If you are looking into your Irish family tree, you will come across certain genealogical terms. Most of them are straightforward, but some require further explanation.

Ahnentafal – German for ancestral table, a genealogic al numbering system for listing people’s direct
ancestors.

Ancestry – a person’s ethnic origin or descent, sometimes referred to as roots or heritage.

Association of Professional Genealogists – an international organisation that supports those engaged in the business of genealogy through advocacy, collaboration, education, and the promotion of high ethical standards. Finders International has more APG members than any other genealogy firm in Europe.

Aviva – insurance providers who can provide Missing Beneficiary Indemnity Insurance. Finders
International provides many Aviva online products.

Banns – or marriage banns. The public announcement in a Christian parish church or in the town council of an impending marriage between two specified people.

Beneficiary – another word for heir. The person who benefits from a will and receives part of
someone’s estate.

Cadastra – an official statement that shows the quantity and value of real property in any district for
tax purposes.

Canon law – church law.

Census records – the records of the census taken every 10 years. Census records show where people were at a certain time, and includes age, family, jobs, addresses and more, depending on the year of the census.

Clan – a Celtic group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent, and common to
the Scottish Highlands.

Codicil – an addition or supplement to a will that revokes, modifies or explains a will or part of it.

Consanguinity – blood relations, or being from the same kinship as another person.

Coroner’s Inquest – an investigation into a death where a death was sudden, violent or unnatural, or where a death took place in police custody. It is held in public.

Descendant – a person descended from a particular ancestor.

Double Date – sometimes double dates appear on documents because of changes to the calendar, when Pope Gregory introduced the Gregorian calendar in 1582. Catholic countries were the first to adopt it. The new calendar added 0.002% to the length of a year, and it was designed to stop the drift of the calendar from equinoxes and solstices. In Britain, it wasn’t adopted until 1752.

Executor – a person who carries out the instruction of a will. If a person dies intestate, then an administrator deals with their estate.

Family tree – a document that shows the lines of a family. Finders Ireland can verify or create family trees for you.

Genealogy/genealogist – the line of descent from an ancestor. A genealogist is someone who works this out. If you are seeking out the services of genealogists Ireland, seek out professionals to get the best service.

Grantee – a person who receives title to a property.

Indenture – a system of bonded labour often used where poor people from Europe often worked for someone in exchange for passage to America. Common in Ireland in the 18th and early 19th Centuries.

Lineage – direct descent from an ancestor or ancestry.