Daily AncestorEns.
Ens. is short for ensign, which in colonial and Revolutionary era militia was a junior officer ranking below the lieutenant.
Ens. is the usual abbreviation of ensign in muster rolls, pension files, service records and gravestones.
In early American militia lists, the officers of a company were usually a captain, a lieutenant and an ensign. Officers were often chosen from men of some local standing, so Ens. beside an ancestor's name is worth following up in local histories.
As seen in a recordOfficer list of a colonial militia company
Nath. Gould, Ens.
Sources
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Ens.." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/abbreviations/ens. Last checked 2026-10-01.