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et uxor - (or "et ux") a Latin term meaning "and wife", found in indexes primarily

evangelical - the religious belief of Protestants that salvation is in the faith of atonement by death of Christ and not in salvation by doing good

evidence - an object or fact which is ground for belief to prove or disprove any conclusion

ewe - a female sheep

exec. - abbreviation for executor

execute - to preform, or go through the formalities necessary for completion; the infliction of capital punishment (death) as a result of a judicial decision

execution - the act of executing, of performing, or of completing.  The execution of a will would be either the making of the will, by the testator, or the administering of the will by the person (executor) named to do so.  The execution of a deed would be the signing of such, and delivery; the transfer under a deed is effective upon delivery, not signing

executor - a person named in the will of a testator charged with carrying out the provisions of a will

executor deed - sale of property or transfer by deed executed by the administrator or executor of an estate in carrying out the legal provisions or administration.  Deed is executed by such administrator or executor as such, and indexed in his name

executress - (or executrix) a female named in a will to carry out the provisions; female executor

executrix - see executress

exempt - to grant freedom from or exception to a person from a liability to which others are subject; a person may be exempt from paying taxes due to age, or be exempt from military service due to physical disabilities, dependants, or other reasons, as examples

ex officio - discharge of duty by virtue of one's office or position

extravasated blood - rupture of blood vessel

f. - abbreviation for father

fainting couch - a couch without arm rests, and a gently reclining back so named for the practice of use by ladies when they swooned of felt faint. Tight bodice stays caused this condition generally

falling sickness - usually epilepsy

fallow - land not used for planting at least for one season

family association - a group of persons researching the same surname, loosely associated for the benefits of exchange of information and publications

family bible - a bible owned by an ancestor in which had been recorded the birth, death and marriage records of various members of the family records of various members of the family, sometimes of several generations

family chart - a sheet in chart form listing several successive generations of descent, and with spaces for various types of information, usually birth, death, place of birth and death, marriage date and place, spouses and children

family group record - see family chart: a group record is generally limited to one immediate family, i.e., husband, wife and children, and the information of such

family schedule - the schedule used in 1890 by the census takers in obtaining the necessary information

family tree - a genealogical history of one's ancestors, so called due to the proliferation of ancestors the nearer one got to the present, or top, as the branches of a tree

farmed out - land which had been used successively for the same crop until the mineral content was exhausted; also, the practice of putting wards or prisoners out to work on a farm or other places

farmer - one who tills the soil as a means of livihood; in general, one who does any of the various types of farming, such as dairying, raising of cattle, etc. as a livihood; one who farms

farthing - a coin equal to one-fourth of a penny

F.A.S.C. - abbreviation for Fellow of the American Society of Genealogists; membership is by invitation only

father-in-law - the father of one's husband or wife.  At times has been used for stepfather which is incorrect usage

fathom - a measure of length, of the outstretched arms, six feet, now used principally for determining the depth of water

fealty - the obligation or the recognition of such, by taking an oath on a book, of fidelity on the part of a feudal tenant to his landlord

feather bed - a bed stuffed with feathers usually thick and very soft

febrero - (Spanish) February

Februar - (German) February

Federalist - a conservative obsolete political party favoring a strong centralized government, encouragement of industries, attention to needs of great merchants and landowners, and establishment of well-ordered society

fee simple - a potentially everlasting land estate, total ownership, in which the owner can do with the land as he chooses

fee tail - see estate tail

Fellow of the American Society of Genealogists - a member of an organization of dedicated genealogists, membership of which is by invitation only

felon - a vile or a wicked person or one who has committed a felony

felony - any of a class of crimes regarded as more serious than misdemeanors

femenio - (Spanish) female

feminin - (French) female

femme fatale - a lady who by her dress and actions is deemed to be provocative of male attentions

fence viewer - a persons designated to periodically inspect a farmer's fence to make sure it was in good repair to prevent the straying of his livestock onto the road

ferry - a place where boats pass over a river to transport passengers and goods for a fee

ferry - boat - the boat used as a ferry, usually a raft -like boat pulled across various means

ferryman - the person in charge of operating the ferry

feudal system - the holding of land by a lord who gave protection and use of land in return for personal service and dues

fevrier - (French) February

fiduciary - a person or trustee who holds something given in trust

fief - originally, land held under feudal law on condition of rendering service to the lord; something over which one has rights.  Seldom found except in colonial records

fille - (French) daughter

fils - (French) son

Fincastle County - a Virginia county occupying what is now Kentucky

Firelands - a tract of land in northeastern Ohio reserved by Connecticut for its own settlers when it ceded its western lands in 1786; Connecticut gave land called "fire lands" to its citizens who were burned out in the Revolution in 1792

fixtures - goods attached to a house or lands and considered an integral part of it in a sale

flatboat - large flat boats of no certain design, some with structures built on them, used in the transportation of people and goods on inland waters

