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Pennsylvania Tax Lists Glossary

11 Mar By Dwight Leave a Comment

Pennsylvania is just one of those cross roads in United States history. Sometimes it seems like everybody went there or through there. From its founding it was a haven for religious refugees being founded as a tolerant Quaker colony. From Ireland came all religious groups mixing and merging through the centuries. The Province of Pennsylvania entered the union in 1787.

The Importance of Tax Records

An essential resource in your research from the 1700s is the tax lists. Important ones have been extracted and published. Most are readily available on microfilm. However, once you get into the records, you will see intriguing terminology which does not translate into modern English. Understanding these are essential to your research. Keep in mind that as the state tax laws changed, so did the terms and items considered taxable.

The main taxable categories you will be interested in will concern land, single men, slaves and horses. The reason is you are documenting single men prior to their marriage and families bought and sold land and horses from each other. This allows you to connect various family members. There are sometimes editorial comments such as “deceased,” “moved” or “heir” which can be helpful.

Common Pennsylvania Tax Terms

Understanding tax language is important because of the lack of early county marriages records for Pennsylvania. So when a “freeman” becomes an “inmate” this mean a marriage has occurred. Key terms utilized in the decades of the late 1700s and early 1800s are as follows:

Freemen: unmarried males over 21.

Heir: indicates a death had occurred.

Inmates: married renters.

Negro: slaves

Occupation: other than a farmer.

Seated: a landowner was a resident

Servant: Various modes indentured servitude often European.

Unseated: a landowner was a non-resident.

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Filed Under: Irish Ancestry Tagged With: Dictionaries, Glossary, Tax Records, United States

Glossary of Whores and Prostitutes (1811) – Part 2

11 Feb By Dwight Leave a Comment

In Part 1 of this blog, I introduced you to the Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (1811). It is an invaluable source for hearing the voices of the common people in the United Kingdom and Ireland. This work provides insights into how men saw common women; whom they considered to be of ill repute, or at least on their way to becoming such.

Grading the Words Prostitute and Whore

Below is a list of how I have pieced together this complex topic. I have divided them by Whoredom and Prostitutes, grading them by how I see their usage, rather than an A-Z dictionary. An example of this comes from two whoredom words:

Buttock and Twang: A common whore, but no pickpocket.

Buttock and File: A common whore and a pickpocket.

The work liking these terms is “common” and the grading consists of the extra description. For example a Buttock and Twang was not a pickpocket whereas the Buttock and File was a pickpocket. The Buttock and Twang being higher on the scale than a Buttock and File by the fact this class of whores do not pick their customer’s pocket. This is based upon the assumption money was being passed which would link these terms to prostitution. This was the world our common ancestors lived in and how they classified the people around them.

The Worse Word to Call a Woman in 1811

While my grading of both prostitutes and whores is totally subjective; please be aware that as family historians we are trying to piece together the lives of people we technically only see as names on paper, microfilm or on a computer screen. However, saying this; while my ranking of whores and prostitutes may be subjective, the worse word of all was very clear cut! In 1811, there was no discussion that the worse word of all was bitch. The word was defined in 1811 with the following blunt definition:

Bitch: The most offensive appellation that can be given to an English woman, even more provoking than that of whore, as may be gathered from the regular Billinsgate or St. Gile’s answer – “I may be a whore, but can’t be a bitch.”

I have taken a few liberties with my glossary so that the modern mind can be wrapped around them. However, most wording has been left intact.

Grades of Whoredom in 1811

Whore: In wide usage with other words but not listed as word alone in the 1811 dictionary. General terms for a whore would include; Buttock, Covey, Crack, Madam Ran, Merry Arse Christian, and Punk. The terminology digresses from here.

Game Pullet: A young whore or forward girl in the way of becoming one.

Lewd Women: Ladybirds, Wagtail

Doxies: She beggars, wenches, whores.

Buttock and Twang: A common whore, but no pickpocket.

Blowen: A mistress or whore of a man who as he slept would rob him. Also refers to a prostitute who brings a man into a brothel and then robs him.
Buttock and File: A common whore and a pickpocket.

Dirty Puzzle: A nasty slut.

Drab: A nasty, sluttish whore.

Mawkes: A vulgar slattern (slut, harlot).

Fusty Luggs: A beastly, sluttish woman.

Trapes: A slatternly woman, a careless sluttish woman.

Wrinkle: A wrinkle bellied whore; one who has had a number of bastards.

Trumpery: An old whore, or goods of no value; rubbish.

Grades of Prostitutes in 1811

There are several generic terms for a prostitute and then the language becomes more colorful and descriptive. For present purposes, generic terms are kept separate from terms to describe a “common prostitute.” The common part adding at least one more descriptive term. One eyebrow raising word is “Barber’s Chair” which I have placed under the word Prostitute itself. However, the full definition is: Barber’s Chair: She is as common as a barber’s chair, in which a whole parish sit to be trimmed; said of a prostitute.

Prostitute: Barber’s Chair, Case Vrow, Covent Garden Nun, Curtezan, Drury Lane Vestal, Easy Virtue, Laced Mutton, Lady of Easy Virtue, Impure, One of Us (One of my Cousins), Public Ledger, Receiver General, Squirrel, Tail, Town, Unfortunate Women, Woman of Pleasure, Woman of the Town, Woman of Pleasure and Woman of the Town.

Mob (Mab): A wench or harlot.

Strumpet: A harlot.

Miss: A miss or kept mistress; a harlot.

Blowen: A mistress or whore of a man who as he slept would rob him. Also refers to a prostitute who brings a man into a brothel and then robs him.

Common Prostitute: Cat, A Female Screw, Fen,

Dopey: A beggar’s trull (low prostitute or concubine).

