases (q.v.). P.C.Y = ^Prerogative Court of York, (see prerogative court) peculium (L) - a small private property; private property of a son, daughter or slave, held with the father's or master's consent. pedigree - an ancestral line, or line of descent; a genea- logical table. pellex (L) - concubine (of a married man) . pension lists or records - the lists of pensioners who served in the wars of the U.S. from Revolutionary times on down. The Archivist of the United States, National Archives, Washington, D. C. has charge of pension applications, (see SYA p. 119; ABC p. 85). peo. = ^people. per (L) - by (means of); great; very; through; all over, etc. Abbr. - p. per annum (L) - by the year; annually. Abbr. - p. a. peregrinus (L) - strange; stran- ger; foreigner. personal property - estate or property that is not real, consisting in general, but not always, of things tem- porary or movable; chattels petition - a formally drawn-up request addressed to a person or a body of persons in au- thority or power, soliciting some favor, right, mercy, or other benefit. Abbr. - *petn. *petitn. petitioner - he who petitions. Abbr. - *petr. petitn. = ^petition (q.v.). petn. = ^petition (q.v.). petr. = ^petitioner (q.v.). photostat copy = photographic copies; copies of records, maps, etc., made with a pho- tostat, one of the simpler DICTIONARY OF GENEALOGICAL WORDS, TERMS AND ABBREVIATIONS 91 methods of photographing any printed or handwritten ma- terial. Pilgrim Fathers - the English separatists who founded the colony of Plymouth, Mass., in 1620. (see Mayflower Com- pact) . pipe rolls - Eng. Hist., the great or annual, rolls con- taining the pipes or state- ments of the account of the king's revenue, expenses, etc., 1131 to 1833. plantation - a place planted; an estate, usually large, and cultivated; in Maine, a minor civil division, having a very simple form of govern- ment; in Mass. , land without trees of merchantable value. plebes; plebs (L) - common people; populace. poor law - a law providing for or regulating support of the poor. Started in England 1601, in the U.S. at various times, (see GGR p. 227). populus (L) -people. Abbr.- p. post (L) - after. Abbr. p. Postal Guide - see U.S. Postal Guide. posterity - descendants; off- spring to the furthest gen- eration. postridie (L) - on the day af- ter; the next day. power of attorney - an instru- ment authorizing one to act as the attorney or agent of the person granting it either generally, or ; more often, for some specified limited purpose. Abbr. - p.p. a. (per power of attorney). PP. = patres (q.v.). pp. = pages (see page). p.D.a. = per power of attorney (see power of attorney). P.R. = *parish register (q.v.). praedium (L) - land; estate. praenomen (L) - first name. prec; *precd. = preceding. pre-emption - act or right of purchasing before others; a piece of land occupied under a pre-emption right, (q.v.). pre-emption right - right giv- en by the Federal public land laws (repealed 1891) to cit- izens of buying a quarter section of land or less. (see pre-emption) . prerogative court - formerly, the court of either of the archbishops (of Canterbury or York in Eng., or Armagh in Ireland), which had jur- isdiction in all cases of wills or administrations, transferred to Court of Pro- bate 1857; the probate court of New Jersey. pridem (L) - long since. pridie (L) - on the day before. priores (L) - ancestors. privigna (L) - stepdaugher. privignus (L) - stepson. privy council - a secret coun- cil; a private, or personal council. pro (L) - for. Abbr. -. p. pro. = *probate; *proved. P.R.O. = *Public Record Office. pro anno (L) - for the year. Abbr. - p. a. proavus (L) - great grandfather; ancestor. 