Dear List, I am passing this on because of its value to all genealogists. Sue McN. >Resent-Sender: KYGREENU-L-request@rootsweb.com > >This was forward by "Jean Dalrymple" to another list that I belong to and >thought that the list might enjoy it!! > >>The following is paraphrased from the National >>Genealogical Society's "American Genealogy: A Basic Course": >>In-Laws: terms like father-in-law, mother-in-law, etc. had the same meaning >>as they do today, which is a kinship by marriage. However, they may also >>have had different meanings. Father-in-law could refer to a step-father, >>son-in-law to a stepchild, etc. >>Cousin: The term "cousin" was once used generally to indicate almost ANY >>DEGREE OF RELATIONSHIP BY BLOOD OR MARRIAGE OUTSIDE THE IMMEDIATE FAMILY. >>VERY EARLY IN AMERICAN HISTORY THE TERM WAS USED TO REFER TO NEPHEW OR >>NIECE. When you see the word cousin used in early records, you will need to >>do more research to clarify the relationship between the two people. >>Nephew: The terms nephew and niece were not in common use in the colonies >>until before the mid-eighteenth century (i.e. 1750's). The term cousin was >>used to denote this relationship. In rare instances, the term "nephew" was >>used to mean grandson or granddaughter because the word comes from the >>Latin term for "grandson" or "nepos." During this early period, "nephew" >>was used for males and females. >>Brother: This term was used very generally and in addition to its obvious >>meaning, could denote a brother-in-law, a husband of a sister-in-law, a >>half-brother, a stepbrother, or even a colleague within the church. >>"My now wife." This term is sometimes found in a will and may, as is >>often assumed, indicate the testator had a former wife, but this is not >>necessarily so unless he is referring to children by a first wife and >>children by his current or "now" wife. When the term is used WITHOUT >>reference to children, it more usually means the testator intends the >>bequest for his current wife and not any subsequent he may have. >>Senior and Junior: Terms to denote two men with the same in the same >>community, regardless of any relationship. This could be father and son, >>Uncle and nephew, or two men not related at all. Upon the death of the >>"Senior" the junior could be dropped or if another, younger person had the >>same name, Junior became Senior, etc. >>Natural Son or Natural Daughter: indicates a blood relationship as >>distinguished from a relationship by marriage or adoption. Sometimes it >>could denote an illegitimate child, though it was more common to refer >>to such as "my base son" or "my bastard son". In some instances, "my >>natural child" may indicate children by a first wife as opposed to >>children >>by a current wife. >> >>Aliases: This term could mean one of several things. An orphan may have >>used his stepfather's surname in addition to his own. A married man may >>have taken the surname of his wealthy father-in-law. One son in a family >>may have taken his mother's maiden name, especially when inheriting property >>from her family. One branch of the family may have used an alias to >>distinguish it from other branches in the area where the name was common. A >>person may have used an alias to distinguish himself from several uncles and >>cousins with the same name. This problem was not unusual in large families >>before the use of middle names adopted. In some cases, an alias indicated >>illegitimacy. Because of all the possible reasons for the use of an alias, >>do not assume the reason until you have done further research. >>Given Names: Although you cannot count on it, it was common for the two >>eldest sons to be named for their grandfathers and two eldest daughters to >>be named for their grandmothers. Don't be confused by finding two children >>with the same given name in the same family. The name of a deceased child >>may have been given to a subsequent child. IN GERMAN ANCESTRY it was common >>for ALL sons to have the first name Johann and all daughters to have the >>first name Anna or Maria. The children were known by their second names. >> >Betty Lou Riley In Southern OH, USA >List Owner for: OHAdams-L, KYGreenu-L, KYLewis-L, and McGovney-L >Instructions at: <http://www.zoomnet.net/~chipmunk/SurnamesMail.html> >CC:/CCA:KY Greenup Co. CCA:KY Lewis Co. Boards Admin.for Adams Co.,OH > > >==== KYGREENU Mailing List ==== >Help Instructions at: http://www.zoomnet.net/~chipmunk/SurnamesMail.html >or contact Betty at: chipmunk@zoomnet.net >Archives: http://searches.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/listsearch.pl?surname=KYGreenu >Your gracious donations to RootsWeb makes this all possible!! >Rootsweb: http://www.rootsweb.com/ >