p Probate.
PAF Personal Ancestral File.
parish Smallest ecclesiastical division or jurisdiction.
Parish Registers Volumes containing records of births/baptisms, marriages, and deaths/burials kept by parish churches in England and Wales
paternal ancestry Relationship through one's father; father's father or mother, grandfather or grandmother, great-grandfather or great-grandmother, etc.
patronymics Where the father's given name or some form of it becomes part of a child's last name, in English as Jackson, Robertson, Robins, Henry etc. In Welsh ap Iorworth, ap Rhys and so on became Price, Probert and similar names. In Scandinavia this is a living practice, so Soren, son of Soren Larsen, becomes Soren Sorensen, likewise Johanna, daughter of Soren Larsen, becomes Johanna Sorensdotter.
PCC Parish Church Council; Prerogative Court of Canterbury.
PCY Prerogative Court of York.
Pec. Peculiar Court.
peculiar A parish or church exempt from the jurisdiction of the diocese
pedigree A family tree showing the descent from a common ancestor. A form linking ancestry from generation to generation.
penance A penalty imposed by the Church for transgressions and faults.
personalty All kinds of personal or moveable property.
philazer Official who issued writs in proceedings in the Court of Common Pleas. Philazers made their fortune from the charges they exacted for issuing writs.
Pipe Rolls The annual accounts given to the Exchequer by the sheriffs in their role as the king's agents in the shires.
Plat Map Amap showing boundaries of a parcel of land in relationship tthosesurrounding it.
Plea Rolls Records of actions brought before the King's Court and the Courts of Common Pleas, King's Bench, and the Exchequer.
ploughland The land that could be cultivated in a year using a single oxteam.
p.o.a. power-of-attorney.
Poll Tax A tax levied on every adult.
Poorhouse A place maintained to house the poor and mentally deficient. The workhouse
Poor Law In Britain, local provision for those unable to provide for themselves was first enacted in 1601 and amended by various revisions of the 'Poor Law'until 1946 when it was replaced by the 'Welfare State'
posterity Descendants.
posthumous Occuring after death as,for example, a 'posthumous medal' awarded when the recipient has been killed; A child born after the death of its father.
pr. Proved, as in a will authenticated in a probate court; probated.
preponderance of evidence The best primary evidence available in the absence of direct, evidence; evidence of greater weight or is more convincing than evidence in opposition to it; evidence which shows that the fact sought to be proved is more probable than not.
Prerogative Court of Canterbury (PCC) The senior court of the Church of England and the archdiocese of Canterbury. It was the court where important wills were proved.
Prerogative Court of York (PCY) The senior court of the archdiocese of York, which includes most of northern England.
primary evidence Original or first-hand evidence; the best evidence available.
Primogeniture, Law of The right of the eldest son to inherit.
PRO Public Record Office. (see below)
prob. probably; probated.
probate Relating to the settlement of an estate; the execution of a will or administration of an estate.
progenitor A direct ancestor.
Public Record Office The national archives of the United Kingdom