OLD TIME DEFINITIONS

Some old-time definitions that you might have run into during reading old documents, diaries, etc.
Some are rather obscure -

Grange: A social & cultural society for and by farmers.
Granny: an old woman, grandmother or midwife.
Grant: a land grant was issued for military duty by a special Act of Congress
Grantee: Buyer of property
Grantor: Seller of property
Grass widow: An unmarried woman who has had a child.
Grave deed: Document issued by a church or cemetery company to the purchaser of a plot.
Grayback: Confederate soldier - also called a gray coat or gray jacket. Sometimes used to         refer to paper money issued by the Confederacy. Great guns: Canons.
Greenback: Member of a political party after the end of the Civil War who opposed the reduction in the amount of paper money in circulation at that time. Also refers to actual money.
Green sickness: Anemia.
Grenadier: soldier who threw grenades.
Grondy: Grandmother.
Groop: Cattle pen.
Groove: A mine or mine shaft.
Ground rent: Fee charged for farm land when it was rented to a tenant.
Growblor: digger.
Guardian: One appointed by the court to oversee the affairs of a minor. Those over age 14 or above were sometimes allowed to pick their own guardian. Mothers were not always considered fit to be the child's guardian but a father was.
Guardian ad litem: "for the term of" - appointed by court to handle one particular court action.
1/h, 2/h, etc: First husband, 2nd husband, etc.
Habeas Corpus: "That you have the body". Legal document ordering jailers to produce a prisoner in their custody.
Habere Facias Prossessionem: Writ of ejectment from land, restoring the land to the rightful          owner. Also shown as het fa.
Hack: a pick axe or hoe.
Hackle: Used to comb flax or hemp before spinning.
Hackle board: Tool used by a rope maker.
Half-baptized: Death bed baptism.
Half-blood: only one parent in common.
Half-dime: First coin minted in the USA in 1792.
Half-marrow: Spouse.
Half mourning: The period of time after the full mourning period of one year is over. The black attire was replaced by lighter pastels and lavenders.
Half-named: Privately baptized.
Half orphan: Only one parent is dead.
Hallucination: Delirium.
Handbarrow: Wheelbarrow - no wheel, pulled by two people.
Hand cannon: musket
Hand woman: Midwife
Hanby: dependent.
Hanging month: November

Hard Shell: Member of either a political party or a strict church.
Hard tack: Cracker eaten by troops.
Hardware: Liquor, weapons or tools
Harman-beck: A local constable.
Harrow: heavy beams fastened together in rectangular or triangular shape with 20-40 iron teeth or tines. Pulled over the ground to break up the soil.
Harvest lady: 2nd reaper in a row; first reaper was called the harvest lord.
Hashmark: Number of stripes on a slave's back or the number of stripes on an enlisted man's sleeve.
Hawk: to sell goods as a peddler or to spread rumors.
Hay house: hayloft.
Head money: poll tax.
Headright: public land which was given to the head of the family.
Headsman: Executioner, leader or commander.
Headswoman: Midwife.
Hedare: one who beheads others.
Hedgepriest: an uneducated minister.
Heir apparent: Individual most likely to receive an estate.
Heir-at-law: Normally the eldest son.
Heirs & Assigns: absolute ownership of land or property granted.
Hematemesis: vomiting blood.
Henter: thief
Hepatitis: liver inflammation.
Hereditaments: all property that can be inherited.
Heres esse alicul: naming of a person to make him one's heir.
Hic: here.
Hic lacet: "here lies ____ (name)
Hic sepulture: "here is buried ___ (name).
Hicksite Quakers: a branch of Quakers who believed women cannot participate in any church service.
High Church: Normally an Anglican (Church of England) church whose services are very      formal.
High Court: Superior court, Supreme Court.
Highwayman: a robber, usually mounted.
High Yellow: a black person whose skin is light.
Hip out: osteomyelitis
H L S: Hic Loco Situs - laid in this place.