Queer Mort: A diseased strumpet.

Wasp: An infected prostitute, who like a wasp carries a sting in her tail.

Bunter: A low dirty prostitute, half whore and half beggar.

Quean: A slut, or worthless woman, a strumpet.

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Filed Under: Irish Ancestry Tagged With: Dictionaries, Glossary, Historical, Occupations

Glossary of Whores and Prostitutes (1811) – Part I

7 Feb By Dwight Leave a Comment

Often we create stories about our ancestors which paint them in the best light. We tend to forget this is our perception of how life should be, not theirs. Many of our ancestors belonged to a distinct underclass. Sometimes we get hints of this in census schedules, newspaper accounts, church registers and court records. What were their lives really like?

The Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (1811)

One priceless work which provides a window into the world of the illiterate and semi-literate underclass is the Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (1811). It remains in print and online. This work defines terms which were in usage among these common people throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland. However, helping to place your ancestors in a historical context, this A-Z dictionary is worthless unless you already know the word.

I have created a glossary from this 1811 resource focusing specifically on the industry of prostitution and its related word whore. This dictionary reveals how the common people spoke of prostitution, thought about it and utilized it as a service. I have left out terms for madams and pimps as that seems to be almost a class higher being a business person.

The Complex Usage of the Words Whore and Prostitute

As I was compiling this dictionary, I realized by the very language used, prostitution itself was a graded industry. The more discriptions added to a term actually lowered a woman on the scale of perception. This makes both the terms prostitute and whore more complex than I even realized. They were definitely more complicated in 1811 than they are today.

Historically, a prostitute had to do with money and applies almost exclusively to women. A prostitute was also one who was either engaged in selling sex themselves or through someone else. Alternative words would include harlot from 1610 and strumpet which dated back to the 1300s. Prostitution is an institution even if the word itself does not necessarily focus on “sex for hire.” It can just as easily be “exposed to sex indiscriminately offered.” Another context was using oneself or another for money in an unworthy or suspect cause, which did not involve sex. An example would be someone selling a talent.

The term whore can also be used in reference to a prostitute. However, its usage was more complicated. For example, it references a promiscuous woman or man. One can “consort with whores” or be “out whoring all night.” Another usage can be to “make a whore of” which would mean to contribute to debauching someone (male or female). A whoremonger was a man obsessed with having sex as often as possible. In some usage a whore was equated with an adulterer.

While the exchange of money may or may not be involved in whoredom, the principle is similar to prostitution in that to “be a whore” or to be “out whoring” can become prostitution or the purchasing of sex. At that point, the word whore also became tangled in with strumpet and harlot. Whether calling someone a whore was better than calling someone a prostitute seems to have been a matter of perspective. It’s important to read words in the context being used in a given document.

Which Word was Worse Prostitute or Whore

My assumption is that in 1811, in certain usage, a prostitute was worse than a whore because the word whore was more ambiguous encompassing women and men involved in paid sex and unpaid sex. Yet, in other usages in 1811, whore was a straightforward derogatory insult. So much of this discussion has to do with in what context both words were used and how many additional descriptive words were added to them!

When attempting to understand old terms and dictionaries, it’s always important to place the author in a historical context. In this case, an educated man living in a world of early nineteenth century values. This means the source has preserved for us insight into how men, both educated and uneducated viewed common women.

In Part 2 of this blog, I will be presenting my glossary of terms from 1811 and provide a little more insight into how I saw the terms graded. Plus, I’ll introduce you to the worse word of all in 1811.

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Filed Under: Irish Ancestry Tagged With: Dictionaries, Glossary, Historical, Occupations

Hanging as a Cultural Concern in 1811

28 Jan By Dwight Leave a Comment

In our modern society, we don’t think in terms of hanging as a method of execution. If fact, most of us in the modern industrialized West seldom think of execution at all. However, in the United Kingdom and Ireland of 1811, a convicted criminal’s options may have been either a sentence of time, transportation to the penal colonies or commonly the gallows. As a result, a culture developed around hanging and the gallows as an event. Even a language developed which encapsulated how the common people saw this very real aspect of their lives. Just the large number of terms associated with execution by hanging demonstrates the subject was a concern to them.

Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (1811)

The list below comprises terms which the common, semi-literate or illiterate people used to understand this method of execution. It is taken from the Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (1811). This reference tool defines words and terms which were in usage among these common people throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland. However, because this insightful period source is literally in an A to Z format, topics such as these are lost and inaccessible without already knowing the term.

Hanging and Gallows Terms in 1811

This glossary provides some insight into the common people and their thinking. It gives them a voice into their daily concerns which would be difficult to find elsewhere. I have added some clarification to some definitions to make them comprehensible to the modern family historian.

Bed: This has several meanings. The root is to be dead. It was common for those being hanged to put up a ladder “to bed” and when the ladder was taken away they were “turned off.”

Beilby’s Ball: He will dance at Beilby’s ball where the sheriff pays the music; means he will be hanged.

Climb: To ascend the gallows.

Cockles: To be hanged as in “To cry cockles.” It is thought the term comes from the noise made while strangling

Collar Day: Execution day.

Colquarron: A man’s neck. His colquarron is just about to be twisted, meaning He is just going to be hanged.

Crop: To be knocked down for a crop is to be condemned to be hanged. Cropped means hanged.

Dance Upon Nothing: To be hanged.

To Dangle: One meaning is to be hanged.

To Dawb: To bribe. The cull was scragged because he could not dawb; meaning the rogue was hanged because he could not bribe.

Deadly Nevergreen: The gallows a reference to “Deadly Nevergreen that bears fruit all the year round.” Also referred to as Three Legged Mare.