92 THE NEW HOW BOOK FOR GENEALOGISTS prob. = probably. probate - proof; official proof; esp. , the proof before a tribunal that an instrument offered is the last will and testament of a person de- ceased, (see probate court). probate court - a court for the probate of wills, administra- tion of estates, and related matters (see probate). professional genealogist - one engaged in genealogical re- search as a vocation; one receiving remuneration for genealogical work, (see am- ateur genealogist). progenies (L) - race; family; progeny. progenitor - an ancestor; a forefather. proles (L) - offspring; pro- geny; descendants. pronepos (L) - great grandson. pronurus (L) - wife of a grand- son. proofread - to read and mark corrections in; to read in order to detect and mark errors. prop. = property. propr. = proprietor (s). prosapia (L) - family; pedi- gree; race. proved will - a will estab- lished as genuine by probate court. province - an administrative unit of a country; a region of country; a district. provis. = "^provision. provost - a person appointed to superintend, or preside over, something; a person appointed as an official head. pub. = public; published; pub- lisher. public domain - public lands. puella (L) - girl; sweetheart. puer (L) - child; boy; young man. pupillus (L) - orphan boy. Puritan - one of a class of Protestants who arose in the 16th century within the Church of England. Because of re- ligious persecution many left their homes forming a large segment of the early popula- tion of New England, (see Mayflower Compact; Pilgrim Fathers). pursuivant- a heraldic officer ranking below a herald; an official attendant of the heralds. putative - commonly regarded as such; supposed, as a pu- tative father. putilla (L) - little girl. putillus (L) - little boy. q.e. = quod est (q.v.). qq.v. = quae vide (q.v.). quadrimus (L) - of four years; four years old. quae spondet infantis loco (L) - godmother. quae vide (L) - which see (plural). Abbr. - qq.v. Quaker - see Friends. que (L) - and (used only as an enclitic particle). quod (L) - that, in that, be- cause; wherefore; although. quod est (L) - which is. Abbr. - q.e. quod vide (L) - which see DICTIONARY OF GENEALOGICAL WORDS, TERMS AND ABBREVIATIONS 93 (singular) . Abbr. - q.v. q.v. = quod vide (q.v.). qy. = query. R. ; r. = rector; regins; rex. (qq.v.). rat. = *rated. reading machine - the machine used for reading microfilms (q.v.). It makes an enlarged image on ground glass. (ABC p. 33). real estate or property - land and whatever by nature or artificial annexation is part of it or is the means of its enjoyment, as minerals, trees buildings, fences, etc. rec. = record; recorder. rector - a clergyman; the ruler or governor of a country; the chief. Abbr. - R. ; r. Reg, Gen. = Registrar General (q.v.). regina (L) - queen. Abbr. - R.; r. register - a book in which en- tries of acts, occurrences, names, or the like are re- corded; a book or system of public records. Registrar General -the head of any general register office; spec, Eng., the chief offi- cial of the General Register Office, Somerset House, Lon- don, W.C.2, England. rel. = relative; religion; re- leased. relationship - connection or alliance by blood or mar- riage; kinship. relative- in- law - one who is related by marriage. Abbr.- *rel-i-l. relic - widow, usually followed by "of"; remains. rel-i-1. = *relative-in-law (q.v.). rep. = report; representative. repository - a place, room, etc. , where things are de- posited or stored; such as: a museum, an archive, a bur- ial vault, etc. repud. = ^repudiate. requiescat in pace (L) - may he or she rest in peace. Abbr.- R.I.P. Rev. = * Revolutionary War. (q. v.). Revolutionary War - the war of the American revolution , 1775-83. *Rev.; Rev. War. Rev. War. = Revolutionary War (q.v.). rex (L) - king; tyrant; master; leader; tutor. Abbr. - R. ; r. riding - an administrative dis ■ trict, orig. , York, Eng. , but also found in other British colonies and at one time in Pennsylvania and Long Island. R.I. P. = requiescat in pace (q.v.). Roman Numerals - numerals in the Roman system of notation with values as follows: I or i = one (see J.). II or ii = two III or iii - three IV or iv = four V or v = five VI or vi = six VII or vii = seven VIII or viii = eight IX or ix = nine X or x = ten. 94 THE NEW HOW BOOK FOR GENEALOGISTS L = fifty C = one hundred D = five hundred M = one thousand The Roman numeral I, when it stands