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head money - a poll tax, leavied on the individual person

headright - public land granted to the head of the household on condition that settlement by such would be made upon the land

head tax - see head money

Health Department - the city or county office responsible for keeping the death and birth records locally, as well as other duties

here say - what one here's or had heard one say, but does not know of his own personal knowledge

hearse - a vehicle used solely for the transportation of the body of a deceased person at a funeral

hearth - the floor of a fireplace or other place used to make a fire in a room

hearthmoney - or hearthpenny; a tax imposed upon every household, or hearths or fireplaces, usually two shillings per, of English origin

hearthrug - a rug laid before the fireplace

hearthstone - the flat rock forming the hearth; or a soft white stone used to whiten hearths or doorsteps

hectare - a metric land measure of 2.471 acres

heebeejees - a common term for a nervous or apprehensive condition

heir - a person who inherits or succeeds to the property of a deceased person legally; any successor to property or money by will or law

heir apparent - the heir whose right is not capable of being undone, provided he outlives his ancestor

heirs and assigns - the granting of a fee simple title to those entitled to such in a will, and then to those to whom the property would be conveyed at any later date; seldom used now

hemp - a plant from whose fibre there was made ropes and a coarse woven cloth

hepatitis - an inflammation of the liver

heraldry - the art or science of armorial bearings, of tracing pedigrees of those of noble heritage, and of deciding predences of such

hereditary - that which passes naturally from parents to children

hermana - (Spanish) sister

hermano - (Spanish) brother

Hessians - those mercenary soldiers from Hesse, in Germany, who were hired by the British to fight on their behalf in the Revolutionary War

hew - to strike, cut, shape or sever with an axe, or chisel

hewing dog - a piece of iron shaped as to hold a small log in place while it was shaped with an axe

hide of land - an obsolete measure of land, usually an amount necessary to support one family with its dependants, or as much as could be tilled with one plow in a year.  Normally 100 acres but varied

higgledy- piggledy - in a haphazard manner of fashion

High Church - that of the Church of England, holding opinions which give authority to the Episcopate and the priesthood, saving grace of the sacraments and in general, to the doctrine; discipline and ritual of the Anglican Church

High Court - the supreme court of jurisdiction

highfalutin - a pompus type of speech, dress or action

high mass - a ritualistic celebration of the Eucharist, with the assistance of deacons and with incense and music

high tea - an early afternoon tea usually served with sandwiches

high yellow - refers to a Negro of light color, a mulatto, or one who is of superior birth or manners

highwayman - one who frequented the roads, usually mounted, for the purpose of robbing travelers

hija - (Spanish) daughter

hijo - (Spanish) son

hillbilly - a slightly contemptous term for persons living in the mountainous or hilly rural area, supposedly of less culture, manner and education

hip gout - osteomylitis

hired man - a person hired to do odd jobs around the home or farm, or to assist in farm or other manual labor

hitching post - posts mounted in such a way and place  that one could tie the reins of a horse to it, temporarily, while visiting or conducting business.  Ornamental iron posts were often placed in front of a business establishment for this purpose and were with an iron ball or ornament (sometimes a horses head) at the top to prevent the reins from slipping off

hitching rail - see hitching post.  A rail was usually in the form of a fence rail, for this purpose

hives - a reddish rash which itched and was caused by an allergy; eruptions from chicken pox or other similar diseases were sometimes called this

h/o - abbreviation for "husband of"

hobble - to hold; to hobble a horse was to attach a weight to the reins, thus preventing it from straying

hobbledehoy - a clumsy or awkward youth

hobbyhorse - a stick with a wooden horse head which a child could bestride as in riding a horse; later, the full figure of a horse, in miniature, for this purpose

hoc tempore - (Latin) "at this time"

hogshead - a large cask for liquids, which varied in size for different commodities, holding from 100 to 400 gallons

holographic will - a will written, dated and signed entirely in the testator's own handwriting

home lot - a plot, sometimes fenced, on which a dwelling stands

homemade soap - a soap made at home with animal fats and ashes or lye, usually of irregular shape and various yellowish, greenish or grayish color, hence a term used, "ugly as homemade soap."