Flathead - a lawless man subject to the bands of men formed in frontier settlements to uphold law and justice

flatiron - an iron with a flat-face for ironing clothes; required external heating

flax - a plant from whose seed linseed oil is obtained, and the fibre from which a candle or lamp wick is made.  Also a linen-like cotton is woven from the fibres

flax wheel - a small type of spinning wheel with which the fibres of flax are woven into a thread

flux - an unusually copious flowing of a liquid from the bowels or another organ

Flying Camp - a military group of encampment moved rapidly from place to place as the need may arise; notable is Maryland's Flying Camp regiment in the Revolutionary War

fodder - hay, straw and other dried food for cattle for wintertime feeding

folio - a leaf in a book, usually numbered by the leaf rather than the page thus one leaf having two sides; some official record books of particularly the early counties are thus known.  Also a book size of 13" tall or taller; the elephant folio is 23", atlas folio 25" tall.  When reference is to book size, folio is usually abbreviated F. or Fo

foolscap - a size of paper for printing 13 ½" x 17"

footbridge - a narrow short bridge made of logs or crude planks and of a width and strength capable of holding only a man on foot. Also, footlog

foot-scraper - a heavy small sheet of iron attached usually to edge of a porch or step, on which a person could scrap off mud from the shoe

foot-warmer - a small container, some oval in shape and about 15" long, in which hot coals could be placed, to serve the purpose of placing the feet on its surface to warm them

forage - to collect food from the countryside, by plunder, as by a force of military invading an area

Forbes Road - a road constructed about 1780 between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia

ford - a shallow place in a river or stream where a man can cross by wading; the act of so crossing

foreclosure - the act of seizing a property of others upon their failure to make payment of money due, said property having pledged as security

forty - as in "back forty", referring to a forty acre track or section of land some distance from the dwelling

foster child - a child of another family, a nursling, reared by a guardian

fowling piece - a light gun for shooting wild fowl

fracture - a slogan, certificate, or other document of fancy handwriting, illuminated with drawings pertinent, of pen and ink; included marriage and baptismal certificates, and decorative pieces for the home

Franklin - a temporary state organized in 1784 in the western lands of North Carolina, now eastern Tennessee; dissolved early in 1788

frau - (German) wife

free from restraint - the term used to indicate that a testator was not under pressure or force when a will was made; that the testator was not forced or induced to sign a fraudulent will which he believed to be another, or deceived as to the contents

free state - a term used to refer to a state before the Civil War where slavery was not condoned

freebooter - a pirate or one who goes about in search of plunder

freeborn - a man born free, i.e., entitled to the conditions, privileges and liberty of citizenship, as opposed to a slave

freehold - an estate held in fee simple, or for term of life.  Also termed freehold estate

freeholder - one who holds tenure in an estate during his lifetime

free-lance research - one who offers to do research for others

freeman - one who is not a slave, or who possesses the freedom of a city, borough, or state, with the attending rights of citizenship

freedman - a man who has been a slave and who has been freed or manumitted

French Pox - a term for any of various venereal diseases

frere - (French) brother

friendly suit - a suit brought by a person against another, to legally impose an obligation thereon, in which there is no contest.  An example would be a suit brought by an administrator against the estate he is administering, thus actually against himself, to impose the legal obligation to take an action or pay a debt

Friends - see Quakers

friar - a brother or member of a religious order

frigate - a light and fast ship, usually for carrying cargo or as a warship, with sails

froe - or frow, a wedge-shaped tool using for cleaving and riving staves or shingles; it has a handle in the plane of the blade, at right angles to the back

frontier - the part of a country that forms the border or outer reaches of its settled areas

funf - (German) five

funfzehn - (German) fifteen

funfzig - (German) fifty

funeral - the ceremonies connected with the burial or cremation of a dead person including to procession to the grave site

funeral gifts - the early custom of presenting small gifts to those invited to a funeral, as a token of respect for the dead, the cost of which was usually dedicated from the estate of the deceased

funeral meats - the food served to those person invited to the funeral of a dead person

furlong - a measure of length, being 660 feet, 10 chains, or 220 yards

furlough - a leave of absence given to a soldier to permit him to be absent from duty for a specified time

furrow - the trench made in the earth by plow, in which seeds were then planted

gad - a stake, spike of metal, or a band of rope made of twisted fibres of twigs; one who wonders about from place to place, usually wildly; a stone-mason's tool; a cut in the ear of an animal (livestock) to prove ownership

gait - the pace and manner of stepping of a horse