GLOSSARY OF TERMS AND ABBREVIATIONS
(Generously provided to the world by Daniel Burrows)
This contains standard abbreviations plus some unique to the Sloan Connection Database.

ABSTRACT - Summary of important points of a given text, especially deeds and wills.
Abt. - About or cerca.
ACRE - See measurements.
ADMINISTRATION (of estate) - The collection, management and distribution of an estate by proper legal process.
ADMINISTRATOR (of estate) - Person appointed to manage or divide the estate of a deceased person.
ADMINISTRATRIX - A female administrator.
AFFIDAVIT - A statement in writing, sworn to before proper authority.
Afm - Age at first marriage, found in 1920 census.
Aft. - After
ALIEN - Foreigner.
AMERICAN REVOLUTION - U.S. war for independence from Great Britain 1775 - 1783.
ANCESTOR - A person from whom you are descended; a forefather.
ANTE - Latin prefix meaning before, such as in ante-bellum South, "The South before the war"
APPRENTICE - One who is bound by indentures or by legal agreement or by any means to serve another person for a certain time, with a view of learning an art or trade.
APPURTENANCE - That which belongs to something else such as a building, orchard, right of way, etc.
ARCHIVES - Records of a government, organization, institution; the place where records are stored.
ATTEST - To affirm; to certify by signature or oath.
b. - born
BANNS - Public announcement of intended marriage.
BENEFICIARY - One who receives benefit of trust or property.
BEQUEATH - To give personal property to a person in a will.  Noun -- bequest.
BOND - Written, signed, witnessed agreement requiring payment of a specified amount of money on or before a given date.
BOUNTY LAND WARRANT - A right to obtain land, specific number of acres of unallocated public land, granted for military service.
CENSUS - Official enumeration, listing or counting of citizens.
CERTIFIED COPY - A copy made and attested to by officers having charge of the original and authorized to give copies.
CHAIN - See measurements.
CHATTEL - Personal property which can include animate as well as inanimate properties.
CHRISTEN - To receive or initiate into the visible church by baptism; to name at baptism; to give a name to.
CIRCA - About, near, or approximate -- usually referring to a date.
CIVIL WAR - War between the States; war between North and South, 1861 - 65.
CODICIL - Addition to a will.
COLLATERAL ANCESTOR - Belong to the same ancestral stock but not in direct line of descent; opposed to lineal such as aunts, uncles & cousins.
COMMON ANCESTOR - Ancestor shared by any two people.
CONFEDERATE - Pertaining to the Southern states which seceded from the U.S. in 1860 - 1, their government and their citizens.
CONSANGUINITY - Blood relationship.
CONSORT - Usually, a wife whose husband is living
CONVEYANCE - See deed.
COUSIN - Relative descended from a common ancestor, but not a brother or sister.
d. - died.
d.o.Div. - or doDiv, my abbrev. for date of divorce.
d.p.o.b. - or dpob, my abbrev. for date and place of birth.
d.p.o.d. - or dpod, my abbrev. for date and place of death.
DAUGHTER-IN-LAW - Wife of one's son.
DECEASED - or dec'd, Dead.
DECEDENT - A deceased person.
DECLARATION OF INTENTION - First paper, sworn to and filed in court, by an alien stating that he wants to be come a citizen.
DEED - A document by which title in real property is transferred from one party to another.
DEPOSITION - A testifying or testimony taken down in writing under oath of affirmation in reply to interrogatories, before a competent officer to replace to oral testimony of a witness.
DEVISE - Gift of real property by will.
DEVISEE - One to whom real property (land) is given in a will.
DEVISOR - One who gives real property in a will.
DISSENTER - One who did not belong to the established church, especially the Church of England in the American colonies.
DISTRICT LAND OFFICE PLAT BOOK - Books or rather maps which show the location of the land patentee.
DISTRICT LAND OFFICE TRACT BOOK - Books which list individual entries by range and township.
DOUBLE DATING - A system of double dating used in England and America from 1582-1752 because it was not clear as to whether the year commenced January 1 or March 25
DOWER - Legal right or share which a wife acquired by marriage in the real estate of her husband, allotted to her after his death for her lifetime.
EMIGRANT - One leaving a country and moving to another.
ENUMERATION - Listing or counting , such as a census.
EPITAPH - An inscription on or at a tomb or grave in memory of the one buried there.
ESCHEAT - The reversion of property to the state when there are no qualified heirs.
ESTATE - All property and debts belonging to a person.
ET AL - Latin for "and others".
ET UX - Latin for "and wife".
ET UXOR - And his wife.  Sometimes written simply Et Ux.
EXECUTOR - One appointed in a will to carry out its provisions. Female = Executrix
FATHER-IN-LAW - Father of one's spouse.
