The following information is taken from this website http://www.genealogy.com/16_cousn_print.html
What is a First Cousin, Twice Removed?
If someone walked up to you and said "Howdy, 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
(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.
Relationship Charts Simplify Everything
Now that you have an idea of what these different
words mean, take a look at the chart below. It's called a relationship chart, and it can help you figure out how different
people in your family are related. It's much simpler than it looks, just follow the instructions.
Instructions
for Using a Relationship Chart
- Pick two people in your family and figure out which ancestor they have
in common. For example, if you chose yourself and a cousin, you would have a grandparent in common.
- Look at the top
row of the chart and find the first person's relationship to the common ancestor.
- Look at the far left column of
the chart and find the second person's relationship to the common ancestor.
- 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 |
GOOD LUCK IN YOUR RESEARCH!