Abbreviations Found in Genealogy Records: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 07:34, 21 November 2010

Here are some abbreviations you may find in genealogy records.

Names[edit | edit source]

Jn^o or Joh^es = John
Hy = Henry
Wm = William =Willus
xpher or Xpoferus= Christopher The first two letters are not really X and p but the greek letter X(Ch) and p (r) Xp was a customary abbreviation for Christ. In "Xmas" the second letter has been dropped.
Jas = James
Geo = George

Rici=of Richard
Benj = Benjamin

Dates[edit | edit source]

"ber" = sometimes added to a number to indicate a month of the year. In 1752 two changes were made to the English Calendar The first was from the Julian to the Gregorian Calendar the second of great significance to genealogists was the commencement of the year was changed from the old Julian reckoning of 25 March. Under the Julian reckoning months were abbreviated thus:

7ber=September

8ber=October

9ber=November

10ber=December

Under the Calendar year with the Gregorian reckoning the months of January, February and March became the intial months of the year not the final months. As the new system is readily found in use prior to the formal introduction great care should be taken when transcribing documents of the pre 1752 period between 1 January and 24 March. The conventional English transcription procedure is to use both Old and New Reckonings; for example by 1 February 1626 as 1 February 1626/7. Modern computer four digit field entries will encounter difficulty with this convention and it is necessary to consider conversion of year entry to determine correct year
i, ii, iii, iv, v, vi, vii, viii, ix, x = 1 to 10
xx, xxx = 20 & 30
i or j = primo; on the first

Latin[edit | edit source]

viz. = videlicet; namely

cum cont.= with a sermon

dom.=dominus (-a); lord or sir (lady or dame)

fil.=filius (-a)= son (daughter)

fil.pop= filius(-a) populi or filius (a) vulgi; bastard son or daughter of a harlot

in com.=in comitatu; in the county (of)
libre = book

lic.=per licentiam;by licence

nupt.=nupti fuerunt; were married

ob. = obit; died
s.p. = sine prole; without offspring

May also refer in parish chest materials to Smoke-penny= one of the dues once payable at Eastertime to the incumbent of a parish by his parishioners, in this case from the occupier of a house with a fireplace.

sep.= sepuliebatur or sepultus(-a) erat; was buried

par.=parochie; of the parish of...
q. = quarto; oversize book

vid.=viduus (-a) widower (widow)

Terms[edit | edit source]

wf/o = wife of
admon or admin = letters of administration
col. = colored

kno. wedding= Knobstick wedding; the wedding of a pregnant single woman to the putative father-to-be, under pressure from the parish vestry. Churchwardens attended to see that the ceremony was performed, the name is derived from their staves of office.
w.d. = will dated
twp = township
nat. = natus; birth; son; offspring
ms. = manuscript

Terr.Tent.=Terre Tenant the lord of a manor or freeholder in actual occupation of the land, as distinct from his superior lord.
X = a mark made by a person instead of a signature; Christ; Christian
OED = Oxford English Dictionary

Websites[edit | edit source]

