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Archiver > GENMTD > 1997-07 > 0869750470


From: Christine O'Hara< >
Subject: Re: What is a great-uncle?
Date: Thu, 24 Jul 1997 06:21:10 -0700
References: <5r32d5$33e@bl-5.rootsweb.com>


On 22 Jul 1997 12:41:24 -0700, Rick Charnes <>
wrote:

>
>OK, here's a question for you technical genealogists:
>
>If my mother has a sister Jane who marries Sam, I say that Sam is my
>uncle even though Sam is not a blood relative. I say that Jane is my
>aunt and Sam is my uncle, and we don't in ordinary usage think of those
>two different terms as connoting any inequality in 'closeness' to my
>line. At least in popular culture and language, their marriage binds
>them linguistically to me. Even though we know the facts of the
>relationship, we don't say that Jane is my aunt and Sam is just Jane's
>husband; we say they are my aunt and uncle.
>
>OK. Now my mother Sally's father is Thomas, and Thomas has a sister
>Susan. We call Susan my great-aunt. Now here's the question. Susan's
>husband is Jim. What do I call Jim? Can I call him my great-uncle?
>Usually we reserve the term great-uncle for the brother of a
>grandparent, not the husband of a grandparent's sister. But according
>to the above reasoning, it might seem appropriate. Just as I would
>refer to Sam (above paragraph) as my uncle and not merely the husband of
>my aunt, why would I only call Jim the husband of my great-aunt?
>
>I guess the answer is that the term great-uncle has a given and
>otherwise quite specific meaning: the brother of a grandparent.
>Something to think about, though. What do y'all think? Is there
>another term for the husband of a great-aunt, or can we stretch
>'great-uncle' to include this relationship?
>
>
>
>Rick Charnes <>
Rick,
Actually, according to what I remember reading, there is no such thing
as a great-aunt/uncle...it's GRAND-aunt/uncle. (I usually slip anyway
and use great, but just so you know the possibilities.) I can't
remember where I read it - all I can remember is that it was in one of
the beginning genealogy books that I read when I got started.....

(Christine O'Hara)

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