Daily AncestorYeoman
A yeoman was a farmer who owned and worked his own land, ranking above a husbandman and below a gentleman.
In England a yeoman was a free landholder of middling rank. Colonial records borrowed the term, and a man described as yeoman in a deed or will is usually a farmer who owned land.
The word had other uses too: a yeoman could be an attendant in a noble household, and in the Navy it later meant a clerical petty officer. In land and probate records it means the farmer.
As seen in a recordColonial town records, deeds and probate inventories
Ebenezer Ames of Andover, yeoman
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Daily Ancestor. "Yeoman." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/occupations/yeoman. Last checked 2026-10-01.