MOTHER'S DAY QUIZ In honor of our mothers, here's a little quiz regarding some terms about women you may find in your genealogical research. 1. What is a woman called who is named in a will to distribute the estate? (a) executrix (b) exheres (c) estafette 2. Your great-grandmother was a mantua maker -- should you put that in the family history? (a) no (b) yes (c) depends on how sensitive your relatives are about this occupation 3. What is the term for a woman whose husband deserted her, who had illegitimate children, or was a discarded common-law wife? (a) relict (b) consort (c) grass widow 4. What is the genealogical term for a lineage that has no male heirs to carry on the surname? (a) de bono et malo (b) daughtered out (c) decessit sine parole 5. While reading court records you find the term "de ventre inspiciendo" used regarding something they did to your great-great-grandmother. What does that mean? (a) the court inspected her handling of the estate of her late husband (b) examined her abdomen to determine if she was pregnant (c) examined her to see if she was mentally competent 6. If you are involved in matrilineal research, what are you really doing? (a) tracing your maternal line: i.e., daughter, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, etc. (b) tracing all of your mother's ancestors (c) tracing all the females in each line. 7. The condition or state of a married woman is legally referred to as: (a) cursetor (b) non compos mentis (c) coverture 8. In America between 1804 and 1906 if the husband had filed his declaration of intention what did his widow have to do to become a U.S. citizen? (a) take the oath of allegiance (b) file a petition (c) file a declaration of intention 9. Which U.S. state is known as the "Mother of Presidents" and why? (a) Massachusetts (b) North Carolina (c) Virginia 10. In what year did Mother's Day become recognized by the U.S. government as an annual holiday? (a) 1899 (b) 1914 (c) 1796. ANSWERS TO MOTHER'S DAY QUIZ 1. (a) executrix. Exheres means disinherited and an estafette (French) is a courier who rides a horse. 2. (b) Yes. Mantua maker refers to one who practices the art of fashionable dressmaking which required an apprenticeship. 3. (c) grass widow. 4. (b) daughtered out. De bono et malo means "of good and evil" and decessit sine parole (often abbreviated as d.s.p.) is the Latin for "died without issue." 5. (b) A de ventre inspiciendo was a writ which was sometimes issued by a presumptive heir-at-law which required the sheriff to summon a jury of matrons and a jury of 12 men to inquire if the widow was pregnant. The matrons examined her and reported to the male jury who returned the decision to the court of chancery. 6. (a) tracing your maternal line: i.e., daughter, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, etc. 7. (c) coverture. A cursetor was a vagabond or vagrant and non compos mentis means not of sound mind or in a state of lunacy. 8. (a) take the oath of allegiance. 9. (c) Virginia (because seven of America's first 12 presidents were Virginians). 10. (b) 1914. Congress proposed that Mother's Day be celebrated the second Sunday in the month of May. It came about at the request of Miss Anna Jarvis, who wished to honor the memory of her mother who died May 10, 1905. She had marked her mother's passing yearly by wearing a white carnation and organizing special prayer sessions at Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church in her hometown of Grafton, West Virginia.