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π Helpful Terms
Genealogy vocabulary, in plain English
AhnentafelA numbered list of your ancestors: you are #1, your father #2, your mother #3, and each father is double his child's number. A compact way to record a pedigree.
GEDCOMThe universal file format for family-tree data. It lets you move your whole tree between different programs and websites, so your work is never locked in.
Pedigree ChartA chart showing only your direct ancestors β parents, grandparents, great-grandparents β fanning back in time.
Family Group SheetA form capturing one family unit: a couple and all their children, with birth, marriage, and death details for each.
Direct (Lineal) LineThe people you descend from directly, or who descend from you β your straight line of parents and grandparents.
Collateral LineRelatives outside your direct line β aunts, uncles, cousins, and their families. Researching them often cracks a hard case.
Brick WallAn ancestor you can't get past no matter what you try. Usually broken by researching their siblings and neighbors instead.
FAN Club (Cluster Research)Researching an ancestor's Family, Associates, and Neighbors. The people around them frequently hold the clue their own records don't.
CensusA government count of the population, taken in the U.S. every 10 years since 1790. From 1850 it names every person in a household.
EnumeratorThe census taker who went door to door recording each household by hand.
Enumeration DistrictThe specific area assigned to a single census enumerator β useful for narrowing a search in a big city.
Vital RecordsThe official records of births, marriages, and deaths, kept by state and county governments.
ProbateThe court process of settling a deceased person's estate. Wills and inventories often name the spouse, children, and in-laws.
IntestateDying without a will. The court still creates estate papers that usually list the legal heirs.
BannsA public announcement in church of an intended marriage, read on three Sundays. An early clue that a wedding was coming.
NaturalizationThe legal process of becoming a citizen. Its papers often reveal a birthplace and the exact date of arrival.
ManifestA ship's passenger list, recording immigrants as they arrived at a port such as Ellis Island.
Maiden NameA woman's surname before marriage. Tracing it back is one of the most common genealogical challenges.
NΓ©eFrench for "born," placed before a woman's maiden name β as in "Mary Smith, nΓ©e Jones."
Given Name & SurnameYour given (first) name and your surname (family, or last, name).
PatronymicA surname taken from the father's given name β like Johnson ("John's son"), Ivanovich, or O'Brien.
Centimorgan (cM)The unit that measures how much DNA two people share. More shared centimorgans means a closer relationship.
Autosomal DNAA DNA test covering all your lines back about 5β6 generations. The usual test for finding cousins.
Y-DNAA DNA test following the direct father's-father line and the surname. Only men carry Y-DNA.
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA)A DNA test following the direct mother's-mother line. Both men and women can take it.
Once Removed"Removed" marks a generation gap between cousins. Your first cousin's child is your first cousin once removed.
DescendancyResearch that works forward in time, tracing all the descendants of one ancestor β the opposite of a pedigree.
Primary vs. Secondary SourceA primary source was created at the time of the event (a birth certificate); a secondary one was made later (a birth date recalled on a death record). Primary is stronger.
Transcription & AbstractA transcription copies a record word for word; an abstract summarizes its key facts. Always try to view the original too.
SoundexAn older indexing system that codes surnames by sound, so different spellings of a name group together in a search.
No matching term β try another word.