Die Hard: To die hard is to show no signs of fear or contrition at the gallows; not to whiddle or squeak. This advice is frequently given to felons going to suffer the law, by their old comrades, anxious for the honor of the gang.

Drop: An instrument for executing felons by means of a platform which drops from under them. Also termed the Last Drop or Morning Drop.

Frisk: To dance the Paddington frisk; to be hanged.

Frummagemmed: Choaked, strangled, suffocated or hanged.

[Die] Game: to suffer at the gallows without showing any signs of fear or repentance.

Gaoler’s Coach: A hurdle (portable barrier or cage) usually conveyed from the gaol (jail) to the place of execution on a hurdle or sledge (vehicle drawn by draft animals).

Hempen Fever: A man who was hanged is said to have died of a hempen fever (hemp was used to make ropes).

Hempen Widow: One whose husband was hanged.

Jack Ketch: The hangman. Also called Derrick and Ketch.

Jammed: Hanged

Ladder: To go up the ladder to rest is to be hanged.

Leaf: To go off with the fall of a leaf; to be hanged. Criminals in Dublin being turned off from the outside of the prison by the falling of a board, propped up, and moving on a hinge, like the leaf of a table.

Neck Verse: Formerly the persons claiming the benefit of clergy were obliged to read a verse in a Latin manuscript psalter; this saved them from the gallows. It was Psalms 51:1.

New Drop: The scaffold used for hanging criminals (at Newgate Prison), which dropping down, leaves them suspended. By this improvement, the use of a cart in the process was unnecessary.

Newman’s Lift: The gallows.

Noozed: Hanged or married.

Nubbing: Hanging. The Nibbing Cheat is the gallows. The Nubbing Cove is the hangman and the Nubbing Ken is the sessions house.

Paddington Fair Day: An execution day. To Dance the Paddington Frisk is to be hanged.

Picture Frame: The sheriff’s picture frame is the gallows or pillory (stocks).

Piss: He will piss when he can’t whistle; he will be hanged.

Pit: The pit is a hole under the gallows where poor rogues unable to pay the fees are buried.

Quinsey: Choked by a hempen quinsy means hanged.

Scapegallows: One who deserves and has narrowly escaped the gallows. See Slipgibbet.

Scragged: Hanged.

Scragg’em Fair: A public execution.

Sheriff’s Ball: An execution. To dance at the sheriff’s ball, a loll out one’s tongue at the company is to be hanged or go to rest in a horse’s night cap, i.e. a halter.

Sheriff’s Journeyman: The hangman.

Sheriff’s Picture Frame: The gallows.

Slipgibbet: One for whom the gallows is said to grin.

Stretching: Hanging: He’ll stretch for it means he’ll hang for it.

Sus Per Coll: Hanged. Persons who have been hanged are thus entered into the jailor’s books.

To Swing: To be hanged. He will swing for it means he will be hanged for it.

Topping Cheat: The gallows.

Topping Cove: The hangman.

Trine: To hang.

Trining: Hanging.

Trooper: You will die the death of a trooper’s horse, which means with your shoes on. This is a jocular method of telling anyone he will be hanged.

Tucked Up: Hanged

Twisted: Executed, hanged.

Wry Mouth and a Pissen Pair of Breeches: Hanging.

Wry Neck Day: Hanging day.

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Filed Under: Irish Ancestry Tagged With: Crime and Punishment, Dictionaries, Glossary, Historical

Dictionary of Episcopal Baptismal Terms (1901) – Part 2

20 Dec By Dwight Leave a Comment

In Part 2 of my “Dictionary of Episcopal Baptismal Terms (1901)” I continue with terms which have been gleaned from William James Miller’s The American Church Dictionary and Cyclopedia (1901) which is available for download online. For a full introduction to the topic and its importance in your genealogical research, please consult Part 1 of this blog.

Dictionary of Episcopal Baptismal Terms

Lay Baptism: Baptism administered by a layman. The church has always held that Baptism by any man in case of necessity is valid. But only great necessity, such as sudden danger or sickness and the inability to secure the services of a clergyman, should be just cause for baptism by a layman, and then great care should be taken that the proper from and words are used. It is well to note that when Holy Baptism is administered by one who is not a Clergyman without such necessity as mentioned above, the person baptizing is guilty of a great sin, even though his act may bring a blessing to the person baptized. His act cannot be undone, but it ought not to have been done.

Name, The Christian: The name received in Holy Baptism. In former days people in general had only one name, as John, Henry, Mary, etc., and were further known by their occupation or some other distinctive word. But the names of trades, place, etc., thus added on to the Christian name (iei., supra or sur nomen) gradually became permanent surnames, so that now every person after infancy and Baptism has two names, viz., a Christian name and a surname. The Christian name we receive at our Christening, that is, Christianing or Baptism or New Birth. It is given, not inherited. It is a new name given to us in our Baptism because we then become something new. It is given in Baptism to indicate a new relationship to God by thus being brought into covenant with Him. We find many examples in the Bible of new names given in connection with a change of spiritual conditions. Thus Abrahm’s name was changed to Abraham when God made His covenant with him, and Jacob’s name was changed to Israel when that covenant was renewed with him, which had been made with ‘Abraham. In the same way and for the same reason Christian names have great significance. They are the sign that those who bear them have been brought into covenant with God, that they have been made in their Baptism, “members of Christ, the children of God, and inheritors of the kingdom of heaven.”

Neophyte: A term applied in the primitive /church to the newly baptized – “newly grafted” (which the word means) into Christianity. It was customary for them to wear white garments at their Baptism and for eight days after. The word is still frequently used.

New Birth: The name which the New Testament Scriptures, and the Church for nearly two thousand years have given to Holy Baptism, which is the Laver of Regeneration, the new and spiritual Birth.

