-A-

Ablepsy: Blindness.
Abolition: The abolishment (end) of slavery in the United States.
Abrogate: To annul by authority, as by law.
Acadian: Native of Acadia (Nova Scotia).
Addison's Disease: Caused by the destruction of the cortex of the suprarenal glands.
Administrator: One who handles an estate for settlement.
Administratrix: A female administrator.
Allegations: Applications for grants of marriages to the Bishops of the Church of England.
American Plague: Yellow Fever.
Anglo-Saxon: Being of both English and Saxon (German) descent.
Apoplexy: A stroke.
Asphyxia: Unconsciousness caused by lack of oxygen and too much carbon dioxide in the blood.
Atrophy: Waisting away or failure in development of the body.
Attest: To witness the execution of a written document.

-B-

Bad blood: One who had Syphilis.
Banns: Publication of an intended marriage.
Bark: A sailing vessel of 3 or more masts.
Barrister: Lawyer.
Baron: Person who derived a title by military or other honorable service, from a king.
Bequeath: To leave property or estate by will.
Black Lung: A disease caused from breathing in dust from coal.
Black Plague: Bubonic Plague.
Bladder in the Throat: Diphtheria.
Blazon: To adorn or inscribe, as with names or symbols (Coat of Arms).
Bone Fide: In good faith.
Brain Fever: Meningitis.
Bright's Disease: Degeneration of the kidneys.
Bronze John: Yellow Fever.
Bubonic Plague: A contagious, infectious disease that is usually fatal. Caused from the bites of fleas from infected rats.

-C-

Cachexy: Starvation, malnutrition.
Camp Fever: Typhus.
Carrack: A 3 masted cargo ship used during the Middle Ages.
Caravel: A small ship used by the Portuguese and Spanish during the 15th and 16th Centuries.
Carleton Papers: British Headquarters Papers, in New York City from 1774-1783, concerning loyalists to the King.
Cede: To give up or yield.
Celtic: Being of Indo-European (Irish, Gaelic, Welsh, Cornish, Manx, and Breton).
Cenotaph: Inscription on a head stone that was erected in memory or honor of a person buried elsewhere (at sea, etc.)
Chin cough: Whooping Cough.
Cholera: A dangerous infectious disease caused by an intestinal infection.
Christened: Baptized.
Chronology: The determining of the proper order of historical events.
Clan: A united group of families or relatives claiming the same ancestor and having the same surname.
Clipper: Mid 19th century ship built for speed.
Coat of Arms: A shield marked with the insignia (Crest) of a person or family.
Codicil: Addition to a will.
Colitis: Chronic and progressive bowel disease.
Conestoga Wagon: A covered wagon used in the United States during the early 19th century, to transport heavy loads of freight.
Consanguinity: Being descended from a common ancestor.
Consort: Husband or wife, companion or partner.
Consumption: Pulmonary tuberculosis.
Cramp Colic: Appendicitis.
Croup: Disease of infants and small children causing difficulty of breathing. Can cause high fever and severe respiratory distress.

-D-

Dark Ages: Pertains to the era from 500-1100 AD.
Deed: Document(s) pertaining to property.
Devisor: One who gives their estate by will.
Diphtheria: An acute contagious bacterial disease which produce fatal toxins to the nerves and heart.
Disaffected: Alienated in feeling or loyalty.
Dissenter: One who disagrees with a belief.
Dock Fever: Yellow Fever.
Dowry: Property or money brought by a bride to her husband.
Dropsy: A condition in which an excess of watery fluids are stored in the tissues or cavities of the body.
Duke: Person who holds the highest hereditary title of Nobility (below the Prince).
Dysentery: Inflammation of the large intestine caused by a bacterial or amoebic infection.

-E-

Earl: A hereditary Nobleman.
Emigrant: One who migrated (moved).
Epitaph: The inscription on a head stone.

-F-

Falling Sickness: Epilepsy.
French Pox: Syphilis.

-G-

Galleon: A large sailing vessel of the 15th thru 17th centuries.
GEDCOM: Genealogy software which allows a person to transfer data to other software programs.
Great Pox: Syphilis.
Great Ship: English and French war vessels with 4 or 5 masts used during the 16th and 17th centuries.

-H-

Heraldry: The art/practice/science of recording genealogies and blazoning arms.
Hessian: Native of Hesse (in Germany).
Hodgkin's disease: Malignant progressive enlargement of lymph tissue.
Huguenots: French Protestants who fled France due to religious persecution.
Hydrocephalus: Water on the brain.
Hydrophobia: Having rabies.

