half-brother; half-sister Child by another marriage of a parent; the relationship between two people who have only one parent in common.
haybote The right of manorial tenants to cut wood for fences.
hayward The manorial official responsible for maintaining the hedges.
head-of-household The male or female with responsibility for the welfare of a household or family.
Hearth Tax A tax imposed on every household with a hearth or fireplace, also called Hearth Money.
hectare A metric land unit equal 2.74 acres.
HEIC Honourable East India Company.
heir The person who succeeds, by the rules of law, to an estate upon the death of an ancestor; one with rights to inherit an estate.
hiatus Abreak of years in the records of the probate court, caused by a loss of records or the closure of the court.
High Commission, Court of The highest ecclesiastical court in England.
Hist MSS Comm Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts.<
H.M.S. Her or His Majesty's Ship. Denotes a Royal Navy vessel e.g. H.M.S. Bulldog.
holographic will A will written, dated, and signed in its entirety in the testator's handwriting.
homage Acknowledgement by a freeholder of feudal obligations to his overlord.
h/o Husband of.
Hon. Honourable, a title give to certain junior members of the aristocracy, some high officials and Members of Parliament.
Huguenots French Protestants who fled to England and its American colonies to escape religious persecution in France.
hundred An administrative subdivision of a county prior to the 16th century.
husb. husband.
husbandman Anyone engaged in husbandry, or a yeoman.