"The Secret Code of Genealogy: Abbreviations and Acronyms" by George G. Morgan: "Along Those Lines." Have you ever noticed that every profession seems to have its own shorthand? Having worked for IBM at one time, I can tell you that their internal language includes hundreds of acronyms which they use to designate products, services, software, processes, and such. However, we humans seem to delight in using acronyms and abbreviations to simplify communications with one another. Our ancestors were no different than us in this respect. Beyond the simple abbreviations on maps of N, S, E, and W, they used any number of abbreviations in their everyday lives. What's more, these notations were in widespread use, despite the lack of sophisticated communications facilities we enjoy today, namely telephone, radio, television, and the Internet. Evolution, of course, is a constant, and some of the abbreviations and acronyms become obsolete over time. When we discover these outdated occurrences in our research, they can sometimes confound us. In this week's "Along Those Lines . . ." column, I want to explore a few examples and to share some resources to help you decode the acronyms and abbreviations of the past. United States Census Records Few documents present so many questions about abbreviations as census records. On population schedules where relationship is listed, some codes are quite intuitive; others are not so obvious. The same holds true for such columns as occupation and citizenship. Here are some examples for you. Na = Naturalized Al = Alien AI = Aunt-in-Law AIL = Aunt-in-Law (again!) Pa = Papers filed (naturalization) Sm = Stepmother Kip Sperry's book helps with many of the codes that were used. However, let's go to some definitive Web resources to help with these conundrums. Here are some great sites for your use. IPUMS-Census Enumerator Instructions (1850-2000) and its companion page, which includes the Census Questions and Enumeration Forms. Ancestor Search-U.S. Census Abbreviations Table of Census Abbreviations The Story of "The" I recently received an e-mail from a reader who had been studying an old Bible from the 1700s and 1800s that has been in his family for more than 200 years. He was particularly interested in uncovering the meaning of an inconsistently used notation "Y/e" or "ye" that appeared in the entries of births, marriages, and deaths. Because the reader had exhausted other resources, he was asking me if I could help. There are a number of places to check to try and locate the abbreviation in question. The obvious place to start is with a dictionary. However, while dictionaries may provide a good starting point for many searches, you just aren't going to find much in the way of obscure, archaic genealogy terminology. When it comes to searching the Web for such information, there are many choices, but none that specializes in genealogy-related abbreviations and acronyms. One massive reference site is Zeal, and it has an Abbreviations & Acronyms database. There's a lot here, and it's difficult to use for genealogy. However, another place I like to check is a website called Acronym Finder. This site has more than 300,000 acronyms and these sometimes include abbreviations as well. Best of all, though, for genealogical use is a good, old-fashioned printed reference book. However, this is not just any book. This is Kip Sperry's new, revised edition of his excellent reference, Abbreviations & Acronyms: A Guide for Family Historians. The first edition of the book was published in 2000, and the new edition, published in 2003, expands and improves on the original edition. A search in Kip's book for "ye" gives me what I need. The "y/e" or "ye" we're discussing is, in fact, an abbreviation used to indicate the word "ye" which was in common use at the time to indicate the word "the." The term "ye" might be used to indicate "the" as the phrase, "ye olde tavern" (the old tavern) where many of our ancestors doubtless spent many hours. It also might be used to indicate "you" or "your" as in the phrase, "God rest ye merry gentlemen." Sperry's book does not just contain the obscure, outdated, and antiquated terms and "secret codes" of our ancestors. He includes contemporarily used terms we might encounter, along with symbols and measurement notations. I've had my copy of the book for less than a month and already it shows evidence of frequent use. Summary Many documents contain their own special code, a combination of jargon, abbreviations, acronyms, and symbolic notations. As researchers, part of our investigative process involves learning about the time period, the law, the specific profession or circumstances which caused the written material we are examining to be created, and the language or idiom used at the time. That means studying history and delving into archives to expand our understanding. By doing so, we gain an even deeper understanding of our ancestors' lives and times. And doesn't that add to the enjoyment? Happy Hunting, George