-I-

Immigrant: One who settles as a permanent resident in another country.
Indenture: A contract by which an apprentice is bound to a master.
Infantile Paralysis: Polio.
Inheritance: Succession to the real and personal property of a descendent.
Inscribe: To mark, write, or engrave words.
Interment: Final resting place.
Intolerable Acts: Series of laws passed by the British Parliament in 1774 against the colony of Massachusetts.

-J-

Jail Fever: Typhus.

-K-

Kindred: Related by blood.

-L-

Legacy: Anything which was received or passed on by an ancestor.
Liber: Book which contains items such as: Deeds, Mortgages, Wills, etc.
Lineage: Descent from an ancestor.
Long/Lung Sickness: Tuberculosis.
Loyalist: A person who maintains allegiance to a monarch/government.
Lues Disease: Syphilis.
Lung Fever: Pneumonia.

-M-

Manumissions: Slave freedom papers.
Marquis: Title of Nobility ranking below a Duke.
Mason: One who is skilled in building with stone, brick, or concrete.
Mayflower Compact: The first Constitution made in the colonies, which consolidated the passengers of the Mayflower into a civil body politic. This document gave the people the power to enact laws appropriate to the good of their new settlement by rule of the majority.
Medieval: Pertaining to the era from 1100-1500 AD.
Melungeon: A race of people who were dark of skin and light eyed. They inhabited the southern Appalachian mountains.
Membranous Croup: Diphtheria.
Meningitis: Inflammation of the meninges of the brain or spinal cord.
Mennonite: Member of a 16th century Friesland Christian sect.
Moravian: Native of Morovia.
Mormal: Having gangrene.
Muster Rolls: Rolls which contain dates of a soldiers entry and discharge dates.

-N-

Naturalization: The citizenship of an alien.
New England: North Eastern cluster of states in the United States, consisting of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
Non-Conformist: One who broke away from the Church of England.

-P-

Pedigree: A genealogical chart showing ones ancestry or descendency.
Peerage: A body of peers.
Pennsylvania Dutch: Descendants of German and Dutch settlers of Pennsylvania during the 17th and 18th centuries.
Pension: A fee paid or received for services, such as in the military.
Peritonitis: Bacteria introduced into the abdominal cavity, such as: a puncture wound, surgery, or a ruptured appendix.
Plat Book: Book containing area maps.
Pleurisy: Difficulty in breathing. Causes are: pneumonia, tuberculosis, or cancer.
Pole: A unit of linier measure, usually equal to 16.5 feet.
Poll Tax: A form of taxation for revenue purposes.
Probate: The official proving of a will.
Progenitor: A person from whom another person has descended.
Progeny: Offspring.
Province: A country, territory, or district.
Puritan: One who is scrupulously strict or exacting in their religion or moral life.

-Q-

Quaker: A member of the Society of Friends. A Christian movement founded by George Fox.
Quinsy: Tonsillitis.
Quitclaim: A claim which releases property. To free up.

-R-

Relict: A widow or widower.
Rubeola: German measles.

-S-

Saxon: A member of an early Germanic tribe.
Scarlet Fever: An acute contagious disease caused by streptococcus bacterium.
Scrofula: A form of tuberculosis.
Septicemia: Blood poisoning.
Sexton: Caretaker of a church or cemetery.
Ship's Fever: Typhus.
Smallpox: Contagious viral disease.
Spotted Fever: Typhus.

-T-

Tartan: A woven patterned cloth worn by the Scottish Highlander clans. Each clan had their own distinctive pattern.
Teamster: One who drives or owns a team.
Testament: A will.
Testate: A person who has died and left a valid will.
The Thirteen Colonies: Delaware, Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Virginia
Thrush: A disease of the mouth, lips and throat of an infant. Caused by a fungus.
Township (Twp): A territorial subdivision of a county.
Trial Docket: A book containing the list of causes to be tried in a court.
Trustee: A person who is the overseer of property for another person or persons.
Typhoid Fever: Severe infectious fever caused by bacterium.
Typhus: Acute infectious fevers caused by rickets, lice, or fleas.

-V-

Variola: Smallpox.

-W-

Whooping Cough: Childhood disease. A contagious disease caused by bacterium. Convulsive coughing and loss of breath.
Winter Fever: Pneumonia.

-Y-

Yellow Fever: An acute, infectious intestinal disease, caused from the bite of a mosquito.
Yeoman: A servant or attendant in a Royal or other Great household.