Parish Register: A book in which all births, Baptisms, Confirmations, deaths, and marriages that occur in the Parish are recorded, together with the list of Families and Communicants. The importance of the Parish Register and the care with which it should be kept will appear when it is considered that it is a legal document.

Regeneration: The inward and spiritual gift in Holy Baptism is regeneration, that is being born anew. It is well to note that Regeneration, or the “New Birth” is often confounded with “Conversion,” or they are regarded as synonymous terms. This is a mistake and contrary to the teaching of Holy Scripture. Regeneration is a New Birth unto God whereby we become partakers of the nature of Christ. As the natural birth, so the new and spiritual Birth can take place only once, and that in Holy baptism. A baptized Christian my repeatedly fall from Grace, and by repentance, by amendment of life and by forgiveness he may be again restored, (this is Conversion), but he cannot be said to be again regenerate without a grievous misapprehension of the language of the Bible and a total departure from the Doctrine of the Primitive Church. By Regeneration, therefore, is meant that gracious act of God whereby for Christ’s sake. He brings us into a new relationship with Himself, adopts us as His own children, translates us into the kingdom of His Son, incorporates us into His Church, and so brings us under the influence of the Holy Spirit. Regeneration is the name originated for Baptism by our Lord Himself in His discourse with Nicodemus, as recorded in the third chapter of St. John’s Gospel, and it is for this reason that this passage is appointed to be read in the service for the Baptism of Adults.

Sacrament: The word “Sacrament” is derived from the Latin Sacramentum, meaning the military oath required of the soldiers of ancient Rome. Its outward sign was the uplifted hand whereby the soldier pledged himself to loyalty, which may be regarded as the thing signified by that outward gesture. The word came to be used for those ordinances of the Christian Church possessing an “outward sign” and conveying an “inward grace.” Thus the Church Catechism treating of the two Sacraments “generally necessary to salvation, that is to say, Baptism and the Supper of the Lord,” defines a sacrament as being an outward and visible sign ordained by Christ, of an inward and spiritual grace given by Him as its accompaniment. This definition has reference to the Sacramental system of the Church and means that Christ appointed only two Sacraments that are generally or universally necessary to salvation. It does not imply that there are not other Sacramental agencies in the Church – but only that these two are absolutely necessary to salvation. For example, if a man would be saved he must receive Holy Baptism and Holy Communion where these Sacraments are to be had; but for his salvation it is not necessary that he should be married, or ordained to the Sacred Ministry, and yet Marriage and Ordination are thoroughly sacramental in character in that they are grace conferring, and therefore, in her book of Homilies the church calls them Sacraments, The great English divines generally take this position in regard to the Sacraments and the Sacramental System of the Church. Thus Archbishop Bramhall declares: “the proper and certain Sacraments of the Christian Church, common to all, or (in the words of our Church) generally necessary to Salvation, are but two, Baptism and the Supper of the Lord… the rest we retain, though not under the notion of such proper and general Sacraments, – as Confirmation, Ordination, Matrimony, Penitence and lastly, the Visitation of the Sick.” So also, Bishop Jeremy Taylor says, “it is none of the doctrine of the Church of England, that there are two Sacraments only, but that ‘two only are generally necessary to salvation.’”

Sponsors: It would be difficult to say with any degree of certainty at what period the office of Sponsors was established, but it appeared in the very earliest ages of the Christian Church. It is supposed that persecution and the presence of heresy led to its institution. During the time of those early persecutions it stands to reason that the heads of the Church must have been aware of the probability of some at least of those who had been baptized of receding from their vows and thus sinning away their Baptismal grace. It was but natural that they should adopt every precaution to ascertain the character of those whom, by Baptism, they admitted to the Christian covenant. They required, therefore, that some of their own body answer for the real conversion of the presumed neophyte, and should also be Sureties for the fulfillment of the promises then made. Then there were the probabilities during persecution that the parents might not outlive the violence of the times and be enabled to watch over the moral and religious education of their baptized children. The Church was anxious not to lose these lambs of the Flock, and so it was a wise and godly provision that there should be someone who, in default of their parents, surviving or in case of their apostasy, might see to it that their godchildren were “brought up to lead a godly and a Christian life.” The advantages arising from this ancient institution of Sponsors were so great that it has been continued throughout all ages of the Church. And even in this present time, if all Sponsors would fulfill their duties, many a child now lost to the Church, might have been saved to it and brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. In the case of Baptism of Infants, the significance of Sponsors is very great, in that Baptism is a covenant, in which God on the one hand is represented by His Minister, and the child is represented by his Sponsors, who answer for him and agree to see to it that this child shall be virtuously brought up and so trained that it shall lead the rest of his life according to this beginning. The Sponsors are called Godfathers and Godmothers because of the spiritual affinity created in Baptism, their responsibility for the training of the child being almost parental.

State of Salvation: By Holy Baptism we are admitted into Christ’s Church, His Kingdom of grace, which in the Church Catechism is declared to be a “State of Salvation,” i.e., a Christian condition in which it is quite certain the salvation of God is within our reach and in which as we are responsive to all its overtures of grace we may grow into the likeness of God’s dear Son. Our final salvation is dependent on our continuance in this state of Salvation by God’s grace unto our life’s end.

Trine Immersion: The name given to the practice in the Primitive Church, of dipping a person, who was being baptized, three times beneath the surface of the water, i.e., at each name of the three Persons in the Blessed Trinity. When Baptism was by affusion or pouring, as is usual at the present time, the affusion was also trine. The Apostolic canons insisted so strongly on this mode of Baptism that they enjoined that the Bishop or Priest who did not thus administer it should be deposed. This threefold method of Baptism still prevails in the Church and is the only proper method of administering this sacrament.