FEE - An estate of inheritance in land, being either fee simple or fee tail. An estate in land held of a feudal lord on condition of the performing of certain services.
FEE SIMPLE - An absolute ownership without restriction.
FEE TAIL - An estate of inheritance limited to lineal descendant heirs of a person to whom it was granted.
F.E.M. - personal comments added by me, Frank Mitchell
F.H.M. - Funeral Home Marker
FRANKLIN, STATE OF - An area once known but never officially recognized and was under consideration from 1784 - 1788  from the western part of North Carolina.
FRATERNITY - Group of men (or women) sharing a common purpose or interest.
FREE HOLD - An estate in fee simple, in fee tail, or for life.
FRIEND - Member of the Religious Society of Friends; a Quaker.
FURLONG - See measurements.
GAZETTEER - A geographical dictionary; a book giving names and descriptions of places usually in alphabetical order.
GENEALOGY - Study of family history and descent.
GENTLEMAN - A man well born.
GIVEN NAME - Name given to a person at birth or baptism, one's first and middle names.
GLEBE - Land belonging to a parish church.
GRANTEE - One who buys property or receives a grant.
GRANTOR - One who sells property or makes a grant.
GREAT-AUNT - Sister of one's grandparent
GREAT-UNCLE - Brother of one's grandparent.
GUARDIAN - Person appointed to care for and manage property of a minor orphan or an adult incompetent of managing his own affairs.
HALF BROTHER/HALF SISTER - Child by another marriage of one's mother or father; the relationship of two people who have only one parent in common.
HEIRS - Those entitled by law or by the terms of a will to inherit property from another.
HOLOGRAPHIC WILL - One written entirely in the testator's own handwriting.
HOMESTEAD ACT - Law passed by Congress in 1862 allowing a head of a family to obtain title to 160 acres of public land after clearing and improving it for 5 years.
HUGUENOT - A French Protestant in the 16th and 17th centuries. One of the reformed or calvinistic communion who were driven by the thousands into exile in England, Holland, Germany and America.
IGI - International Genealogical Index, LDS database.
ILLEGITIMATE - Born to a mother who was not married to the child's father.
IMMIGRANT - One moving into a country from another.
INDENTURE - Today it means a contract in 2 or more copies.  Originally made in 2 parts by cutting or tearing a single sheet across the middle in a jagged line so the two parts may later be matched.
INDENTURED SERVANT - One who bound himself into service of another person for a specified number of years, often in return for transportation to this country.
INFANT - Any person not of full age; a minor.
INSTANT - Of or pertaining to the current month. (Abbreviated inst.)
INTESTATE - One who dies without a will or dying without a will.
INVENTORY - An account, catalog or schedule, made by an executor or administrator of all the goods and chattels and sometimes of the real estate of a deceased person.
ISSUE - Offspring; children; lineal descendants of a common ancestor.
l.k.a - or lka, last known address, usually used with the SSDI.
LATE - Recently deceased.
LDS - Latter Day Saints, usually in reference to their library or website.
LEASE - An agreement which creates a landlord - tenant situation.
LEGACY - Property or money left to someone in a will
LEGISLATURE - Lawmaking branch of state or national government; elected group of lawmakers.
LIEN - A claim against property as security for payment of a debt.
LINEAGE - Ancestry; direct descent from a specific ancestor.
LINEAL - Consisting of or being in as direct line of ancestry or descendants; descended in a direct line.
LINK - See measurements.
LIS PENDENS - Pending court action; usually applies to land title claims.
LODGE - A chapter or meeting hall of a fraternal organization.
LOYALIST - Tory, an American colonist who supported the British side during the American Revolution.
m. - married
MAIDEN NAME - A girl's last name or surname before she marries.
MANUSCRIPT - A composition written with the hand as an ancient book or an un-printed modern book or music.
MARRIAGE BOND - A financial guarantee that no impediment to the marriage existed, furnished by the intended bridegroom or by his friends.
MATERNAL - Related through one's mother, such as a Maternal grandmother being the mother's mother.
MEASUREMENTS - Link - 7.92 inches;   Chain - 100 Links or 66 feet; Furlong - 1000 Links or 660 feet;   Rod - 5 1/2 yds or 16 1/2 ft (also called a perch or pole);  Rood - From 5 1/2 yards to 8 yards, depending on locality;  Acre - 43,560 square ft or 160 square rods.
MESSUAGE - A dwelling house.
METES & BOUNDS - Property described by natural boundaries, such as 3 notches in a white oak tree, etc.
MICROFICHE - Sheet of microfilm with greatly reduced images of pages of documents.