homespun - cloth made of yarn spun at home.; also one who wears such clothing

homestead - a farm occupied by the owner and his family; the 160 acres granted to a settler by the Homestead Act of 1862; the town, place of one's dwelling

homestead application - an application for a grant of land under the Homestead Act of 1862, in which certain conditions were necessary to be proven

Homestead Act of 1862 - an Act passed by Congress, a settler could gain title to public lands by residing thereon for a five year period, cultivating and improving it, and having met the age and citizenship requirements, was exempted from having to make a cash payment.  Land so acquired was 160 acres

Homestead Entry File - a file of applications for land under the Homestead Act of 1862; found in the National Archives.  This gives information as to the published intent of the prospective settler, testimony of meeting the conditions required with two witness, and the final certificate giving authority for the settler to obtain a patent

Hon. - abbreviation for "Honorable"

Honorable - an official or courteous title bestowed upon those worthy of respect, esteem or reverence

hoop - a circular flat band of metal or steel used to encircle a barrel or cask; such, used as a plaything of youth, rolled with a stick; the cough of one with hooping -cough

hoopskirt - a skirt or petticoat stiffened with hoops

Hoosier - a nickname for a person from Indiana, said to originate form the call of a pioneer settler "who's  there

horn-book - a leaf of paper, on which there was the alphabet, sometimes numbers, spelling, and the Lord's Prayer, protected by a thin piece of translucent horn and mounted on a tablet of wood with a handle

horse and buggy days - or manner; a reference to a past period of time when a horse and buggy were the accepted and usual mode of transprtation

hostel - a lodging, inn, hotel, or, a place of residence for students attending a non-resident college

hostler - the innkeeper of a hostel

hot toddy - a hot alcoholic drink made of spirits, and diluted with water, sugar, or lemonade, said to be good "for what ails you"

House of Burgesses - the lower legislative body in England and in our colonial legislatures

house joiner - a carpenter

house warming - the action of celebrating the occupancy of a new house with a party or entertainment, including food

housewife - the wife of a householder who supposedly manages her household with skill and thrift

huckster - a peddler, hawker, or retailer of small goods in a small shop, booth or stall, usually by bargaining or haggling

Huguenot - a French Protestant, many of whom fled to escape religious persecution

huit - (French) eight

Hundred - a subdivision of a country or shire having its own court

hundert - (German) hundred

husbandman - a farmer, one who tills the soil and particularly also in the keeping and breeding of livestock

husking corn - the process of stripping the outer sheath from an ear of corn, sometimes an occasion for celebration and a party as indication of the completion of a harvest

Hussar - light cavalry regiments originally in Hungary

hussy - an ill-behaved, mischievous woman of doubtful character

Ia. - abbreviation or Iowa, and an old abbreviation for Indiana

ibid - "in the same place" used often to refer, in a footnote, to a reference the same as the previous noted reference

icebox - a wooden or metal chest in which ice was kept as a preservative for food, prior to the use and invention of a refrigerator

ice house - a structure, often under-ground, in which ice was stored for use during the year

iceman - one engaged in harvesting ice from a pond, or in delivering ice to the home, by wagon or truck

iglesia - (Spanish) church

illegitimate - one not born in lawful wedlock, a bastar d

immersed - a form of baptism in which the person is dipped, dunked or plunged into the water

immigrant - one who arrives into a country other than his own, for the purpose of permanent settlement

immigration - the act of arriving into a country other than of birth for the purpose of permanent settlement

immigration passenger list - a record of persons arriving in the U.S. for the purpose of settlement, the earliest being for Philadelphia, 1883.  Restrictive in that they have a 50-year confidentiality, and are arranged first by shipping line, and then by first letter of first or given name, on a day by day chronology