Genealogy Chat

hi
sorry if this is a silly question but could somebody tell me how the cousins removed works out
eg how am i related to somebody who is my cousin 4 times removed
does it mean in the distant past we shared a common ancestor
regards Keith

Hi Keith.

Should do. Right here goes.

Think of you having a sibling. That sibling has children John, Paul, George and Ringo. They are your nephews.

Now keep them in mind whilst you have children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Your children are their first cousins

Your grandchildren are their first cousins once removed.

Your great grandchildren are their first cousins two times removed.

And so on.

And just in case you wanted to know.

Now if John, Paul, George and Ringo all have children of their own, for each generation that they drop down and which matches the generation drop from the original siblings, the cousin relationship moves one step further which is how you get first, second, third and fourth cousins etc.

Hope this makes sense and I hope that what I've always understood turns out to be correct ;-)

Hi Keith,

Click on this link...

http://www.borisbrooks.com/genealogy/cousins.htm

Another way of putting it is that your gt.gt. grandparent was a cousin of this person. Your gt. grandparent was a cousin, once removed. Your grandparent a cousin twice removed. Your parent a cousin 3 times removed and you are a cousin 4 times removed.

thanks so much i just go lost trying to work it out
cheers keith

This thread has some links on which explain the relationships

http://www.genesreunited.co.uk/boards/board/genealogy_chat/thread/1312176

Easy method of working it out:-

For each person, count the number of Gs back to to your common ancestor. i.e. grandfather = 1 g, great grandfather = 2 gs, great great grandfather 3 gs, and so on.

If the two answers are the same, then this gives you the degree of cousins, 2nd cousin, 3rd cousin etc. No removal.

If the two answers are different, then the lower of the two gives you the degree of cousins and the difference between the two, the level of removal.

Example:-

Me - our common ancestor is my GGGG Grandfather - G=5

You = our common ancestor is your GG Grandfather - G=3

So, our relationship is third cousin, twice removed.

Many, many years ago when I was twenty-three
I was married to a widow who was pretty as could be
This widow had a grown-up daughter who had hair of red
My father fell in love with her and soon they too were wed
This made my dad my son-in-law and really changed my life
For now my daughter was my mother, 'cause she was my father's wife
And to complicate the matter, even though it brought me joy
I soon became the father of a bouncing baby boy
My little baby then became a brother-in-law to dad
And so became my uncle, though it made me very sad
For if he were my uncle, then that also made him brother
Of the widow's grownup daughter, who was of course my step-mother
Father's wife then had a son who kept them on the run
And he became my grandchild, for he was my daughter's son
My wife is now my mother's mother and it makes me blue
Because although she is my wife, she's my grandmother too
Now if my wife is my grandmother, then I'm her grandchild
And every time I think of it, it nearly drives me wild '
Cause now I have become the strangest 'case you ever saw
As husband of my grandmother, I am my own grandpa
I'm my own grandpa, I'm my own grandpa
It sounds funny, I know but it really is so
I'm my own grandpa

RAY STEVENS

Oh boy. Brilliant. Wondering if it is the same Ray Stevens who is an American singer. Remember the pacy version of Misty or The Streak?