MICROFILM - Reproduction of documents on film at reduced size.
MIGRANT - Person who moves from place to place, usually in search of work
MIGRATE - To move from one country or state or region to another. (Noun : migration)
MILITIA - Citizens of a state who are not part of the national military forces but who can be called into military service in an emergency; a citizen army, apart from the regular military forces.
MINOR - One who is under legal age; not yet a legal adult.
MISTER - In early times, a title of respect given only to those who held important civil officer or who were of gentle blood.
MOIETY - A half;  an indefinite portion
MORTALITY - Death; death rate.
MORTALITY SCHEDULES - Enumeration of persons who died during the year prior to June 1 of 1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880 in each state of the United States, conducted by the bureau of census.
MORTGAGE - A conditional transfer of title to real property as security for payment of a debt.
MOTHER-IN-LAW - Mother of one's spouse.
NAMESAKE - Person named after another person.
NECROLOGY - Listing or record of persons who have died recently
NEE - Used to identify a woman's maiden name; born with the surname of.
NEPHEW - Son of one's brother or sister.
NIECE - Daughter of one's brother or sister.
NONCUPATIVE WILL - One declared or dictated by the testator, usually for persons in last sickness, sudden illness, or military.
ORPHAN - Child whose parents are dead; sometimes, a child who has lost one parent by death.
ORPHAN'S COURT - Orphans being recognized as wards of the states, provisions were made for them in special courts.
PASSENGER LIST - A ships list of passengers, usually referring to those ships arriving in the US from Europe.
PATENT - Grant of land from a government to an individual.
PATERNAL - Related to one's father. Paternal grandmother is the father's mother.
PATRIOT - One who loves his country and supports its interests.
PEDIGREE - Family tree; ancestry.
PENSION - Money paid regularly to an individual, especially by a government as reward for military service during wartime or upon retirement from government service.
PENSIONER - One who receives a pension.
PERCH - See measurements.
POLE - See measurements.
POLL - List or record of persons, especially for taxing or voting.
POST - Latin prefix meaning after, as in post-war economy.
POSTERITY - Descendants; those who come after.
POWER OF ATTORNEY - When a person in unable to act for himself, he appoints another to act in his behalf.
PP - Personal Property, usually value listed in census records.
PRE - Latin prefix meaning before, as in pre-war military build-up.
PRE-EMOTION RIGHTS - Right given by the federal government to citizens to buy a quarter section of land or less.
PROBATE - Having to do with wills and the administration of estates.
PROGENITOR - A direct ancestor.
PROGENY - Descendants of a common ancestor; issue.
PROVED WILL - A will established as genuine by probate court.
PROVOST - A person appointed to superintend, or preside over something.
PROXIMO - In the following month, in the month after the present one.
PUBLIC DOMAIN - Land owned by the government.
QUAKER - Member of the Religious Society of Friends.
QUITCLAIM - A deed conveying the interest of the party at that time.
RECTOR - A clergyman; the ruler or governor of a country.
RELICT - Widow; surviving spouse when one has died, husband or wife.
REPUBLIC - Government in which supreme authority lies with the people or their elected representatives.
REVOLUTIONARY WAR - U.S. war for independence from Great Britain 1775 - 1783.
ROD - See measurements.
ROOD - See measurements.
RP - Real Property, usually value listed in census records.
s/b - should be
S.S.D.I. - or SSDI,  Social Security Death Index
S.S.W.S - Same Stone with/as Spouse.  i.e. both on same tombstone.
SHAKER - Member of a religious group formed in 1747 which practiced communal living and celibacy.
SIBLING - Person having one or both parents in common with another; a brother or sister.
SIC - Latin meaning thus; copied exactly as the original reads.  Often suggests a mistake or surprise in the original.
SON-IN-LAW - Husband of one's daughter.
SPINSTER - A woman still unmarried; or one who spins.
SPONSOR - A bondsman; surety.
SPOUSE - Husband or wife.
STATUTE - Law.
STEP-BROTHER / STEP-SISTER - Child of one's step-father or step-mother.
STEP-CHILD - Child of one's husband or wife from a previous marriage.
STEP-FATHER - Husband of one's mother by a later marriage.
STEP-MOTHER - Wife of one's father by a later marriage.
SURNAME - Family name or last name.
TERRITORY - Area of land owned by the united States, not a state, but having its own legislature and governor.
TESTAMENTARY - Pertaining to a will.
TESTATE - A person who dies leaving a valid will.
TESTATOR - A person who makes a valid will before his death.
TITHABLE - Taxable.
TITHE - Formerly, money due as a tax for support of the clergy or church.
TORY - Loyalist; one who supported the British side in the American Revolution.
