B Burial Register.
b., b born.
banns A public announcement of an intended (usually church), marriage, either written or verbal.
bapt. baptized.
baptism Christian rite, often performed at birth or shortly after, sometimes called Christening. Some denominations do not practice infant baptism, but have a ceremony of infant dedication. Some of these churches have adult Baptism, whilst others (notably Quakers and Salvationists) do not normally practice baptism at all.
baron The lowest of the five ranks of the peerage.
baronet Hereditary title that is not of peerage rank. Placement is above knight and below baron.
Barons of the Exchequer Four judges appointed to deal with causes between the king and his subjects on matters of revenue.
bart.baronet.
bef.before.
beneficiary A person receiving the benefit of someone else's property.
Bible record See Family Bible
BL British Library
blazon; blazonry (Heraldry) Description of a coat of arms
Bona Notabilia Words appearing as a note in probate records to indicate the estate was of the value of £5 or over, or it came under more than one probate jurisdiction.
Bishops' Transcript A practice begun in 1598 when a minister made copy of the entries in a parish register during a single year and sent them to the bishop, usually at Easter. Not all clergy were punctilious in keeping this record.
B.M. British Museum.
bond A written, binding agreement. Many types of bonds have existed for centuries and appear in marriage, land and court records used by genealogists. Historically, laws required administrators and executors of estates, grooms alone or with others, and guardians of minors to post bonds. It is not unusual to discover that a bondsman was related to someone involved in the action before the court. If a bondsman failed to perform, the court may have demanded payment of a specified sum as a penalty.
border marriages Marriages that took place over the Scottish border to circumvent Lord Hardwicke's Marriage Act, which required that all marriages in England be performed in a building licenced for that purpose.
Boyd's Marriage Index An index compiled by Percival Boyd from printed registers to the marriage records of sixteen counties from their beginning to 1837; not every parish is represented in each county.
bp.; bpt. baptized.
British Record Society A society founded in 1888 as the Index Society, it publishes the Index Library, which consists of indexes to wills, marriage licences, Chancery proceedings, and Inquisitions Post Mortem, and probate records.
bro.brother.
Brother Used to mean a biological brother or brother-in-law. Also used as a title or form of address in some religious, philanthropic or political groups.
Brownists Early Puritan dissenters, followers of Robert Browne (ca 1550 - 1633), were called Brownists initially and later became Congregationalists.
bt. baronet.
BT's Bishops' Transcripts.
byblow An illegitimate child.