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domicile - a house, home or place or residence

donatio - (Latin) a gift or donation

donation land - land granted to those serving military duty for a specified length of time, divided into specified amounts.  Notable donation land tracks were in Indiana and Texas

donee - a person who receives land as a result estate tail (see) Estate tail

donor - the person who gives land to another in tail.  See Estate tail

doomage - assessment of tax payable by a person who has made no tax return or report of possessions

Doomsday Book - see Domesday Book

dos - (Spanish) two

double Dutch - a custom of each person paying for his own, twice over

dough-boy - a boiled flour dumpling; a U.S. infantry soldier

douze - (French) twelve

dowager - a wealthy widow as a result of money or property left by her deceased husband

dower - the land and tenements to which a widow has claim, during her lifetime, for the support of herself and children.  This was usually equal to one-third of the lands owned by her husband

dower chest - a wooden chest in which a girl of marriageable age would accumulate linens and other goods she hoped to use when married

dower division - the document by which a widow's dower is assigned to her; see dower

dower right - see dower

dowery - that which a bride brings to her husband at time of marriage, to be used by him as long as the marriage is maintained

doxy, doxies - a paramour, lover, sweetheart; sometimes used as a contemptous term or to refer to a prostitute

draftee - one who serves compulsory enlistment in military forces

dragoons - mounted infantry troops

dram - a measure by weight, 1/8 of a fluid ounce, or a small drought of spirits

dramshop - a liquor shop, or tavern

draper - originally a maker of woolen cloth, later of any type of cloth; one who made clothes to order, a tailor

draw knife - a tool consisting of a blade with a handle at each end, for shaving or scraping a surface

draw-latch - a door latch by which a rod is drawn up, turned, and pulled back, thus releasing the catch

draw-string - the fastening of a bag or pliable container by the pulling of the string threaded around the opening

dray - a sled-like vehicle used for transporting goods; without wheels

drayage - the fee or cost of transporting goods by means of a dray

drayhorse - a large and powerful horse used in pulling a dray

drayman - a man who drives a dray, particularly with reference to a dray used in a brewery

drei - (German) three

dreibig - (German) thirty

dreizehn - (German) thirteen

dropsy - a symptom of disease in which water is retained in the body's tissues

drover - one who drives herds of cattle or sheep to market; also a dealer in cattle

drummer - a commercial traveling salesman

d.s. - abbreviation for "died single"

Duchess - the wife or widow of a Duke, or a woman holding a Duchy in her own right.  Also a slang expression for a woman of imposing appearance

Duchy - the territory ruled by a Duke or a Duchess

ducking stool - an apparatus used in the punishment of those who had violated the law or custom of the locality, by which the wrongdoer could be ducked into the water of a pond or pool

due bill - a document signed by one who acknowledges a debt, which included the date on which he would pay it

dugout - a canoe made from a hollowed-out log.  Also a hollowed-out side of a hill used as temporary living quarters

Duke - a hereditary title of nobility, ranking just below a prince, who rules a Duchy or Dukedom

dung - animal manure

dungaree - a coarse type of calico cloth

Dunkard - see Brethren

dunked - a method of baptism in which the head or the entire body was immersed in water

Dutch - properly a term for the people of the Netherlands, or Holland, but used in many localities to refer to people of German origin

Dutch treat - partaking of food in which one is expected to pay for his own

duty - a payment due and enforced by law, as a customs duty or tax on imported or exported goods

D.V.W. - abbreviation for Doctor of Veterinary Medicine

d.y. - abbreviation for "died young"

dysentery - griping pains, with mucous and bloody evacuations as a result of an inflammation of the mucus membranes and glands of the large intestine