TOWNSHIP - A division of U.S. public land that contained 36 sections, or 36 square miles.  Also a subdivision of the county in many Northeastern and Midwestern states of the U.S.
TRADITION - The handing down of statements, beliefs, legends, customs, genealogies, etc. from generation to generation, especially by word of mouth.
TRANSCRIBE - To make a copy in writing.
ULTIMO - In the month before this one.
UNION - The United States; also the North during the Civil War, the states which did not secede.
VERBATIM - Word for word; in the same words, verbally.
VITAL RECORDS - Records of birth, death, marriage or divorce.
VITAL STATISTICS - Data dealing with birth, death, marriage or divorce.
WAR BETWEEN THE STATES - U.S. Civil War, 1861 - 1865.
WARD - Chiefly the division of a city for election purposes.
WILL - Document declaring how a person wants his property divided after his death.
WITNESS - One who is present at a transaction, such as a sale of land or signing of a will, who can testify or affirm that it actually took place.
WFT - World Family Tree® Family genealogies contributed to Family Tree Maker/Brøderbund Software, Inc. and sold on CDs.
WPA HISTORICAL RECORDS SURVEY - A program undertaken by the US Government 1935 - 1936 in which inventories were compiled of historical material.
YEOMAN - A servant, an attendant or subordinate official in a royal household; a subordinate of a sheriff; an independent farmer.
 
 
OLD OCCUPATIONS CHART

from Dan Burrows
Accomptant  Accountant
Almoner  Giver of charity to the needy
Amanuensis  Secretary or stenographer
Artificer  A soldier mechanic who does repairs
Bailie  Bailiff
Baxter  Baker
Bluestocking  Female writer
Boniface  Keeper of an inn
Brazier  One who works with brass
Brewster  Beer manufacturer
Brightsmith  Metal Worker
Burgonmaster  Mayor
Caulker One who filled up cracks (in ships or windows) or seems to make them watertight by using tar or oakum-hemp fiber produced by taking old ropes apart
Chaisemaker Carriage maker
Chandler  Dealer or trader; one who makes or sells candles; retailer of groceries
Chiffonnier  Wig maker
Clark  Clerk
Clerk  Clergyman, cleric
Clicker The servant of a salesman who stood at the door to invite customers; one who received the matter in the galley from the compositors and arranged it in due form ready for printing;  one who makes eyelet holes in boots using a machine which clicked.
Cohen  Priest
Collier  Coal miner
Colporteur  Peddler of books
Cooper One who makes or repairs vessels made of staves & hoops, such as casks, barrels, tubs, etc.
Cordwainer  Shoemaker, originally any leather worker using leather from Cordova/Cordoba in Spain
Costermonger Peddler of fruits and vegetables
Crocker  Potter
Crowner  Coroner
Currier One who dresses the coat of a horse with a curry comb;  one who tanned leather by incorporating oil or grease
Docker  Stevedore, dock worker who loads and unloads cargo
Dowser  One who finds water using a rod or witching stick
Draper  A dealer in dry goods
Drayman  One who drives a long strong cart without fixed sides for carrying heavy loads
Dresser  A surgeon's assistant in a hospital
Drover  One who drives cattle, sheep, etc. to market; a dealer in cattle
Duffer  Peddler
Factor  Agent, commission merchant;  one who acts or transacts business for another; Scottish steward or bailiff of an estate
Farrier  A blacksmith, one who shoes horses
Faulkner  Falconer
Fell monger  One who removes hair or wool from hides in preparation for leather making
Fletcher  One who made bows and arrows
Fuller  One who fulls cloth;one who shrinks and thickens woolen cloth by  moistening, heating, and pressing; one who cleans and finishes cloth
Gaoler  A keeper of the goal, a jailer
Glazier  Window glassman
Hacker  Maker of hoes
Hatcheler  One who combed out or carded flax
Haymonger  Dealer in hay
Hayward  Keeper of fences
Higgler  Itinerant peddler
Hillier  Roof tiler
Hind  A farm laborer
Holster  A groom who took care of horses, often at an inn
Hooker  Reaper
Hooper  One who made hoops for casks and barrels
Huckster  Sells small wares
Husbandman A farmer who cultivated the land
Jagger Fish peddler
Journeyman  One who had served his apprenticeship and mastered his craft,  not bound to serve a master, but hired by the day
Joyner/Joiner A skilled carpenter
Keeler  Bargeman 
Kempster  Wool comber
Lardner  Keeper of the cupboard 
Lavender  Washer woman
Lederer  Leather maker
Leech  Physician
Longshoreman Stevedore
Lormer  Maker of horse gear
Malender  Farmer
Maltster  Brewer
Manciple  A steward
Mason  Bricklayer
Mintmaster  One who issued local currency
Monger  Seller of goods (ale, fish)
Muleskinner  Teamster
Neatherder  Herds cows
Ordinary Keeper Innkeeper with fixed prices
Pattern Maker A maker of a clog shod with an iron ring. A clog was a wooden pole with a pattern cut into the end
Peregrinator Itinerant wanderer
Peruker  A wig maker
Pettifogger  A shyster lawyer
Pigman  Crockery dealer
Plumber  One who applied sheet lead for roofing and set lead frames for plain or stained glass windows.