@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 == Names  ==
-{{main| Abbreviations Lists for Personal Names (English)}}
-Jn<sup>o</sup> or Joh<sup>es</sup> = John<br>Hy = Henry<br>Wm = William =Willus <br>xpher  or Xpoferus= Christopher The first two letters are not really X and p but the greek letter X(Ch) and p (r) Xp was a customary abbreviation for Christ. In "Xmas" the second letter has been dropped.<br>Jas = James
+Jn<sup>o</sup> or Joh<sup>es</sup> = John<br>Hy = Henry<br>Wm = William =Willus <br>xpher&nbsp; or Xpoferus= Christopher The first two letters are not really X and p but the greek letter X(Ch) and p (r) Xp was a customary abbreviation for Christ. In "Xmas" the second letter has been dropped.<br>Jas = James<br>Geo = George
-<br>Jos = Joseph<br>Geo = George
-<br>Rici=of Richard<br>Benj = Benjamin <br><br>
+Rici=of Richard<br>Benj = Benjamin <br><br>
 == Dates  ==
-{{main|Julian and Gregorian Calendars}}
+"ber" = sometimes added to a number to indicate a month of the year. In 1752 two changes were made to the English Calendar The first was from the Julian to the Gregorian Calendar the second of great significance to genealogists was the commencement of the year was changed from the old Julian reckoning of 25 March. Under the Julian reckoning months were abbreviated thus:
-"ber" = sometimes added to a number to indicate a month of the year. In 1752, two changes were made to the English Calendar. The first was from the Julian to the Gregorian Calendar. The second, of great significance to genealogists, was that the commencement of the year was changed from the old Julian reckoning of 25 March. Under the Julian reckoning, months were abbreviated thus:
-ber=September
-ber=October
+ber=September
-ber=November
+ber=October
-ber=December
+ber=November
-Under the calendar year with the Gregorian reckoning, the months of January, February and March became the initial months of the year, not the final months. As the new system is readily found in use prior to the formal introduction, great care should be taken when transcribing documents of the pre-1752 period between 1 January and 24 March. The conventional English transcription procedure is to use both Old and New Reckonings; for example, the Old Style of 1 February 1626 would be written as 1 February 1626/7 in the New Style. Modern computer four-digit field entries will encounter difficulty with this convention, and it is necessary to consider conversion of year entry to determine correct year.
+ber=December
-<br>i, ii, iii, iv, v, vi, vii, viii, ix, x = 1 to 10<br>xx, xxx = 20 &amp; 30<br>i or j = primo; on the first
+Under the Calendar year with the Gregorian reckoning the months of January, February and March became the intial months of the year not the final months. As the new system is readily found in use prior to the formal introduction great care should be taken when transcribing documents of the pre 1752 period between 1 January and 24 March. The conventional English transcription procedure is to use both Old and New Reckonings; for example by 1 February 1626 as 1 February 1626/7. Modern computer four digit field entries will encounter difficulty with this convention and it is necessary to consider conversion of year entry to determine correct year<br>i, ii, iii, iv, v, vi, vii, viii, ix, x = 1 to 10<br>xx, xxx = 20 &amp; 30<br>i or j = primo; on the first
 == Latin  ==
 viz. = videlicet; namely
 cum cont.= with a sermon
 dom.=dominus (-a); lord or sir (lady or dame)
 fil.=filius (-a)= son (daughter)
 fil.pop= filius(-a) populi or filius (a) vulgi; bastard son or daughter of a harlot
 in com.=in comitatu; in the county (of)<br>libre = book
 lic.=per licentiam;by licence
 nupt.=nupti fuerunt; were married
 ob. = obit; died<br>s.p. = sine prole; without offspring
 May also refer in parish chest materials to Smoke-penny= one of the dues once payable at Eastertime to the incumbent of a parish by his parishioners, in this case from the occupier of a house with a fireplace.
 sep.= sepuliebatur or sepultus(-a) erat; was buried
 par.=parochie; of the parish of...<br>q. = quarto; oversize book
 vid.=viduus (-a) widower (widow)
-See also Wiki articles:
-*[[Genealogical Abbreviations and Latin Terms A to F - International Institute|Genealogical Abbreviations and Latin Terms A to F]]
-*[[Genealogical Abbreviations and Latin Terms G to Mgr - International Institute|Genealogical Abbreviations and Latin Terms G to Mgr]]
-*[[Genealogical Abbreviations and Latin Terms MI to Rev - International Institute|Genealogical Abbreviations and Latin Terms MI to Rev]]
-*[[Genealogical Abbreviations and Latin Terms Rev to Z - International Institute|Genealogical Abbreviations and Latin Terms Rev to Z]]
 == Terms  ==
 wf/o = wife of<br>admon or admin = letters of administration<br>col. = colored
 kno. wedding= Knobstick wedding; the wedding of a pregnant single woman to the putative father-to-be, under pressure from the parish vestry. Churchwardens attended to see that the ceremony was performed, the name is derived from their staves of office.<br>w.d. = will dated<br>twp = township<br>nat. = natus; birth; son; offspring<br>ms. = manuscript
 Terr.Tent.=Terre Tenant the lord of a manor or freeholder in actual occupation of the land, as distinct from his superior lord.<br>X = a mark made by a person instead of a signature; Christ; Christian<br>OED = Oxford English Dictionary
-See also Wiki articles:
-*[[Genealogical Abbreviations and Latin Terms A to F - International Institute|Genealogical Abbreviations and Latin Terms A to F]]
-*[[Genealogical Abbreviations and Latin Terms G to Mgr - International Institute|Genealogical Abbreviations and Latin Terms G to Mgr]]
-*[[Genealogical Abbreviations and Latin Terms MI to Rev - International Institute|Genealogical Abbreviations and Latin Terms MI to Rev]]
-*[[Genealogical Abbreviations and Latin Terms Rev to Z - International Institute|Genealogical Abbreviations and Latin Terms Rev to Z]]
 == Websites  ==
-*[https://www.geni.com/projects/Abbreviations-Acronyms-for-Genealogy-The-Accepted/3096 Abbreviations & Acronyms for Genealogy]
+*[http://www.rootsweb.com/~rigenweb/abbrev.html Genealogy Abbreviations]
-*[https://homepages.rootsweb.com/~sam/abbr.html Genealogical Abbreviations] at Rootsweb
+*[http://www.oz.net/~markhow/acronym-uk.htm UK Genealogy - Common Acronyms and Jargon]
+*[http://www.british-genealogy.com/resources/registers/registers/latinnames.htm Latin Names in Old Documents]
+*[http://www.british-genealogy.com/resources/registers/registers/readnumbers.htm#numbers Numbers and Dates]
-[[Category:Encyclopedias_and_Dictionaries]] [[Category:Language and Handwriting]][[Category:Word List]] [[Category:Language and Handwriting]] [[Category:Language and Handwriting]] [[Category:Naming Customs]] [[Category:Naming Customs]][[Category:Abbreviations]]
+[[Category:Encyclopedias_and_Dictionaries]] [[Category:Language_and_Languages]] [[Category:Names_Personal]]