alone, is number one; when it is placed be- fore another numeral it sub- tracts one; when it is placed after another numeral it adds one. It is the same with other numerals, if they are placed in front of a numeral of greater value their value is subtracted, if after, their value is added. Suppose you should write 1953 in Roman numerals. Al- ways the largest number is written first (unless you want to subtract), and the smaller numbers in sequence. In this case the largest number is 1000 which is M. the next largest is 900 which is CM. The third largest number is 50, which is L. The last number is 3 which is III. Hence, 1953iswrit- ten MCMLIII. Suppose you see the letters MDCLXXXV you would say; M= 1000, D=500, C=100, (DC=600), L=50, XXX=30, (LXXX=80), and V=5. Thus, MDCLXXV = 1685. Suppose the letters you write down are MDCCCXXXIX. M=1000, D=500, CCC=300, XXX= 30, IX=9, total 1839. At one time the letter "K" was used for 250 and "G" for 400. Rural Deanery - see deanery, ruricola (L) - husbandman. rus (L) - country; country- seat; farm. rustica (L) - country girl. rusticus (L) - rural s. = sepultus; son; *spinster (qq.v.); *sons; * successor. s.a. = sine anno (q.v.). s and h = *son and heir. s and coh = *son and coheir. S.A.R. = Sons of the American Revolution. scatt. = ^scattering or *scat- tered. script - handwriting; the char- acters used in handwriting; a writing. sec. = second; secretary; sec- tion; sector. seisen - possession of either land or chattel. Also seizen. seized of - legally possessed of. Sen. = senior (q.v.). senecta; senectus - (L) - old age. senex (L) - old man; old woman; aged. senior -older or elder. Abbr. - Sen.; Sr. (see junior for instability of use). senium (L) - old age. sepulcrum (L) - grave. sepulta (L) - buried. sepultus (L) - buried. Abbr.- s. sequentia (L) - the following. Abbr. - seqq. seqq. = sequentia (q.v.). ser. = ^servant; ^service. serg. = sergeant. serv.; servt. = servant. servula (L) - servant girl. servulus (L) - servant lad. servus (L) - servant; slave. DICTIONARY OF GENEALOGICAL WORDS, TERMS AND ABBREVIATIONS 95 settl. = ^settled; *settler. sev. = "^several. sn. = *share; *ship. shield - the escutcheon or field on which are placed the bearings in coats of arms (q.v.). shire - a county; one of the counties of Great Britain. signator (L) - signer; witness (to a will) . signatura (L) - signature. sin. = sine (q.v.). sine (L) -without. Abbr. - Sn. ; sin. sine anno (L) - without year. Abbr. - s.a. sine loco (L) - without place. Abbr. - s.l. sine loco, anno, vel nomine (L) - without place, year, or name. Abbr. - s.l.a.n. sine prole (L) - without issue; without children. Abbr. s.p. sine prole supersite (L) without surviving issue (children). Abbr. - s.p.s. Sir - the distinctive title of a knight or baronet; a title of respect for some notable personage of ancient times. s.l. = sine loco (q.v.). s.l.a.n. = sine loco, anno, vel nomine (q.v.). *sis.; sist. = sister (q.v.). sis.il.; sis-i-1. = *sister- in-law (q.v.). sister - the daughter of the same parents; a female friend a female member of a reli- gious community (nun) ; a nurse in charge of a hospital room. Abbr. - *sis.; sist. sister-in-law - one f s husband* s or wife's sister; one's broth- er's wife. Abbr. - *sis.il.; *sis-i-l; *sister-i-l. Sn. = sine (q.v.). s/o == *son of. sobrina; sobrinus (L) - first cousin; cousin-german. socer; socerus (L) - father- in-law. soceri (L) - parents-in-law. Society of Friends - see Friends socrus (L) - mother-in-law. Somerset House - where the reg- isters of births, marriages, and deaths of England and Wales (1837 to present) arf kept. Somerset House, Lon- don, W.C.2, England. son - male child or person in relation to his parents; one adopted as a son; a familiar term of address, (see SYA p. 139). son.il.; son-i-1 = *son-in-law. son-in-law - the husband of one's daughter; a stepson. soror (L) - sister; female com- panion or friend. Abbr. - Sr. sororis (L) - sister. source references - references to books, mss., registers, publications, etc., wherein is found the information on