Porter  Door keeper
Puddler  Wrought iron worker
Quarrier  Quarry worker
Rigger  Hoist tackle worker
Ripper  Seller of fish
Roper  Maker of rope or nets
Saddler  One who makes, repairs or sells saddles or other furnishings for horses
Sawbones  Physician
Sawyer  One who saws; carpenter 
Schumacker Shoemaker
Scribler  A minor or worthless author 
Scrivener  Professional or public copyist or writer; notary public
Scrutiner  Election judge
Shrieve  Sheriff 
Slater  Roofer 
Slopseller  Seller of ready-made clothes in a slop shop
Snobscat/Snob One who repaired shoes
Sorter  Tailor
Spinster  A woman who spins or an unmarried woman
Spurrer  Maker of spurs
Squire  Country gentleman;  farm owner;  justice of peace 
Stuff gown  Junior barrister
Supercargo  Officer on merchant ship who is in charge of cargo and the commercial concerns of the ship
Tanner  One who tans (cures) animal hides into leather
Tapley  One who puts the tap in an ale cask
Tasker  Reaper
Teamster  One who drives a team for hauling
Thatcher  Roofer
Tide waiter  Customs inspector
Tinker  An itinerant tin pot and pan seller and repairman
Tipstaff  Policeman
Travers  Toll bridge collection
Tucker  Cleaner of cloth goods
Turner  A person who turns wood on a lathe into spindles
Victualer  A tavern keeper, or one who provides an army, navy, or ship with food supplies
Vulcan  Blacksmith
Wagoner  Teamster not for hire
Wainwright Wagon maker
Waiter  Customs officer or tide waiter; one who waited on the tide to collect duty on goods brought in
Waterman  Boatman who plies for hire
Webster  Operator of looms
Wharfinger Owner of a wharf
Wheelwright One who made or repaired wheels; wheeled carriages, etc.
Whitesmith  Tinsmith; worker of iron who finishes or polishes the work
Whitewing  Street sweeper
Whitster  Bleach of cloth
Wright  Workman, especially a construction worker
Yeoman  Farmer who owns his own land 

US RELATED WAR CHART

WAR                     DATES           AREA

French-Spanish          1565-67         Florida
English-French          1613-1629       Canada
Anglo-French            1629            St.Lawrence Riv.
Pequot War              1636-37         New England
???                     1640-45         New  Netherland
Iroquois                1642-53         New Eng.; Acadia
Anglo-Dutch             July 1653       New Netherland
Bacon's Rebellion       1675-76         Virginia
King Philip's           1675-76         New England
War In North            1676-78         Maine
Culpepper's Reb'n       1677-80         Carolinas       
Leisler's Rebellion     1688-91         New England
Revolution in MD        1689            Maryland
Glorious Revolution     1689            New England
King Willliam's War     1689-97         Canada
Queen Anne's            1702-13         New England
Tuscarora               1711-12         Virginia
Jenkin's Ear            1739-42         Florida
King George's           1740            GA & VA
Louisbourg              1745            New England
Fort Necessity          1754            Ohio
Anglo-French            1755-58         Canada
French & Indian         1754-63         New Eng;VA
Siege of Quebec         1759            Canada
Lord Dunmore's War      1774            Virgina
American Revolution     1775-83         USA
Wyoming Valley          1782-87         Pennsylvania
Shay's Rebellion        12/1786-1/1787  Massachusetts
Whiskey Insurrection    1794            Pennsylvania
Northwestern Indian     1790-95         Ohio
War with France         1798-1800       Naval
War with Tripoli(Naval) 1801-05         North Coast Africa
Burr's Insurrection     1806-1807       South Mississippi Valley
Chesapeake (Naval)      1807            Virginia
Northwestern Indian     1811            Indiana
Florida Seminole Indian 1812            FL   (GA Volunteers)
War of 1812             1812-15         General
Peoria Indian           1813            Illinois
Creek Indian            1813-14         South
Lafitte's Pirates       1814            Local
Barbary Pirates         1815            North Coast Africa
Seminole Indian         1817-18         FL & GA
Lafitte's Pirates       1821            Galveston
Arickaree Indian        1823            Missouri Riv;Dakota Terr
Fever River Indian      1827            Illinois
Winnebago Indian        1827            Wisonsin        
Sac & Fox Indian        1831            Illinois
Black Hawk              1832            Illinois & Wisconsin