Water: In the Church Catechism it is declared that the outward visible sign or form in Baptism is, “Water; wherein the person is baptized. In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” By the rubric in the Office for Holy Baptism it is directed that the Font is to be filled with “pure water.” It is thus the Church fulfills our Lord’s command, following literally His words, “baptizing them with water.” Water, therefore, is the essential element of Holy Baptism, just as the bread and wine are the elements in the Holy Communion. Water as used in Holy Baptism signifies “cleansing.” The amount of water to be used the Church has always regarded as matter of indifference.

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Filed Under: Irish Ancestry Tagged With: Anglican Communion, Church records, Dictionaries, Glossary

Dictionary of Episcopal Baptismal Terms (1901) – Part 1

17 Dec By Dwight Leave a Comment

In church registers we often come across terms and concepts which are unfamiliar. It’s important to remember theology creates records. In this case, finding terminology in an older alphabetical listing can be frustrating if there is no cross reference. I want to present key baptismal terms in the Anglican Communion as the concepts behind the terms affects our understanding of the records themselves.

The American Church Dictionary and Cyclopedia

This dictionary is based upon William James Miller’s The American Church Dictionary and Cyclopedia (1901) which is available for download online. Although this work is a product of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, as expected, there is a heavy historical United Kingdom emphasis. This makes this dictionary useful for not only your American immigrant research, but also for other places where the Irish settled or simply for your Church of Ireland research.

One feature which makes this dictionary so fascinating is that if you read carefully what the author is saying, you become aware of an Episcopal identity or perhaps identity crisis in 1901. This was a church in a very pluralist society being only one of many without the British identity preserved as it was in the United Kingdom and in the Commonwealth.

Dictionary of Episcopal Baptismal Terms

In the case of baptism, not only was the Episcopal Church confronted with the revivalism of evangelicalism, but with a theology of salvation by faith alone. Also, in Mid-West and South, the Episcopal Church was confronted with the Stone-Campbell Restoration theology where the only form of baptism was by immersion for the remission of sins. This is no better examined than by studying how the author treated “Adult Baptism” and “Joining the Church.”

Wherever possible, I have kept intact the italics, flowery language, run on sentences and tediously long paragraphs. This will provide you with some extra insight as to what your ancestor was hearing and reading.

Adult Baptism: The rule of the Church is Infant Baptism. She brings children even in their tenderest years within her Fold and there trains them up “in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” But when in England the Puritans and Anabaptists arose and prevailed, then there grew up a generation that reached maturity without having been baptized, and then it was that there arose the necessity for “The Ministration of Baptism to such as are of Riper Years and able to answer for themselves.” To meet such cased the present service in the Prayer Book for the Baptism of Adults was prepared and set forth in A.D. 1661. That the Church of England had no form for the Baptism of Adults previous to the year 1661 is not only an interesting fact, but it is also one of those historic side-lights which brings into bold relief what was the custom of the Church from time immemorial.

Affusion: The pouring (which the word means) of water on the recipient of Baptism, when the Baptism is not by immersion. Questions have arisen from the very earliest ages as to the matter and form with which this Sacrament is to be administered. The original mode was undoubtedly by the descent of the person to be baptized into a stream or pool of water. The practice of immersion was not, however, regarded as an essential feature of Baptism. There can be little doubt that affusion was practiced instead of immersion, at the discretion of the Priest, in ancient as well as in modern times. The Prayer Book provides for either mode. The method is a matter of indifference, the essential point being that the candidate for Baptism come into actual contact with water while the word, “I baptize thee in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost,” are spoken.

Baptism, Holy: One of the two great Sacraments ordained by Christ as generally (universally) necessary to salvation. Holy Baptism is the initiatory rite by which we are admitted into the fellowship of Christ’s Religion, admitted into His Church. Baptism is a covenant made between God and man; of this covenant the Christian name, which was then given us, is the reminder; reminding us of our new relationship with God. The grace conferred in Holy Baptism is threefold, (1) Regeneration, or the New Birth; (2) Admission into the Spiritual Kingdom, or the Holy Catholic Church, and (3) The forgiveness of all our sins, for in the Nicene Creed we confess, “I acknowledge one Baptism for the Remission of sins.” The vows of Holy Baptism are three in number, (1) To Renounce, (2) to Believe and (3) to Obey. These cover “the Whole Duty of Man,” and it is by the use of the Means of Grace with diligent Prayer that he is enabled to keep them and to grow into the likeness of Christ, whose member he is because incorporated into Him by Holy Baptism. The outward, visible sign or form in Baptism is water, with the unfailing use of the words, “In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” This effects a valid Baptism.

Baptism, Conditional: As Holy Baptism can take place only once in any individual life, the Church has always been most careful that it should not be repeated. But it sometimes happens that grave doubts arise as to the validity of one’s Baptism, or the fact of Baptism is only a matter of conjecture. In such cases the Church has provided for conditional, or hypothetical Baptism. The form is, “If thou are not already baptized, (name) I baptize thee in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, Amen.” In such a case if the Baptism has already taken place and was valid, the hypothetical Baptism passes for naught, but if it were no valid or had not taken place, the hypothetical Baptism is effective.

Baptism, Private: The proper place for the administration of Holy Baptism is in the church, and the Church warns her people “that without great and reasonable cause and necessity, they procure not their children to be baptized at home in their houses.” But when need shall compel them so to do, she provides for the emergency by the service entitled, “The Ministration of Private Baptism of Children in Houses,” as set forth in the Prayer Book. In this office no provision is made for Sponsors. The child is to be brought afterwards into the Church to the intent that the congregation may be certified of the true Form of Baptism privately before used. Then it is publicly received and the Sponsors answer for the child and become responsible for its Christian training, publicly before the congregation.

