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From: <>
Subject: [APG] Re: Legal Terms
Date: Mon, 16 Oct 2000 02:32:17 EDT


Hi June--

The Sixth Edition of Black's Law Dictionary, recommended by Merrill Mosher,
was the standard for defining legal terms for over a decade. A new Seventh
Edition appeared last year, and was the first rewrite of the work since it
originally appeared in 1891. Unfortunately, the editions that have appeared
over the past 30 years have dropped many of the unfamiliar archaic terms that
we as genealogists are most likely to wonder about when we encounter them in
old records.

My own preference for genealogical use ifs the 1951 Fourth Edition, which
retained more of the obsolete terms, with fuller explanations and examples of
use. Copies are readily available on the used book market, and can be
located through book-search services like <http://www.bookfinder.com>;,
frequently at prices lower than for the current edition.

For similar reasons, I have found the 1910 Encyclopaedia Britannica Eleventh
Edition more useful for questions that arise from genealogy than modern
encyclopedias, either print or digital.. The bibliophile bookdealer who sold
me my 29-volume set for $50 many years ago described it as "the last
scholarly edition," perhaps because it was the last published in England by
Cambridge University Press. Expect to pay $250 and up for a set today.

Donn Devine, CG, CGI
2004 Kentmere Pkwy, Wilmington DE 19806-2014, USA
Phone 302/656-7233 FAX 302/656-0315

CG, Certified Genealogist, CGI, and Certified Genealogical Instructor are
service marks of the Board for Certification of Genealogists, used under
license by board-certified associates after periodic competency evaluations,
and the board name is registered in the USP&TO.

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