Earl - a title of nobility ranking above that of viscount and below that of marquis, similar to a count

ear mark - the marking of an animal's ear, by cutting out a plug or making a distinguishing slit, to identify ownership

easement - the right which an adjacent property owner has to use land which he does not own, usually purposes of egress or ingress to his own land, or for a waterway; the right held by the public to use privately owned land such as for use by a public utility or alleyway

eccentric - one who is different from what is customary

ecclesiastical - matters concerning the church or the clergy

ecumenical - worldwide in extent, usually used in reference to religious councils

effects - personal property of any kind

egg draught - a drink made of eggs and milk, usually for those ill

eggnog - a drink in which eggs are stirred in hot alcoholic beverages

eglise - (French) church

eins - (German) one

einundzwanzig - (German) twenty-one

elder - an older person due respect; a Presbyterian lay officer who assists the minister in church affairs

election - the act of choosing an officer or a person to fill a position usually by vote

eltern - (German) parents

elf - (German) eleven

embargo - an order prohibiting a country's ships from sailing, sometimes limited to those sailing to a particular country; a suspension of commerce

emigrant - one who leaves his own country to settle permanently in another.  An immigrant is one who comes from another country

emigration - the act of leaving one's native country to settle in another on a permanent basis

eminent domain - the process by which a governmental body can purchase land of an individual,  paying what is adjudged to be a reasonable price, without the consent of the landowner, for the good of the public as a whole

emporium - a pompous name for a general store trading in a great variety of goods

encroachment - the act of intruding or usurping upon the rights of another or his property

encumber - to cause an obligation to be placed against the title of another, as a lien on another's property, by legal process

endowed - to give or assure a dowery, or permanent income, as a widow was endowed a portion of her husbands estate

enero - (Spanish) January

enfant - (French) child

engage - to bind by promise or obligation; to meet, as in battle

engagement - a formal agreement to marry

engagement child - a child born less than nine months from the time of marriage or the parents, i.e., conceived during period of engagement and prior to marriage

enlist - to voluntarily join the military forces, usually for a specified period

enlistee - those who have joined a military force voluntarily and of their own volition, usually for a specified period

enlistment paper - the contract by which a person voluntarily enlists in the military service.  Some of these contain information of the enlistee

enlistment period - the specified time for which an enlistee agrees to serve in the military service

ensign - a commissioned navy officer of the lowest rank

entail - to devise land on a number of persons in succession (i.e., "to my son and upon his death, to his son, etc.") preventing any one deviser to be able to dispose of it

entailed estate - property gained by inheritance which cannot be sold or disposed of, but must be reserved for the heir of the next generation

enteritis - inflamation of the small intestines

entity - that which is in existence, real, able to be seen

entry - a filed or record land claim made at an office authorized to accept such claims

enumeration - a count, as in the census enumeration

epilepsy - a disease of the nervous system with symptoms of muscle spasms, foaming at the mouth, and unconsciousness

epoux - (French) husband

equity court - a court based on the general principles of justice, with power to correct or supplement the ordinary law

erisipelas - or erysipelas ( or spelled a wide variety of ways on early medical records) - afebrile disease accompanied by inflammation of the skin; called also St. Anthony's Fire

escheat - the reversion of property to the state when there are no qualified or proven heirs

escrow - a deed, bond, or money placed in the hands of a third party and not to be delivered or released until a condition has been satisfied

escrow money - see escrow

espacioso - (Spanish) wife

esposo - (Spanish) husband

espouse - (French) wife

esquire - a title bestowed by courtesy to those deemed to be a gentleman

est. - abbreviation for estate

Estados Unidos - (Spanish) United States

estate - the sum total of a person's property, including money, and all tangible as well as non-tangible goods.  Sometimes referred to as the sum total of a deceased person's property

estate sale - the sale of a deceased person's property by means of a public auction, by an administrator or executor on behalf of the heirs

estate tail - an estate that does not descend to heirs generally but to heirs of the donee's body, lawful issue, in a direct line as long as an heir has issue

estray books - records of missing livestock, and sometimes slaves, recorded in the court house, i.e., of stock that has "strayed"

estray notice - public announcement by posting or advertising for livestock or slaves that are missing, or strayed

et al - (or etal) "and others"