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From:
Subject: [DAVIS ] Cousins
Date: Tue, 4 Apr 2000 09:26:15 EDT


Hello all

Thanks to Maria Johnson, at , the following
chart is being provided, that I thought you might be interested in.

Thomas W. Rogers, List manager

COUSINS- - What are they really?

It is simple, your cousin is the son or daughter of an uncle or aunt. So
if your mother's or father's sister or brother has a son or a daughter then
they would be your cousin, first cousin that is. Got it? Good, because
nothing comes easy in Genealogy.
There are actually four types of first cousins according to
anthropologists. A cousin on the father's side is patrilateral while those
on the mother's side are matrilateral. Then of course the children of your
mother's sister or your father's brother are ortho-cousins (parallel
cousins) or the children of your mother's brother or father's sister are
cross-cousins. So now you have patrilateral and matrilateral ortho-cousins
and patrilateral and matrilateral cross-cousins for your four relationships.

The English word "cousin" covers all four of these relationships and
many languages place the ortho-cousins, and the cross-cousins in separate
categories. In these such cases ortho-cousins are frequently the same as
those denoting brothers and sisters. There is a smaller group of languages
that places the ortho-cousins in one category and then distinguishes between
patrilateral cross-cousins and matrilateral cross-cousins. Other languages
use separate words for each of the four possible kinds of cousins;
patrilateral cross-cousins, patrilateral ortho-cousins, matrilateral
cross-cousins, matrilateral ortho-cousins.

Although most societies consider marriage between ortho-cousins to be
incest there are actually those that consider it to be ideal and those that
cross-cousin marriages are preferred or even obligatory.

And don't forget about 1st Removed ...

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 (a.k.a "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.

If you are still confused then to put things in prospective I hope one
of the following charts help.

Great Granduncle Great Grandfather
| |
1st Cousin
Twice Removed Granduncle Grandfather
| | |
2nd Cousin
Once Removed 1st Cousin
Once Removed Uncle Father
| | | |
3rd Cousin 2nd Cousin 1st Cousin SELF Brother
| | | |
2nd Cousin
Once Removed 1st Cousin
Once Removed Son Nephew
| | | |
2nd Cousin
Twice Removed 1st Cousin
Twice Removed Grandson Grandnephew
| |
1st Cousin
3 Times Removed Great Grandnephew

How to use the below Relationship Chart
Pick two people in your family and determine which ancestor they
have in common. For example, if you chose yourself and a cousin, you would
have a grandparent in common.
a.. Look at the top row of the chart and find the first person's
relationship to the common ancestor.
b.. Look at the far left column of the chart and find the second
person's relationship to the common ancestor.
c.. Determine where the row and column containing those two
relationships meet.

Common
Ancestor Child Grandchild G-grandchild G-g-grandchild
Child Sister or Brother Nephew or Niece Grand-nephew or niece
G-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 G-grand-nephew or niece First cousin, twice
removed Second cousin, once removed Third cousin

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