Hoc mense: This month
Hogshead: Barrel containing 60-140 gallons of liquid or 750-1200 pounds of tobacco.
Holographic will: One thought to be written in the handwriting of the one who wrote it.
Home lot: The piece or plot of land where a home is situated.
Homestead: Where the family lives - can include house, barns & other buildings.
Homestead Act of 1862: Law passed by Congress which gave a settler 160 acres of land after he
had planted and cultivated it for 5 years. He was then made exempt from cash payment.
Hora: Hour
Horcap: Bastard
Horse & foot: Calvary and infantry.
Horse Artillery: Part of the artillery which serves in cooperation with calvary units - has cannoners on horseback.
Horse leech: Vet for horses.
Hot evil: Fever
Hougher: One who publicly whipped criminals or executed them.
Household: All people living in one house whether they were related or not.
HRIP: Hic Requiescit in Pace - here rests in peace.
Huckster: A peddler who traveled the streets. Also called badgers
Hunk: A mean older man of miser.
Hydrothorax: Excess fluid in the chest cavity.
Icterus: Jaundice
Idlemen: Gentlemen
Ignoramus: When less than 12 members of a jury agree; case was dismissed & party freed.
Ignota/ignotus: Unknown
Ileus: An intestinal obstruction - colic.
Impari: To settle a case in peace or get a delay.
Impedigo: Inflammation of the skin, normally found in children.
Impressment: Forced service in a battle.
Imprimis: "In the first place" - found mainly in wills
Improved: Where a home had been built or crops planted.
In articula mortis: Near the point of death.
In chancery, upon petition: A case in chancery court has received a petition relating to the case.
Incognitus: Unknown
Incompetent: One who is unable to handle his own affairs.
Indebitatus: Indebted.
Indentured servant: One who was unable to pay his own fare to America and worked out the cost
of the trip to someone. The Captain "sold" him to another monied passenger, the individual      had to serve this individual for a given amount of years.
Independent Planter: One who farmed his own land with only help from the family.
Indian Wars: 1838-1891 when Indians were pushed to the western part of the US.
Indictment: Written notice to the court stating a grand jury has found reason to bring a criminal matter to court.
Indigent: Pauper
Ind. W. C.: Indian Wars Widow's Certificate
In esse: Alive. Indicated sometimes when a child is not named or a child conceived but not born.
In extremis: "In hs last moments".
Infair: Days following a wedding where the party continued.
Infany: Disgraced
Infans: Child

Madstone: a poultice composed of natural or man-made materials which has been soaked in warm sweet milk or water. Very well know; it was believed to cure rabies when applied to the site of the wound. In this area of the state, a madstone was taken from the body of a deer; if the bite was not poisonous, the stone would fall off. If the wound
was poisonous, the stone would adhere. Madstones were passed from generation to generation.
Magistrate: government official, non-military, allowed to issue arrest warrants.
Mail coach: a special wagon used by the post office, built for speed; carried 3 passengers.
Maisterman: husband, governor or ruler.
Mala fide: in bad faith; a person attempting to deceive.
Mandamus: special order which demanded an individual who had signed a contact to do what he had been ordered to do.
Mania: insanity.
Mango: a child who was 7/8ths black.
Mania puerperium: postpartum blues.
Manufactory: factory
Manumission: freeing of a slave
Marasmus: wasting away of the body - also called emaciation
March stone: a stone used to mark a boundary.
Mariti: marriage - also shown maritus.
Marker: surveyor's assistant who marked the lines.
Marriage bond: money which was promised, normally by the parent or close relative. Showed there was no legal or moral reason why the couple couldn't marry. If the marriage was not conducted, the money was paid.
Marriage certificate: document completed by the minister showing the marriage took place.
Marriage contract: Normally found when one or both of the parties had been married previously,they sought to protect their holdings from the previous marriage.
Marriage contrary to discipline: A Quaker term implying the individuals had been married in a civil ceremony
Marriage license: issued by the county who gave consent for the marriage to take place.
Marriage register: Book listing all the marriages issued, kept in county clerk's office.
Marriage return: Completed by the minister showing the names & dates of the marriage.
Marriage settlement: document completed by the couple if necessary before marriage which could handle things such as inheritances, raising of children from a previous marriage - a pre-nuptial agreement.
Mason: one who shaped or laid bricks, stones, etc.
Masonic lodge: fraternal organization.
Master-in-Chancery: assistant judge who heard various cases & made recommendation to the judge.
Matron: married or mature woman.
Mattock: a digging tool similar to a pick axe.
Maw bound: constipated
McClellan saddle: standard issue saddle in the US Cavalry units.


to be continued - Sandi