Lou’s View

By Lou Bernard

I get asked a lot of questions. Frequently, people will come to me to ask about history, genealogy, and the paranormal, and I do my best to answer these things. However, I have to note that sometimes my best is incomprehensible.

It’s not that I can’t answer—Often, I can. But these topics are fairly familiar to me, so I tend to race ahead and use a lot of specialized terms that are mostly known to more advanced researchers in these topics. It has occurred to me that a glossary would be useful in these situations. So, to assist people in understanding me and because I’m stuck for a column, I thought I’d write one.

Below are some common terms used in these fields, with definitions. I hope this helps, and maybe cuts down on the number of times per day I see peoples’ eyes glaze over while I’m talking to them.

Acid Free: Traditional paper and ink involves the use of acid in its manufacture, which is not great for preservation. Archives use acid-free materials, which are made without acids, therefore designed to last hundreds of years. (Related terms: “Museum quality” and “archival.”)

Being Clause: When researching property, every deed should have a clause that says something like “Being the same property sold in 1969 and recorded in Book 21, Page 147.” This is the clue to the next deed in line, and it’s called the “Being Clause.” Using these, you can trace a property back to the beginning of your county—In Clinton County’s case, that’s 1839. (Also see “Improvements Clause,” which is a notation showing what has been built on that property.)

Daughtered Out: When researching genealogy, sometimes you find a family name that stops. This sometimes happens when one branch of the family has only daughters, who then get married and change their names, ending the name line. The line is said to have “daughtered out” because it sounds cooler than “Everyone went and got married.”

Orphan Works: Sometimes, you have a document—A map, a book, an article. Before you reprint it, you need to contact the original owner of the copyright and ask if that’s okay. However, when you’re dealing with something old, that’s not always possible—You may not be able to find the creator of a map from 1869, for instance. Sometimes the company went out of business, sometimes the creators died without heirs. You never know. Those pieces are called “Orphan works.”

Stigmatized Property: This one is very often misunderstood. People are under the impression that, when selling a house, you have to disclose that it is haunted. This is not true. Realtors don’t care if you heard a few bumps at midnight. You have to disclose if it has been publicized as haunted—If it’s been featured in magazines, books, movies, or television. It’s less to warn people about actual ghosts, and more to warn them about so-called investigators who might try to trespass in the middle of the night. (The court case was called “Stambovsky v. Ackley.”)

Straw Deed: Every once in a while, you get a deed without a Being Clause. (See above.) Since that’s the way to find the previous deed, how do you continue tracing it back? Fear not, it’s just a bit of legal trickery from the past. A “straw deed” is a way of transferring property to someone and back for a dollar, and they often didn’t bother listing the Being Clause on them. When you find one of these, just flip to the next page. Chances are it’s the same property and people involved, and you can go from there.

Are there any questions?