Page 20 - Gen Mag Online November 2020

20

Some Descendants of

Roger Bigod ( abt 1030 - 1107)

FAMILY HISTORY TERMINOLOGY

When starting out researching your family history, one of the things that can and often does cause
confusion is the terminology used. The further back in time you go, when Latin is used in documents,
can create even more confusion.

So, to help you, below is a short list of the jargon you may come across. The list is not comprehensive
but should help get you over the basics. Some words and phrases will of course be self explanatory.
Others however may not be.

Birth, Marriage, Death Certificate - these are self explanatory but are a vital resource in helping
you get back several generations. In England & Wales certification started on the 1 July 1837. It
st
was later in other parts of the British Isles.

Census - again this is self explanatory. The census was started in 1801 but only the 1841 census
onwards has any genealogical value. The 1831 may be useful in finding the head of a household
and an address but beyond that it is useless.

Trade Directories - Trade directories were created to help the growing army of travelling salesmen.
They aren’t genealogical sources directly, but they were published roughly every year, so can help
pin point a street where your ancestor lived and any businesses they ran. Directories were often out
of date; people also moved more regularly than we think. But those around the census year are very
helpful when other sources such as a birth certificate fail to pin down a family. Not everyone is