| Figuring Out Family Relationships |
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If someone walked up to you and said "Hello, I'm your third cousin,
twice removed," would you have any idea what they meant? Most people
have a good understanding of basic relationship words such as "mother,"
"father," "aunt," "uncle," "brother,"
and "sister." But what about the relationship terms that we
don't use in everyday speech? Terms like "second cousin" and
"first cousin, once removed"? We don't tend to speak about our
relationships in such exact terms ("cousin" seems good enough
when you are introducing one person to another), so most of us aren't
familiar with what these words mean.
Relationship Terms
Sometimes, especially when working on your family history, it's handy
to know how to describe your family relationships more exactly. The definitions
below should help you out.
Cousin (First
Cousin)
Your first cousins are the people in your family who have two of the same
grandparents as you. In other words, they are the children of your aunts
and uncles.
Second Cousin
Your second cousins are the people in your family who have the same great-grandparents
as you., but not the same grandparents.
Third, Fourth, and Fifth Cousins
Your third cousins have the same great-great-grandparents, fourth cousins
have the same great-great-great-grandparents, and so on.
Removed
When the word "removed" is used to describe a relationship,
it indicates that the two people are from different generations. You and
your first cousins are in the same generation (two generations younger
than your grandparents), so the word "removed" is not used to
describe your relationship.
The words "once
removed" mean that there is a difference of one generation. For example,
your mother's first cousin is your first cousin, once removed. This is
because your mother's first cousin is one generation younger than your
grandparents and you are two generations younger than your grandparents.
This one-generation difference equals "once removed."
Twice removed means
that there is a two-generation difference. You are two generations younger
than a first cousin of your grandmother, so you and your grandmother's
first cousin are first cousins, twice removed.
Thanks to the folks at Genealogy.com for the above.
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