Dictionary of Quaker Abbreviations (Part 1)

Notice: I apologize for being off line with my blogs for about 6 months. However, in that time, my team at WebSearchUSA was able to design me a new website and take care of those 75,000 spams. Yes, it does happen. Now I am back online and will contribute my voice in the world of Irish Genealogy.

If you have researched in the records of the Society of Friends (Quakers), you already know how wonderful they can be. However, you also know they can sometimes be a language all their own. I have already posted a three part blog Dictionary of Quaker Terms and Phrases (Parts 1, 2, and 3) on unique Quaker words. This blog will focus on the other frustration which is the abbreviations used within the records.

In compiling my “Dictionary of Quaker Abbreviations” I’ve drawn from Index to Abbreviations Found in Quaker Records and Glossary of Quaker Terms. Both are worthwhile dictionaries themselves and should be consulted in your research.

acc: accept, accepted, acceptable
ack mo: acknowledge marriage out
ae: age
altm: at liberty to marry
apd: attending places of diversion
apd: appointed, appealed
apt: appointed
att: attached to, attended
b: born
BG: burial grounds
ttw: between
bur: buried
bef: before
c: circa, about
cem: cemetery
cert: certificate
cd: contrary to the Discipline
ch: child, children, church
chm: condemned his/her misconduct
chr: charter
clear: clearness with respect to marriage
co: chosen overseer(s), county
com: complained, complained of
comm.: committee
comp: complained, complained of
con: condemned
ct: certificate, certificate to
d: died, day
dau: daughter
dec: deceased
dis: disowned, disowned for
div: divorced
dmi: declared marriage intentions first time
dmist: declared marriage intentions second time
dp: dropped plain dress and/or speech
dr: drinking spirituous liquor to excess
drpd: dropped
dt: daughter(s)
dtd: dated
e: east
end: endorsed
exms: excused from military service
fam: family
FBG: Friends burial grounds
form: former(ly)
fr: from
Frds: Friends
gc: granted certificate
gc efms: granted certificate excusing from military service
gct: granted certificate to
gl: granted letter
glt: granted letter to
gr dau: grand daughter
gr s: grand son
Gr Yd: grave yard
h or hus: husband
j: joined
jas: joined another society
jG: joined Gurneyites
jH: joined Hicksites
JP: justice of the peace
jW: joined Wilburites
ltm: liberated to marry, left at liberty to marry
lvd: lived
lvg: living

In Part 2 I conclude this dictionary with more abbreviations used in the Quaker records.