Baptismal Shell: A scallop shell, either real or made of precious metal, used by the Priest for pouring the water on the head of the candidate in Holy Baptism.

Baptistry: A portion of a church set apart for the administration of Holy Baptism. Sometimes the Baptistry was erected as a separate building or attached to a church or cathedral, specially adapted for Baptism by immersion.

Candidate: The name commonly given to one who is preparing for Holy Baptism or Confirmation. The name is also applied to one who seeks admission to the Sacred Ministry, and is therefore enrolled as a “Candidate for Holy Orders.”

Elements: The bread and the wine in the Holy Communion, and the water in Holy Baptism are so-called.

Generally Necessary: In the definition given in the Church Catechism of Holy Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, these Sacraments are declared to be “generally necessary to salvation.” From the way many persons postpone their own Baptism, neglect the Baptism of their children and ignore the Holy Communion, it would seem that they think the word “generally” in the above clause, means “usually,” but not essential to religious life. This is a mistake. The word “generally” as used when the Catechism was set forth is simply the Anglicized form of the Latin word geeraliter, meaning universally, always, absolutely necessary for everyone who would be saved, and therefore, imperative where the Sacraments may be held.

Immersion: The dipping into the water of recipients of Holy Baptism.

Infant Baptism: If the Church were simply a voluntary society founded on the Bible, as is commonly supposed, there would be no special reason why Infants should be baptized, except as a matter of sentiment. If, on the other hand, the Church is a Divine Institution, founded on Christ and His Apostles, and is declared in Holy Scripture to be the Mystical Body of Christ, in which we are united to Him, admitted into covenant with God and so brought into a new relationship with God, then Infant Baptism is not only one of the most reasonable, but one of the most urgent doctrines of the Christian Religion, because it is in Holy Baptism that all these blessings are vouchsafed to us. By this Sacrament the youngest infant is lifted up, so to speak, out of the world of nature and transplanted into Christ’s spiritual kingdom. It becomes thus a child of grace. Its little life is made right with God. The old evil of our race has been rectified. It is henceforth not only a child of Adam, but also a child, or member of the second Adam, Jesus our Lord. By its new Birth in Holy Baptism, the child becomes as fully incorporated into the new and spiritual race of which Christ is the Head, as ever it was incorporated into the race of mankind by its natural birth. It may not be conscious of this, any more than it was conscious of its natural birth, but it has, nevertheless, made a right beginning through the thoughtful care of others. It has, by this ministration, been grafted into the Body of Christ. It has been put in the way of true spiritual growth and training. Henceforth it may be brought up as “the child of God” and not as an alien. To this end the church gives it spiritual caretakers, whose duty it is to see that this child is virtuously brought up to lead a Godly and a Christian life according to this beginning. This is the meaning of Infant Baptism; and the Church has always regarded such Baptism as a reasonable and benevolent work, as is exemplified by her universal practice from the beginning. The “Mercy to Babes” in the Old Dispensation has not been lost out of the New, the Dispensation of the Spirit of love, which brings to all, even to the infant, as well as to its parents, God’s mercy which “He promised to our forefathers, Abraham and his seed forever.”

Joining the Church: This is a phrase that has been brought over from the usage and phraseology of the various denominations. Its use among Church people has been productive of the greatest harm. In the first place, it is hardly a correct phrase for a Churchman to use. We may “join” an Odd Fellows’ lodge or a debating society, but we do not join a family or household which God’s Church is. We are born or adopted into a family, and so we are adopted into God’s family; incorporated, grafted into the Body of Christ, His Church, and not simply “join” it as we would a debating society or a political club.

In the next place, harm has been done by the use of this phrase by Church people, because as popularly understood it is in direct contradiction to the belief and practice of the Church. According to this phraseology Holy Baptism counts for nothing, and yet the Bible teaches that it is in Holy Baptism that we are made members of the church, and that all future blessings are dependent on this spiritual fact. When then, Church people take up this mode of speech and use it in reference to Confirmation as is so often done, they practically ignore the significance of Holy Baptism and the Church’s method and appointed order.

The effect of this becomes apparent in the lives of many of the church’s baptized children. Because, in whatever religious teaching they receive, their Baptism is never referred to, and they are never reminded that they are now God’s children by adoption and grace because baptized, it comes to pass that, when these same children are asked to be confirmed, they think and act as if they were invited to “join the Church.” And as they are more influenced by the speech and methods of the various religious bodies which prevail in their community than they are by the Church’s teaching, they imagine that something extraordinary is required; they feel as if they must somehow “have got” religion; or they do not feel prepared to “experience religion”; or else they don’t know whether they will or will not “join the Episcopal Church.” In all this we see the result of the application and use of “other systems” rather than that of the Church. Thus many an earnest and loving young heart has been lost to the Church, notwithstanding it was given to God in its tenderest years to be trained up for Him. Confirmation is not “joining the Church.” If we are baptized, we have been “received into Christ’s Holy Church and made a living member of the same.” And because this is true, the church has a further Blessing in store for her children. This she would bestow by the ministration of her chief Pastors in the Laying on of Hands by the Bishop; and to this our young people might go naturally and easily and at the same time soberly and reverently, if they were properly instructed and lovingly led. There is no reason why any young baptized person might not thus go to his or her Confirmation, claiming this Blessing as their right and privilege as children of God and citizens of His Kingdom.

If you would like to understand more about your Episcopal ancestors Click Here.