which the author has based his premise or writings, (see GGR p. 221). s.p. = sine prole (q.v.). spell. = ^spelling; *spelled. spinster - a woman still un- married; one who spins. Abbr. - *S. *spr. sponsor (L) - bondsman; surety. Abbr. - *spr.; *S. sponsus (L) - betrothed; bride- 96 THE NEW HOW BOOK FOR GENEALOGISTS groom; suitor. spr. = *spinster; "^sponsor (qq. v.). s.p.s. = sine prole supersite (q.v.). spurius (L) - illegitimate child or birth. Sr. = senior; soror (qq.v.). S.S. = supra scriptum (q.v.). State of Franklin - see Frank- lin, State of. stemma (L) - pedigree. step- - a prefix indicating connection between members of a family by the remar- riage of a parent, and not by blood. (see SYA p. 140). stepchild - a child of one's husband or wife by a former marriage. (see step-). stepfather - the husband by remarriage of one's mother. still born - dead when born. subnuba (L) - second wife; in- truder; rival. supra scriptum (L) - written above. Abbr. - S.S. surg. = surgeon. surname - the name which a per- son has in common with the other members of his family, as distinguished from his Christian or given name; a family name. surname file or catalogue - the card index of a genealogical library listing surnames (q. v.). susceptor (L) - undertaker; receiver; godfather. suus (L) - his own, her own, its own, their own. sw. = *swear; *swore. t. = tempore; tomus (qq.v.). tabularium (L) - archives; reg- ister-office. tak. = *taken. tectum(L) - house; abode; dwell- ing. temp. = tempore (q.v.). tempore (L) - in the time of. Abbr. - t.; temp. tempus (L) - time; season; oc- ca sion. testament - a formal declara- tion, usually in writing, of a person's wishes as to the disposition of his property after his death; formerly, a disposition to take effect upon death and relating to personal property (as dis- tinguished from real prop- erty), but now will and tes- tament are synonymous. (see will; nuncupative). testamentum (L) - will; testa- ment. testate - having made and left a valid will. testator - one who leaves a valid will. testatrix - a female testator. tho. = ^though. thot. = ^thought. thro. = ^through. tithing - a small administra- tive division locally pre- served in many parts of Eng. apparently originally con- sisting of ten men with their families, or the tenth part of a hundred (q.v.). tithingman - the chief man of a tithing (q.v. ) . tomus (L) - volume; tome; one volume of a larger work. Abbr. - t. DICTIONARY OF GENEALOGICAL WORDS, TERMS AND ABBREVIATIONS 97 town - may refer to an abode or house, a small group of houses, a village, or on up to a large city, according to its usage at various times and places. township - the inhabitants of, or a vill, manor or medieval town; a social or tribal unit among the Anglo-Saxons; an administrative district sim- ilar to a parish; in the U.S., (mostly) a tract of land which is a geographic al rather than a political di- vision. Abbr. - tp; twp. tp. = township (q.v.). tradition - the handing down of statements, beliefs, leg- ends, customs, genealogies, etc., from generation to generation, esp. by word of mouth. transcr. = "^transcribed. transcribe - to make a copy of in writing. transcript - a reproduction in writing or print. trial docket - a book or record containing the list of caus- es to be tried in court. tritavus (L) - great grand- fathers great grandfather. tumulo (L) - to bury; to inter; to entomb. tumulus (L) - mound; grave; monument; urn. twp. = township (q.v.). u - used interchangeably with M v" in Old English. ult. = ultimo (q.v.). ultimo (L) - in the month pre- ceding the present. Abbr. - ult.; ulto. ulto. = ultimo (q.v.). unigena (L) - only-begotten; only; of one family. unigenitus (L) - the only son. uncle - a brother of one's mother or father; husband of one's aunt; a familiar title or title of endearment ap- plied to an older man. uncle-i-1. = *uncle-in-law (q.v.). uncle-in-law - the uncle of one's husband or wife; the husband of one's aunt. Abbr. - *uncle-i.