When tracing your family history there is some basic terminology you will hear. If you have been doing genealogy for a while you’re familiar with this, but if you’re new to genealogy these terms may be foreign to you. I hope this will help you to better familiarize yourself with some of these terms.
Basic Terminology
Ancestor—a forefather; person from whom you’re descended
Ancestry—the lineage of all the ancestors of a person
Collateral Ancestor—two people descended from the same ancestral stock but not in the direct line
Common Ancestor—ancestor shared by any two or more people
Ahnentafel—a table of one’s ancestors
Descendent—a person who descends from another person
Family Group Sheet—a report listing a father, mother and each child in the family
Genealogy—study of family history and descent
Maiden Name—a woman’s last name or surname before marriage
Nee—often used to denote a woman’s maiden name
{ex. Elizabeth Crocket nee Patton=Elizabeth Patton Crockett}
Pedigree—ancestry; bloodline; family tree; lineage
Surname—last name; family name
Which word was new to you?
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