Filed Under: Irish Ancestry Tagged With: Anglican Communion, Church records, Dictionaries, Glossary

Dictionary of Episcopal Marriage Terms (1901)

5 Dec By Dwight Leave a Comment

In church registers we often come across terms and concepts which are unfamiliar. It’s important to remember theology creates records. In this case, finding terminology in an older alphabetical listing can be frustrating if there is no cross reference. I want to present key marriage terms in the Anglican Communion extracted from one such older work.

The American Church Dictionary and Cyclopedia

This dictionary is based upon William James Miller’s The American Church Dictionary and Cyclopedia (1901) which is available for download online. Although this work is a product of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, as expected, there is a heavy historical United Kingdom emphasis. This makes the dictionary useful for not only your American immigrant research, but also for other places where the Irish settled or simply for your Church of Ireland research.

Dictionary of Episcopal Marriage Terms

The terms below are culturally important because they provide insight into how the Episcopal Church was interacting with popular American culture in 1901. The underlying tone reflects a church in conflict with the wider pluralistic society. These terms, are often long and tedious. However, they do reflect the Episcopal thinking by defining proper procedure and theology in such a culture.

They also answer many important genealogical questions such as how the church viewed a civil marriage as opposed to a church marriage blessed by a priest. I have kept italics where found in the original dictionary as well as preserved the often long sentences, paragraphs and flowery language. This provides extra insight into what your ancestor was hearing and reading.

Banns of Marriage: The word “Bann” is derived from the Saxon word bannen, meaning, to proclaim. The term “Banns of Marriage,” means, therefore, the publication of intended marriages, and are published for three Sundays before the event, in the Church where the ceremony is to take place. The publishing of the Banns in the Church of England is required by law. In the American Prayer Book, provision is made for the publishing of the Banns of Marriage, but as it is not required by law the custom has fallen into disuse.

Bethrothal: That portion of the Marriage Service in which the man and the woman join hands and give their troth (i.e., truth or promise of fidelity) each to the other. This is the Marriage Vow and is usually said at the foot of the chancel steps, the marriage proper (with the ring) taking place at the Altar Rail.

Espousal: That portion of the Marriage Service in which the contracting parties answer “I will” to the questions, “[name] wilt thou have this woman to be thy wedded wife” and “[ name] wilt thou have this man to thy wedded husband.” This seems to be the remains of the old form of espousals, which was different and distinct from the Office of Marriage, and which was often performed some weeks or months or perhaps years before. Something similar to what is now called “engagement,” only that it had the blessing of Mother Church upon it. In the Greek Church at the present time there are still two different offices, viz.: the one of espousals and the other of marriage, which are now performed on the same day, although formerly on different days.

Marriage: The sad prevalence of divorce in the United States might not have come to pass if people had clear ideas of what Marriage really is. Marriage is a great deal more than simply a civil contract. It is a divine institution, “an honorable estate, instituted by God in the time of man’s innocency.” It is a religious ceremony and is sacramental in character. It ought, therefore, to be clearly understood that marriage simply by a “squire” or other legal officer, detracts from the sacredness and dignity of “this holy estate,” and belittles the binding character of the “marriage tie.” Even a secular paper could declare, “We do not believe there should be any civil marriages of any kind. Every ceremony should be solemnized by the Church and lifted above the level of a real estate transaction.” In this custom of civil or legal marriages may be found at least one cause, perhaps the principle cause of divorce, for it encourages such a low view of the sacredness of the Marriage Rite.

Taught by our Lord and His Apostles, the Church emphasizes the religious and sacramental character of Holy Matrimony and has always enjoined its solemnization with ecclesiastical ceremonies and by ecclesiastical persons. This is clearly set forth by the earliest Christian writers. Thus St. Ignatius in one of his Epistles says: “It is fitting for those who purpose matrimony to accomplish their union with the sanction of the Bishop, that their marriage may be in the Lord.” Tertullian speaks of marriages being “ratified before God,” and adds, “How can we find words to describe the happiness of that Marriage in which the Church joins together, which the Oblation confirms, the Benediction seals, the Angels proclaim when sealed, and the Father ratifies.” St. Ambrose calls Marriage a Sacrament, and says, “Marriage must be sanctified by the Priest’s sanction and blessing.”

These utterances unfold the mind of the Church in the times nearest the days of our Lord and His Apostles, and in all ages ever since the Church has never abandoned this position in her practice and formularies. A careful study of the Marriage Service in the Prayer Book will show it to be a very clear setting forth of the nature of Marriage. It will also be seen how fully this Service has retained the belief concerning Marriage which the Church has always held since the time of our Lord and His Apostles.

Parish Register: A book in which all births, Baptisms, Confirmations, deaths, and marriages that occur in the Parish are recorded, together with the list of Families and Communicants. The importance of the Parish Register and the care with which it should be kept will appear when it is considered that it is a legal document.

Ring: The custom of the Wedding Ring was probably adopted by the early Church from the marriage customs of the Jews and also of the heathen, as its use has been almost universal. From its shape, having neither beginning nor ending, it is regarded as an emblem of eternity, constancy, and integrity. It is placed on the fourth finger of the woman’s left hand, and the ancient ceremony of doing so was to place it first on the thumb at the Name of the first person of the Trinity; on the next finger, at the Name of the Son; on the third at the Name of the Holy Ghost, and then on the fourth finger, and leaving it there at the word “Amen.” The ring is, also, frequently given at the consecration of a Bishop, to symbolize his espousal with the Church in his Diocese. Thus bestowed, it is a symbol of authority and is called the episcopal Ring.

If you would like to know more about your Episcopal ancestors Contact Us.

