Daily AncestorGrandchild
A grandchild is the child of your son or daughter; grandson and granddaughter are the words used in wills and census relationship columns.
A grandchild is a son's or daughter's child. The 1900 census instructions list grandson among the sample answers for relationship to the head, so grandchildren living with grandparents show up plainly in that column.
A grandchild's surname is a clue: if it differs from the head's, the child is probably a daughter's child. In older wills, watch for nephew used where grandson is meant.
As seen in a recordRelationship column of the 1900 census
Bascom, Wilmot | Grandson | M | 6
Sources
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Grandchild." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/relationships/grandchild. Last checked 2026-10-12.