-l. union- a registration district in England and Wales, com- prising two or more parishes, also called poor-law union. unit. = ^united; ^uniting. unm. = *unmarried. urbs (L) - a walled town; city; citizens. U.S. Postal Guide - the offi- cial guide published by the U.S. Post Office, giving the complete list of post offices in the United States and territories. Published year- ly until 1953 - since that time it has been published as a loose-leaf subscription service and is called "Di- rectory of Post Offices." ut (L) - in what manner, how; in the manner that, as; how- ever, etc. ux. = uxor (q.v. ) . uxor (L) - wife; spouse; con- sort. Abbr. - ux. uxoris (L) - wife. v - used interchangeably with "u" in Old English. v.a. = vixit annos (q.v.). 98 THE NEW HOW BOOK FOR GENEALOGISTS var. = variation; various. vel (L) - or; even, even as; at least, etc. verbatim - word for word; in the same words; verbally. vetula (L) - little old woman. vetulus (L) - little old man. vetus (L) - aged; old; vicar - a person acting as priest of a parish in place of a rector; a clergyman. vicarage - the residence of a vicar; the office or duties of a vicar. vicaria (L) - vicarage (q.v.). viculus (L) - little village; hamlet. videlicet (L) - it is easy to see; that is to say; to whit; namely. Abbr. - viz. video (L) - see. vidua (L) - widow. viduata (L) - widowed. village - a small aggregation of houses in the country, being in general less in number than a town or city and more than a hamlet. vir; viri (L) - man; boy; male; husband; soldier. virgo (L) - maid; virgin; girl. viri - see vir. Vis. = viscount (q.v.) or vis- countess. Vise. = viscount (q.v.) or viscountess. viscount - an officer who for- merly acted in place of the count, or earl; a sheriff. Abbr. - Vis.; Vise; Visct. Visct. = viscount (q.v.). or viscountess. visitation - an official per- sonal inquiry made by an of- f icer-at-arms at different times to examine the rights of the people within his heraldic province to bear arms; the record of such in- quiry, (see Herald's Col- lege, heraldry, etc.). visitation pedigree - the ped- igrees copied by the herald in his book of "visitations" (q.v.). vital records or statistics records or statistics relat- ing to birth, deaths, mar- riages, health and disease. Abbr. - *V.R. vidius (L) - living; true to life; vigorous. vivus (L) - alive; living; natural. vixit annos (L) - he or she lived years. Abbr. -v. a. viz = videlict (q.v.). V.R. = *vital records. w. = wife; *widow. wapentake - a division corres- ponding to a hundred and ward (qq.v.) of some English counties; the court of such division; the bailiff serv- ing this court. ward - in the counties of Cum- berland and Northumberland, and in some Scottish coun- ties, a division answering to the hundred and wapentake (qq.v.) of other counties. Wards are often merely or chiefly the divisions of a city for election purposes. wd. = *widow. wf/o = *wife of. wh. = *who; *which. will - the legal declaration DICTIONARY OF GENEALOGICAL WORDS, TERMS AND ABBREVIATIONS 99 of a person* s mind as to the manner in which he would have his property or estate disposed of after his death; the term testament (q.v.), originally a Roman and Civil law term, is often now used as synonymous with will. A will or testament may be nun- cupative (q.v.) or written, (see SR pp. 12,13,16,17; SYA pp. 11,84-94; 1953 HB pp. 2, 149, 218; ABC p. 38; GGR pp. 84-89). witness - one who gives testi- mony as in a court of law; one who signs a document in attestation of the genuine- ness of its execution; a sponsor at baptism. Abbr. - *wtn. wk. = week; work. wks. = weeks; works. WPA Historical Records Survey- a program undertaken by the U.S. Government in 1935-36 in which inventories were compiled of historical mate- rial, particular unpub- lished government documents and records which are basic in the administration of lo- cal government, and which provide much data for stu- dents of political, economic and social history, (see ABC p. 55). wtn. = ^witness (q.v.). ww. = *widow. Ww/O *widow of. wwr. = *widower. x - is used to designate an ancestor (q.v.) on some fam- ily group sheets. X, = Christ; Christian (prop- erly the Greek letter chi. which in form is like X). Xn. = Christian. Xnty. = Christianity. Xped. = ^christened. Xper.; Xr. = Christopher. Xt. = Christ (see X,). Xtian. = Christian. Xty. = Christianity. y. = year or years. ye = the (Old English); plural of thou; used for the objec- tive of "you." yeo = *yeoman; yeomanry (qq. v.). yeoman - a servant, attendant, or subordinate official in royal or other great house- hold; a subordinate of a sheriff; an independant farm- er. Abbr. - *yeo. yeomanry - the position or rank of a yeoman; the collective body of small landed pro- prietors of the middle class. Abbr. - yeo. yr. = year; younger; your. yrs. = years; yours. 100 INDEX page Abbreviations of states 11 Adopted children 13 Approximating dates 56 Arranging your record 25 Binders 8 Books, borrowing 48 Catalogues, library 47 Census records 50 Chart, relationship 58 City, foreign designations 36 Cleaning photos 18 Clues in names 56 Contacting persons with your name 39 County, foreign designations 36 Dates, approximating 56 Dictionary of words, terms and abbreviations 61 Everton, Walter M » 3 Family genealogists 44 Family group sheet for each marriage 12 Family group sheets 7,8 Family history sheets 24 Family traditions 32 Foreign designations of county, city and town 36 Genealogical Helper 3,40 Genealogical libraries 45 Genealogical record numbering system 47 Genealogists, family 44 Genealogists, home town 44 Genealogy, where to write for 42 Historical method of recording 10,14 Histories, printed family 46 History, family 24,26 How to begin 7 How to continue 28 How to write letters 37 Incorrect spelling of place names 34 Land records 53 Legal method of recording 10,14 Letters must be written ' 37 Letter writing 30 Library catalogues 47 Listing names on pedigree charts 20 Loose-leaf binders 8 Maiden name, how to record 9 101 page Material, other, for your record 16 Microfilming your record 27 Mimeographing letters 43 Mounting pictures 15 Names, clues in 56 National Archives records 48 Naturalization records 50 Nicknames 10 Notes, taking 31 Numbering a genealogical record 47 Passenger lists 51 Pedigree chart, listing names on 20 Pedigree charts 15 Pension lists 49 Personal visits 30 Photo mounting tissue, using 16 Photos, cleaning 18 Picture pedigrees 17 Pictures for your record 14 Printed family histories 46 Questions that should be answered 29 Relationship chart 58 Relationships 59 Researcher, desired qualities 37 Rubber cement, using 16 Spelling of names 53 Spelling place names 34 Starting your record 8 State histories 49 Surname, contacting persons with your 39 Surnames, whence came 55 Taking notes 31 Town, foreign designations 36 Traditions, family 32 Visits, personal 30 War records 48 Where to write for genealogy 42 Writing a history 26 Writing letters 30 Writing to public officers ... 43 "Not only Pardonable but a Duty" "There is no man of cultivation who does not take some interest in what was done by his forefathers: who does not desire to obtain some knowledge of what took place in the spot where he was born, and to trace the fortunes of the race to which he belongs and of the races which preceded it and with which his own is in any way connected . . . This interest in the lives and services of our ancestors forms no smalt part of the sentiment of patriotism. It is natur- al, generous and unselfish. It is not only pardonable, but it is our duty to indulge it.'' Excerpt from address of Edward Everett "He who careth not from whence he came, careth little whither he goeth. ' Daniel Webster "The pride in ancestry increases in the ratio o? distance. ' George William Curtis, 1824-1892 "Think of your forefather si Think of your poster- ity!" John Quincy Adams "Out of one man a race of men innumerable" John Milton, 1608-1674 "Ancestral glory is, as it were, a lamp to posterity." Sallust, 86-34 BC "Nothing like blood, sir, in hosses, dawgs, and men." William Makepeace Thackery i*t 929.1EV2N UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA C001 THE NEW HOW BOOK FOR "GENEALOGISTS LOGAN