Filed Under: Irish Ancestry Tagged With: Anglican Communion, Church records, Dictionaries, Glossary

Dictionary of Episcopal Burial Terms (1901)

30 Nov By Dwight Leave a Comment

Often we see terms in the old records and we have a basic understanding of what they mean. At other times we don’t have a clue. In the case of Episcopal Church burial records we will know the basic terms used in 1901. However, there’s a second tier of insights which may not be so obvious. For example, what about someone who committed suicide? What was the church policy? Can a non-member be buried in the Episcopal Cemetery? These types of questions can affect your research in no small way!

The American Church Dictionary and Cyclopedia

This is where William James Miller’s The American Church Dictionary and Cyclopedia (1901) becomes a valued research tool. It is available on the Internet for download. Although this work is a product of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, as expected, there is a heavy historical United Kingdom emphasis. This makes this dictionary useful for not only your American immigrant research, but also for other places where the Irish settled or simply for your Church of Ireland research.

Dictionary of Episcopal Burial Terms

When using the dictionary below, consider the writing style of the period which includes the use of very long sentences and paragraphs. I am preserving these in order to provide the flavor for what the readers saw and experienced in 1901. Also, notice the undertone in some definitions meant to counter the rise of American Evangelicals by defining what is proper Episcopal procedure.

Burial: The Burial Office set forth in the Prayer Book is intended for the Church’s own people, and therefore it cannot be used over an unbaptized adult, because not being baptized he is not a member of the Church. It cannot be used over an excommunicated person because he has been cut off from the Church’s privileges. It cannot be used over one who has committed suicide, even if a member of the Church, for by this act he has voluntarily removed himself “from the sphere of its sanctions,” and to whom all branches of the Church as well as our own have ever denied the use of this Office. The reason for these prohibitions may be learned when we consider that the Burial Office is founded on the fact of our incorporation into Christ’s Mystical Body, on which is founded our hope of the General Resurrection. The whole service is colored by this belief and is illustrated and confirmed by the Lesson read from St. Paul’s Epistle to the Corinthians, setting forth the doctrine that our Lord’s Incarnation is the source of all spiritual life and, therefore, the source of eternal life in the world to come.

The proper place for the use of the Burial Office is the Church and it out not to be used in houses except for great cause.

Crypt: A vault beneath a church, more especially under the Chancel and sometimes used for burial. The word is sometimes given to the basement of a church where services are held.

Funerals: The solemn Burial of the Dead. In the Church there is no such thing as “Preaching a Funeral,” as it is called, but the reverent and devout committal of the “body to the ground,” “looking for the General Resurrection in the last day and the life of the world to come, through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Plainness and simplicity should mark so holy a function.

Parish Register: A book in which all births, Baptisms, Confirmations, deaths, and marriages that occur in the Parish are recorded, together with the list of Families and Communicants. The importance of the Parish Register and the care with which it should be kept will appear when it is considered that it is a legal document.

Click Here if you would like to discover more about your Episcopal ancestry.

Filed Under: Irish Ancestry Tagged With: Anglican Communion, Church records, Dictionaries, Glossary, Theology

Dictionary of Quaker Abbreviations (Part 2)

14 Aug By Dwight Leave a Comment

In this second part of my “Dictionary of Quaker Abbreviations, I continue with the abbreviations you will find in the Quaker records in the United Kingdom, Ireland with some terms from North America. While there are many such versions on the Internet, I’m primarily drawing from two excellent dictionaries “Index to Abbreviations Found in Quaker Records,” www.combs-families.org/combs/quaker/abb.htm on the Combs-families.org website and the “Glossary of Quaker Terms,” www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~quakers/quakdefs.htm on the Rootsweb website.

m: marry, married, marrying, marriage, month

ma: marriage authorized

mbr: member

mbrp: membership

mcd: married contrary to Discipline

MG: minister of the Gospel

MH: meeting house, church

mi: miles

MM: monthly meeting

mos: married out of society

mou: married out of unity

mt: married to

mtg: meeting

mvd: moved

n: north

na: not attending meeting

neg att: neglecting attendance

ni: not identified

nm: non member

nmn: no middle name

NW Terr: Northwest Territory

O: Orthodox (Ohio)

ou: out of unity

PM: particular or preparative meeting

PO: post office address

prc: produced a certificate

prcf: produced a certificate from

prob: probably

Qkr: Quaker

QM: quarterly meeting

rcd: recorded

rec/rcd: receive, received

recrq: received by request

relfc: released from care for

relrq: released by request

rem: remove(d), removal certificate

ret: returned, retired

ret mbrp: retained membership

rev: reversed

rm: reported married

rmt: reported married to

roc: received on certificate

rocf: received on certificate from

rol: received on letter

rolf: received on letter from

rpd: reported

rq: request, requests, requested

rqc: requested certificate

rqct: requested certificate to

rqcuc: requested to come under care (of mtg)

rqlt: requested letter to

rrq: request, requests, requested

rst: reinstate(d)

rtco: referred to care of

s: son, south

sep: separated

sis: sister

temp: temporarily

transfrd: transferred

twp: township

uc: under care (of mtg)

unm: unmarried

upl: using profane language

w: wife, west

w/c: with consent of

wid: widow

w/pwr: with power

wrkd: worked

y: year

YM: yearly meeting

Filed Under: Irish Ancestry Tagged With: Church records, Dictionaries, Glossary, Quakers

Dictionary of Quaker Abbreviations (Part 1)

11 Aug By Dwight Leave a Comment

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Filed Under: Irish Ancestry Tagged With: Church records, Dictionaries, Glossary, Quakers

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Dwight A. Radford

Dwight A. Radford is a professional family history researcher. Along with his staff they specialize in Ireland, England, Canada, African American, Native American, and United States. Connecting families together through historical documents and then creating a cherished family heirloom published book for generations to enjoy. Full bio…

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