RHEA-L Archives

From: PHHGENE <>
Subject: [RHEA-L] Mother's Day Quiz
Date: Sun, 10 May 1998 10:07:21 EDT

MOTHER'S DAY QUIZ

In honor of our mothers, here's a little quiz regarding some
terms about women you may find in your genealogical
research.

1. What is a woman called who is named in a will to
distribute the estate?

(a) executrix
(b) exheres
(c) estafette

2. Your great-grandmother was a mantua maker -- should you
put that in the family history?

(a) no
(b) yes
(c) depends on how sensitive your relatives are about
this occupation

3. What is the term for a woman whose husband deserted her,
who had illegitimate children, or was a discarded common-law
wife?

(a) relict
(b) consort
(c) grass widow

4. What is the genealogical term for a lineage that has no
male heirs to carry on the surname?

(a) de bono et malo
(b) daughtered out
(c) decessit sine parole

5. While reading court records you find the term "de ventre
inspiciendo" used regarding something they did to your
great-great-grandmother. What does that mean?

(a) the court inspected her handling of the estate of her
late husband
(b) examined her abdomen to determine if she was pregnant
(c) examined her to see if she was mentally competent

6. If you are involved in matrilineal research, what are you
really doing?

(a) tracing your maternal line: i.e., daughter, mother,
grandmother, great-grandmother, etc.
(b) tracing all of your mother's ancestors
(c) tracing all the females in each line.

7. The condition or state of a married woman is legally
referred to as:

(a) cursetor
(b) non compos mentis
(c) coverture

8. In America between 1804 and 1906 if the husband had filed
his declaration of intention what did his widow have to do to
become a U.S. citizen?

(a) take the oath of allegiance
(b) file a petition
(c) file a declaration of intention

9. Which U.S. state is known as the "Mother of Presidents"
and why?

(a) Massachusetts
(b) North Carolina
(c) Virginia

10. In what year did Mother's Day become recognized by the
U.S. government as an annual holiday?

(a) 1899
(b) 1914
(c) 1796.

ANSWERS TO MOTHER'S DAY QUIZ

1. (a) executrix. Exheres means disinherited and an
estafette (French) is a courier who rides a horse.

2. (b) Yes. Mantua maker refers to one who practices the
art of fashionable dressmaking which required an
apprenticeship.

3. (c) grass widow.

4. (b) daughtered out. De bono et malo means "of good and
evil" and decessit sine parole (often abbreviated as d.s.p.)
is the Latin for "died without issue."

5. (b) A de ventre inspiciendo was a writ which was
sometimes issued by a presumptive heir-at-law which required the
sheriff to summon a jury of matrons and a jury of 12 men
to inquire if the widow was pregnant. The matrons examined
her and reported to the male jury who returned the decision
to the court of chancery.

6. (a) tracing your maternal line: i.e., daughter, mother,
grandmother, great-grandmother, etc.

7. (c) coverture. A cursetor was a vagabond or vagrant and
non compos mentis means not of sound mind or in a state of
lunacy.

8. (a) take the oath of allegiance.

9. (c) Virginia (because seven of America's first 12
presidents were Virginians).

10. (b) 1914. Congress proposed that Mother's Day be
celebrated the second Sunday in the month of May. It came about at
the request of Miss Anna Jarvis, who wished to honor the
memory of her mother who died May 10, 1905. She had
marked her mother's passing yearly by wearing a white carnation
and organizing special prayer sessions at Andrews Methodist
Episcopal Church in her hometown of Grafton, West Virginia.

>>

This thread:

• [RHEA-L] Mother's Day Quiz by PHHGENE <>