Toledo                  1835-36         Ohio & Michagan
Texan                   1835-36         Texas
Indian Stream           1835-36         New Hampshire
Creek Indian            1836-37         Georgia & Alabama
Florida (Seminole)      1835-42         FL, GA, & AL
Sabine / Southwestern   1836-37         Louisiana
  Indian
Cherokee                1836-38         ---
Osage Indian            1837            Missouri
Heatherly Distrubance   1836            Missouri
Mormon                  1838            Missouri
Aroostook               1839            Maine
Dorr's Rebellion        1842            Rhode Island
Mormon                  1844            Illinois
Mexican                 1846-1848       Mexico
Cayuse Indian           1847-48         Oregon
TX & NM Indian          1849-55         ---
California Indian       1851-52         ---
Utah Indian             1850-53         ---
Rogue River Indian      1851,1853,1856  Oregon
Oregon Indian           1854            Oregon
Nicaraguan              1854-58         Naval
Kansas Troubles         1854-59         Kansas
Yakima Indian           1855            Local
Klamath & Salmon        1855            Oregon & Idaho
  River Indian
Florida Indian          1855-58         Florida
John Brown's Raid       1859            VA
War of Rebellion        1860-65         General
Cheyenne                1861-64         Local
Sioux                   1862-63         Minnesota
Indian Campaign         1865-68         OR, ID, CA
Fenian Invasion of      1866            From New England
  Canada
Indian Campaign         1867-69         KS, CO & Ind. Terr.
Modac Indian            1872-73         Oregon
Apaches                 1873            Arizona
Indian Campaigns        1874-75         KS, CO, TX, NM, &
                                        Indian Territory
Cheyenne & Sioux        1876-77         Dakota
Nez Perce               1877            Idaho
Bannock                 1878            ID, Washington Terr.
                                        & Wyoming Terr.
White Riv. (Ute Ind.)   1879            Utah & Coloradp
Cheyenne                1878-79         Dakota & Montana
Spanish-American        1898-99         Cuba
Phillippine Insurrection1899-1902       Philippine Islands

DISEASE CHART

Ablepsy - Blindness
Ague - Malarial Fever
American plague - Yellow fever
Anasarca - Generalized massive edema
Aphonia - Laryngitis
Aphtha - The infant disease "thrush"
Apoplexy - Paralysis due to stroke
Asphycsia/Asphicsia - Cyanotic and lack of oxygen
Atrophy - Wasting away or diminishing in size.
Bad Blood - Syphilis
Bilious fever - Typhoid, malaria, hepatitis or elevated temperature and bile emesis
Biliousness - Jaundice associated with liver disease
Black plague or death - Bubonic plague
Black fever - Acute infection with high temperature and dark red skin lesions and high mortality rate
Black pox - Black Small pox
Black vomit - Vomiting old black blood due to ulcers or yellow fever
Blackwater fever - Dark urine associated with high temperature
Bladder in throat - Diphtheria (Seen on death certificates)
Blood poisoning - Bacterial infection; septicemia
Bloody flux - Bloody stools
Bloody sweat - Sweating sickness
Bone shave - Sciatica
Brain fever - Meningitis
Breakbone - Dengue fever
Bright's disease - Chronic inflammatory disease of kidneys
Bronze John - Yellow fever
Bule - Boil, tumor or swelling
Cachexy -  Malnutrition
Cacogastric - Upset stomach
Cacospysy - Irregular pulse
Caduceus  - Subject to falling sickness or epilepsy
Camp fever - Typhus; aka Camp diarrhea
Canine madness - Rabies, hydrophobia
Canker - Ulceration of mouth or lips or herpes simplex
Catalepsy - Seizures / trances
Catarrhal - Nose and throat discharge from cold or allergy
Cerebritis - Inflammation of cerebrum or lead poisoning
Chilblain - Swelling of extremities caused by exposure to cold
Child bed fever - Infection following birth of a child
Chin cough - Whooping cough
Chlorosis - Iron deficiency anemia
Cholera - Acute severe contagious diarrhea with intestinal lining sloughing
Cholera morbus - Characterized by nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, elevated temperature, etc.  Could be appendicitis
Cholecystitus - Inflammation of the gall bladder
Cholelithiasis - Gall stones
Chorea - Disease characterized by convulsions, contortions and dancing
Cold plague - Ague which is characterized by chills
