Ancilla in burial register 1575

[NielsH]

Hi,
I am new here and English is not my native language. I have a transcript of a parish register from Giggleswick in York. There I find the following: "Dec 13 Ellena Sommerskales ancilla". A search on Wikipedia leads me to believe that Ancilla means that Ellena was unmarried when she died. Is that correct?

A related question, would a married women use their husbands surname after marriage at that time? I have information that Ellena Foster married Richard Somerscale and died 1575.

A possible son ended up in Norway and has a large number of descendants there. Being one of them I would be grateful for help to sort out if this Ellena was Rickards wife or not.

Best regards
Niels Hegge

[Kerrywood]

Hi Niels, and welcome :seeya:

Ancilla simply means maidservant, but I think she's unlikely to have been married. At this date a married woman is more likely be described as 'wife of ... ', if she's described at all. Can you compare with any other female burials in the same register?


would a married women use their husbands surname after marriage at that time?
Yes, in England at this date a married woman would normally be recorded in a burial register under her husband's surname.

[NielsH]

Thank you both for the answers. I am nearly certain now that this is not the "right" Ellena. Richard was reasonably well off according to the information I have. But nearly half of the females not described as infans are described as ancilla.

Other females are described as follows:
May 7 Isabella Lawson ux de Lodge
Apr 10 Margareta Bicrofte infans (child I presume)
Jan 22 Margareta Leeminge vid
Jan 26 Elizabetha Alanson alias Tybunar

It is quite interesting to learn about how these things are recorded in another country. I will probably stumble on other things later on.

Best regards
Niels

[Kerrywood]

vid = vidua = widow

alias = otherwise

olim = formerly

[NielsH]

Thank you all for teaching me Latin. I believe I have sorted out a bit of the relationship and will work on.