-C-

c., ca.

(abbreviation)about or around, from the Latin word circa.

Cajun

derivative of the word Acadian, meaning a person of French descent in Louisiana.canonrule, law or decree made by a church.

Canton

sovereign state in the Swiss Federation.

cartwrigh

thighly skilled wagon maker.

cabeat

an instrument filed by an interested party to stop the process of obtaining a grant until their opposition can be entered.

cem.

(abbreviation) cemetery.

certificate of removal

written instrument documenting the departure or arrival of a church member in good standing from or to a congregation; used consistently by the Society of Friends (Quakers).

chain a chain of 100 links, a length of 66 feet, used to measure land during a survey.

chain carrier

a surveyor’s assistant who carried the measuring chain.

chancellor 

the title given to judges of courts of chancery or equity in certain states.

chancery

a chancery court, court of equite, or court of record; an eccleasiastical probate court in England.

chancery records

in civil cases, record books kept by the clerk of the chancery court.

chandler

a candlemaker or soap seller.

change of venue

the legal procedure authorizing the transfer of a court case from one location to another to obtain an impartial trial.

charwoman

a woman hired by the day to do odd jobs in the home.

chirugeon

a doctor who performed surgery.

chit

a note promising to pay later and given in lieu of money; used widely by military troops and miners who shopped at the company store.

cholera

bilious cholera, a rarely fatal form of the infectious disease, whose symptoms include vomiting, stomach pain and cramping; a second form of the disease, non-bilious cholera, which has reached epidemic proportions and caused millions of deaths throughout history, carries symptoms of violent vomiting, servere stomach cramps, and sudden collapse.

chr.

(abbreviation) christened.

christian name

names other than a person’s last name

civ.

(abbreviation) civil

civil law

laws concerned with civil or private rights and remedies, as contrasted with criminal law; body of law established by a nation, commonwealth, county or city, also called municipal law.

clobber

black paste used by cobblers to fill holes in leather.

clyster

medicine administered as an enema.

cobbler

shoemaker.

codicil

supplement or addition to a will; not intended to replace an entire will.

cohabitation

persons living together as husband and wife.

coke

charcoal.

cold plague

a deadly influenza experienced as extreme chills that killed thousands.

collateral ancestor

someone with the same or similar ancestry, but not in the same direct line of descent.

collateral line

line of descent connecting persons who share a common ancestor, but are related through an aunt, uncle, cousin, nephew, etc.

collier

a coal miner; a cargo ship that carries coal.

conf.

(abbreviation) confirmed.

comm.

(abbreviation) communion, communicant.

common ancestor

individual through whom two or more persons claim descent or lineage.

common-law-marriage

the relationship between a man and woman living together as man and wife, but without the benefit of marriage.

commoner

a person not related to royalty.

community property

property owned jointly by a husband and wife as a result of their marriage relationship; refer to state laws for the time period involved to obtain the definition of community property.

competent

someone judged to be sane and capable of managing his own affairs or those of others.

communicant

person receiving communion in a religious ceremony or service.

complaint

formal charge filed by the plaintiff against the defendant in a court action.

complainant

person making a complaint in a court of action, also called the plaintiff.

composition money

a sum required by law to purchase a warrant from the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Confederacy

Confederate States of America; group of southern states that seceded from the United States from 1860-1865.

confinement

the period during childbirth; also called “the lying-in of a woman.”

congestive chills

a symptom associated with malaria.

congestive fever

a symptom associated with malaria.

Connestoga wagon

a large heavy wagon with a hoop-supported, white canvass top used first in the Connestoga Valley of Pennsylvania and used by thousands during the period of westward migration.

consanguinity

the degree of relationship between persons who descend from a common ancestor. A father and son are related by lineal consanguinity, uncle and nehpew by collateral sanguinity.

consideration

price or motive (such as natural love and affection) given in ay contract where property is transferred from one owner to another.

consorta husband or wife, especially the spouse of a monarch; also the companion or partner of an unmarried person.

constable

peace officer, especially is a small community.

consumption

an obsolete term meaning tuberculosis.

continuance

postmonement of a court case.

conveyance

legal document by which the title to property is transfered; warrant; patent; deed.

cousin

child of an aunt or uncle; in earlier times a kinsman, close relative, or friend.

Creolea person descended from or culturally related to the original French settlers of Louisiana; a person descended from or culturally related to the Spanish and Portuguese settlers of the Gulf States; any person of mixed European and Negro ancestry who speaks a Creole dialect.

Creole Negrea creole of pure black bloodlines.

Creole de Couleura Creole of mixed blood, such as black and white, Indian and white, or black and Indian.

CW

Civil War, War of the Rebellion, War between the States, 1861-1865.