Daily AncestorTenant in common
A tenant in common owns an undivided share of land with others; at death the share passes to his or her heirs, not to the co-owners.
Tenants in common share ownership of the same land, each with an undivided interest. There is no right of survivorship: when one dies, that share goes to his or her heirs or devisees, not to the other owners.
Heirs who inherited land together were usually tenants in common. That is why you see later deeds selling an undivided fifth part or similar shares.
As seen in a recordDevise in a will
to my sons Wm. and Jas. as tenants in common
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Daily Ancestor. "Tenant in common." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/legal-land/tenant-in-common. Last checked 2026-10-01.