Here is a list of commonly-used terms and their meanings:
- Abstract - an abbreviated transcription of a document or record that includes relevant dates and names.
- Alien - a citizen of a different country.
- Bounty Land - land that was made available as a payment to military veterans in lieu of financial compensation.
- Census - an enumeration of the inhabitants of a certain area. Census records often include demographic information such as age, ethnic background, occupation, income, and more. The United States began collecting census data in 1790, and has done so every ten years since then. Unfortunately, most of the 1890 census was badly damaged during a fire in the Commerce Department Building in January 1921.
- Church Records - records include christenings, baptisms, marriages, and burials.
- City Directory - a precursor to the now obsolete telephone book. City Directories contain the names, addresses, and occupations of a city or town's residents.
- Declaration of Intention - a document filed in a court by an alien, declaring their intention to become a citizen.
- Emancipated - often refers to slaves; means free/freed.
- Illegitimate - the offspring of a non-married couple.
- Index - an alphabetical list of names taken from a set of records.
- Maternal line - a direct family line, beginning with person #1's mother.
- Naturalization - the process in which an alien becomes a citizen. Naturalization documents often include the alien's exact place of birth, names of family members, and occasionally the ship they came over on.
- Passenger Manifest - a list of all passengers aboard a ship coming from a different country. These lists will occassionally include the passenger's town/city of origin, the name of a person they know along with their destination in their country of arrival.
- Paternal Line - a direct family line, beginning with person #1's father.
- Person #1 - the starting person in a family tree.
- Primary Evidence - original or first-hand evidence (i.e. a diary, speech, or eye-witness account).
- Primary Source - records created at the time of an event (i.e. a birth certificate).
- Probate (inventory) - an inventory of a person's possessions, taken at the time of passing.
- Schedule - term given to designate the type and form of a census. Examples include agricultural, mortality, manufacturing, and slave schedules.
- Vital Records - birth, marriage, death, and divorce records.
