In a message dated 98-09-19 11:41:53 EDT, [email protected] writes:

<< you know I've seen this *consort* description for a relationship a 
 lot in the Charleston area...just wondering exactly what that means...it 
 sounds as though they were companions or something, but considering the 
 morals of the day probably not living together but not married 
 either...any ideas... >>

Greetings from South Carolina. Although "consort" can mean a companion, it
also means a spouse. Although I rarely see it applied to the husband in early
records, it really can mean either the husband or the wife. In my experience,
a reference to the "consort" in historical records has always pointed to a
spouse-- not merely a companion. And I have always found it to be a surviving
spouse (although that is not part of the strict definition). 

Another common term found among gravestones and historical records is
"relict."  Relict refers to the widow. It is easy to keep these two terms
straight if you can remember your Latin (relict= left behind). So if a
gravestone says "Jane Doe, relict of John Doe," you can be fairly confident
that John predeceased her. If it says "Jane Doe, Consort of John Doe," there's
a good chance that John survived her.
URQ

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