Colic - An abdominal pain and cramping
Congestive chills - Malaria
Consumption - Tuberculosis
Congestion - Any collection of fluid in an organ, like the lungs
Congestive chills - Malaria with diarrhea
Congestive fever - Malaria
Corruption - Infection
Coryza - A cold
Costiveness - Constipation
Cramp colic - Appendicitis
Crop sickness - Overextended stomach
Croup - Laryngitis, diphtheria, or strep throat
Cyanosis - Dark skin color from lack of oxygen in blood
Cynanche - Diseases of throat
Cystitis - Inflammation of the bladder
Day fever - Fever lasting one day; sweating sickness
Debility - Lack of movement or staying in bed
Decrepitude - Feebleness due to old age
Delirium tremens - Hallucinations due to alcoholism
Dengue - Infectious fever endemic to East Africa
Dentition - Cutting of teeth
Deplumation - Tumor of the eyelids which causes hair loss
Devil's Grip - Pleurisy / bronchitis
Diary fever - A fever that lasts one day
Diptheria - Contagious disease of the throat
Distemper - Usually animal disease with malaise, discharge from nose and throat, anorexia
Dock fever - Yellow fever
Dropsy - Edema (swelling), often caused by kidney or heart disease
Dropsy of the Brain - Encephalitis
Dry Bellyache - Lead poisoning
Dyscrasy - An abnormal body condition
Dysentery - Inflammation of colon with frequent passage of mucous and blood
Dysorexy - Reduced appetite
Dyspepsia - Indigestion and heartburn.  Heart attack symptoms
Dysury - Difficulty in urination
Eclampsy - Symptoms of epilepsy, convulsions during labor
Ecstasy - A form of catalepsy characterized by loss of reason
Edema - Nephrosis; swelling of tissues
Edema of lungs - Congestive heart failure, a form of dropsy
Eel thing - Erysipelas
Elephantiasis - A form of leprosy
Encephalitis - Swelling of brain; aka sleeping sickness
Enteric fever - Typhoid fever
Enterocolitis - Inflammation of the intestines
Enteritis - Inflations of the bowels
Epitaxis - Nose bleed
Erysipelas - Contagious skin disease, due to Streptococci with vesicular and bulbous lesions
Extravasted blood - Rupture of a blood vessel
Falling sickness - Epilepsy
Fatty Liver - Cirrhosis of liver
Fits - Sudden attack or seizure of muscle activity
Flux - An excessive flow or discharge of fluid like hemorrhage or diarrhea
Flux of humour - Circulation
French pox - Syphilis
Gathering - A collection of pus
Glandular fever - Mononucleosis
Great pox - Syphilis
Green fever / sickness - Anemia
Grippe/grip - Influenza like symptoms
Grocer's itch - Skin disease caused by mites in sugar or flour
Heart sickness - Condition caused by loss of salt from body
Heat stroke - Body temperature elevates because of surrounding environment temperature and body does not perspire to reduce 
temperature.  Coma and death result if not reversed
Hectical complaint - Recurrent fever
Hematemesis - Vomiting blood
Hematuria - Bloody urine
Hemiplegy - Paralysis of one side of body
Hip gout - Osteomylitis
Horrors - Delirium tremens
Hydrocephalus - Enlarged head, water on the brain
Hydropericardium - Heart dropsy
Hydrophobia - Rabies
Hydrothroax - Dropsy in chest
Hypertrophic - Enlargement of organ, like the heart
Impetigo - Contagious skin disease characterized by pustules
Inanition - Physical condition resulting from lack of food
Infantile paralysis - Polio
Intestinal colic - Abdominal pain due to improper diet
Jail fever - Typhus
Jaundice - Condition caused by blockage of intestines
King's evil - Tuberculosis of neck and lymph glands
Kruchhusten - Whooping cough
Lagrippe - Influenza
Lockjaw - Tetanus or infectious disease affecting the muscles of the neck and jaw.  Untreated, it is fatal in 8 days
Long sickness - Tuberculosis
Lues disease - Syphilis
Lues venera - Venereal disease
Lumbago - Back pain
Lung fever - Pneumonia
Lung sickness - Tuberculosis
Lying in - Time of delivery of infant
Malignant sore throat - Diphtheria
Mania - Insanity
Marasmus - Progressive wasting away of body, like malnutrition
Membranous Croup - Diphtheria
Meningitis - Inflations of brain or spinal cord
Metritis - Inflammation of uterus or purulent vaginal discharge
Miasma - Poisonous vapors thought to infect the air
Milk fever - Disease from drinking contaminated milk, like undulant fever or brucellosis
Milk leg - Post partum thrombophlebitis
Milk sickness - Disease from milk of cattle which had eaten poisonous weeds
Mormal - Gangrene
Morphew - Scurvy blisters on the body
