GENEALOGY GLOSSARY

Not everyone is familiar with genealogical terms.  Included below are a few terms to give you a quick reference list.  If you find something you would like added to the list, let me know.

Ancestor

A person from whom you descent – grandparents, great grandparents, 2x great grandparents, etc.

Ancestor report

A report showing a person’s ancestry, lineage, family tree.

Banns

Public announcement of intended marriage, usually made in church on three consecutive Sundays.

BMD records

Birth, marriage and death records.  Civil records, and sometimes parish records, kept with information about the event.

Civil records

BMD records created by civil authorities such as federal or provincial governments.

Census

An official counting (and sometimes listing) of the population in a particular area.  In many countries these were/are scheduled every 10 years.

Emigrant

Person leaving one country to reside in another.

GEDCOM

Stands for GEnealogy Data Communications and is a standardized file format that may be used in all family tree software, including online.

Illegitimate

Person born to unmarried parents.

Immigrant

Person moving into a country from another country.

Index

An alphabetic list of names that were taken from a particular set of records, but not the records themselves.

Parish records

BMD records created by church authorities. May include other church records such as preacher’s visitation records.

Pedigree

A person’s ancestry, lineage, family tree.

Primary source

Records created at the time of an event.  For example, a birth record or birth announcement in the newspaper.

Probate records

Documents relating to the disposition of a deceased person’s property.

Secondary source

Records created a significant amount of time after an event occurred.  For example, a birth date that is indicated on a death record (though the death record would be a primary source for the death).