Relationship Terms
From My Research Wiki
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What does 'cousin' mean?
In modern times, say the early 1900s to today, the word "cousin" means that you and the other person are related through a common set of ancestors; like your grandparents or great-grandparents.
Before that, however, the word "cousin" was not so clear. The further back you go the more likely the word was used to mean a kinsman (or kinswoman) of some degree or another. The person could belong to the same clan and not be a close relative at all. Sometimes people would refer to a close friend as "our cousin" showing how close the people were. Frustrating but true.
You also have to be careful of "brother" or "sister" since some people used those words to describe their in-laws. A brother-in-law, for example, might be referred to as "my brother".
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, etc cousins
Your third cousins have the same great-great-grandparents, fourth cousins have the same great-great-great-grandparents, and so on. Add one more generation for every degree of separation. The critical part is for another person to trace his or her ancestry back to a common set of parents. As long as the number of generations from you and your friend are the same then you and he or she can count this simple relationship.
Think about it this way, add one 'great' to the path back to your common ancestor to find you level of relationship. That is, both you and your friend have three 'greats' until you reach your common ancestors then add one to the number and find that you are fourth cousins.
Removed
When the word "removed" is used to describe a relationship, it indicates that the two people being discussed 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.
Relationship chart
Relationship charts, like the one below, help untangle the words used to describe how we are related to others. To use this chart:
- Select two people in your family.
- Since this is a small chart, select two people who are descended from the same grandparents or great-grandparents.
- Figure out their common ancestors.
- Look at the top row and find the first person's relationship to the common ancestors. You will find the answer in this column.
- Look in the left-most column to find the second person's relationship to the common ancestors. You will find the answer in this row.
- Find the cell where the column and row meet. That's your answer.
| Common Ancestor | Child | Grandchild | G-grandchild | G-g-grandchild |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Child | brother or sister | nephew or niece | grand-nephew or niece | great-grand-nephew or niece |
| Grandchild | nephew or niece | first cousin | first cousin, once removed | first cousin, twice removed |
| G-grandchild | grand-nephew or niece | first cousin, once removed | second cousin | second cousin, once removed |
| G-g-grandchild | great-grand nephew or niece | first cousin, twice removed | second cousin, once removed | third cousin |
There are other, larger charts to help you figure out your relationship across 8 or 9 generations. This chart is small to help you understand how relationship charts work.
Example
An example from this site may help show how this works. John O. Huff (1837-1887) married Mary Ann Crawn (1843-1920), who happened to be his first cousin, once removed, in 1864. Their relationship and ancestry can be described as:
- Peter Huff (c1772-c1830) married Sarah Ann Hendershot (c1778-?)
Placing these people on the chart, then, looks like this:
| Peter Huff | Elizabeth Huff | Sarah Keen | Mary Crawn |
|---|---|---|---|
| William Huff | brother or sister | nephew or niece | grand-nephew or niece |
| John Huff | nephew or niece | first cousin | first cousin, once removed |