Mortification - Gangrene of necrotic tissue
Myelitis - Inflammation of the spine
Myocarditis - Inflammation of heart muscles
Necrosis - Mortification of bones or tissue
Nephrosis - Kidney degeneration
Nepritis - Inflammation of kidneys
Nervous prostration - Extreme exhaustion from inability to control physical and mental activities
Neuralgia - Described as discomfort, such as "Headache" was neuralgia in head
Nostalgia - Homesickness
Palsy - Paralysis or uncontrolled movement of controlled muscles. It was listed as "Cause of death"
Paroxysm - Convulsion
Pemphigus - Skin disease of watery blisters
Pericarditis - Inflammation of heart
Peripneumonia - Inflammation of lungs
Peritonotis - Inflammation of abdominal area
Petechial Fever - Fever characterized by skin spotting
Phthiriasis - Lice infestation
Phthisis - Chronic wasting away or a name for tuberculosis
Plague - An acute febrile highly infectious disease with a high fatality rate
Pleurisy - Any pain in the chest area with each breath
Podagra - Gout
Poliomyelitis - Polio
Potter's asthma - Fibroid pthisis
Pott's disease - Tuberculosis of spine
Puerperal exhaustion - Death due to childbirth
Puerperal fever - Elevated temperature after giving birth to an infant
Puking fever - Milk sickness
Putrid fever - Diphtheria.
Quinsy - Tonsillitis.
Remitting fever - Malaria
Rheumatism - Any disorder associated with pain in joints
Rickets - Disease of skeletal system
Rose cold - Hay fever or nasal symptoms of an allergy
Rotanny fever - (Child's disease) ???
Rubeola - German measles
Sanguineous crust - Scab
Scarlatina - Scarlet fever
Scarlet fever - A disease characterized by red rash
Scarlet rash - Roseola
Sciatica - Rheumatism in the hips
Scirrhus - Cancerous tumors
Scotomy - Dizziness, nausea and dimness of sight
Scrivener's palsy - Writer's cramp
Screws - Rheumatism
Scrofula - Tuberculosis of neck lymph glands.  Progresses slowly with abscesses and pistulas develop. Young person's disease
Scrumpox - Skin disease, impetigo
Scurvy - Lack of vitamin C.  Symptoms of weakness, spongy gums and hemorrhages under skin
Septicemia - Blood poisoning
Shakes - Delirium tremens
Shaking - Chills, ague
Shingles - Viral disease with skin blisters
Ship fever - Typhus
Siriasis - Inflammation of the brain due to sun exposure
Sloes - Milk sickness
Small pox - Contagious disease with fever and blisters
Softening of brain - Result of stroke or hemorrhage in the brain, with an end result of the tissue softening in that area
Sore throat distemper - Diphtheria or quinsy
Spanish influenza - Epidemic influenza
Spasms - Sudden involuntary contraction of muscle or group of muscles, like a convulsion
Spina bifida - Deformity of spine
Spotted fever - Either typhus or meningitis
Sprue - Tropical disease characterized by intestinal disorders and sore throat
St. Anthony's fire - Also erysipelas, but named so because of affected skin areas are bright red in appearance
St. Vitas dance - Ceaseless occurrence of rapid complex jerking movements performed involuntary
Stomatitis- Inflammation of the mouth
Stranger's fever - Yellow fever
Strangery - Rupture
Sudor anglicus - Sweating sickness
Summer complaint - Diarrhea, usually in infants caused by spoiled milk
Sunstroke - Uncontrolled elevation of body temperature due to environment heat.  Lack of sodium  in the body is a predisposing cause
Swamp sickness - Could be malaria, typhoid or encephalitis
Sweating sickness - Infectious and fatal disease common to UK in 15th century
Tetanus - Infectious fever characterized by high fever, headache and dizziness
Thrombosis - Blood clot inside blood vessel
Thrush - Childhood disease characterized by spots on mouth, lips and throat
Tick fever - Rocky mountain spotted fever
Toxemia of pregnancy - Eclampsia
Trench mouth - Painful ulcers found along gum line, Caused by poor nutrition and poor hygiene
Tussis convulsiva - Whooping cough
Typhus - Infectious fever characterized high fever,  headache, and dizziness
Variola - Smallpox
Venesection - Bleeding
Viper's dance - St. Vitus Dance
Water on brain - Enlarged head
White swelling  - Tuberculosis of the bone
Winter fever - Pneumonia
Womb fever - Infection of the uterus.
Worm fit - Convulsions associated with teething, worms, elevated temperature or diarrhea
Yellowjacket - Yellow fever.

Last modified: 23 Oct 2006
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