ERIC KRAUSE

In business since 1996
 - © Krause House Info-Research Solutions -

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BACKGROUND GENEALOGY

Relational Chart

A. INSTRUCTION FOR USING A RELATIONSHIP CHART

1. 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.

2. Look at the top row of the chart and find the first person's relationship to the common ancestor.

3. Look at the far left column of the chart and find the second person's relationship to the common ancestor.

4. 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

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." ...

http://www.genealogy.com/16_cousn.html

If one person's → Grandparent Great-grandparent Great-great-grandparent Great-Great-Great-grandparent Great-Great-Great-Great-grandparent Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-grandparent
is the other person's
↓		 then they are
Grandparent 1st cousins 1st cousins once removed 1st cousins twice removed 1st cousins thrice removed 1st cousins four times removed 1st cousins five times removed
Great-grandparent 1st cousins once removed 2nd cousins 2nd cousins once removed 2nd cousins twice removed 2nd cousins thrice removed 2nd cousins four times removed
Great-great-grandparent 1st cousins twice removed 2nd cousins once removed 3rd cousins 3rd cousins once removed 3rd cousins twice removed 3rd cousins thrice removed
Great-Great-Great-grandparent 1st cousins thrice removed 2nd cousins twice removed 3rd cousins once removed 4th cousins 4th cousins once removed 4th cousins twice removed
Great-Great-Great-Great-grandparent 1st cousins four times removed 2nd cousins thrice removed 3rd cousins twice removed 4th cousins once removed 5th cousins 5th cousins once removed
Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-grandparent 1st cousins five times removed 2nd cousins four times removed 3rd cousins thrice removed 4th cousins twice removed 5th cousins once removed 6th cousins

There is a mathematical way to identify the degree of cousinship shared by two individuals. Each "great" or "grand" in the description of one individual's relationship to the common ancestor has a numerical value of 1. For example, if person one's great-great-great grandfather is person two's grandfather, then person one's "number" is 4 (great + great + great + grand = 4) and if person two's "number" is 1 (grand = 1). The smaller of the two numbers is the degree of cousinship. The two people in this example are first cousins. The difference between the two people's "numbers" is the degree of removal. In this case, the two people are thrice (4 - 1 = 3) removed, making them first cousins thrice removed

Example 2: If someone's great-great-great grandparent (great + great + great + grand = 4) is another person's great-great-great grandparent (great + great + great + grand = 4), then the two people are 4th cousins. There is no degree of removal, because they are on the same generational level (4 - 4 = 0).

Example 3: If one person's great grandparent (great + grand = 2) is a second person's great-great-great-great-great grandparent (great + great + great + great + great + grand = 6), then the two are second cousins four times removed. The first person's "number" (2) is the lowest, making them second cousins. The difference between the two numbers is 4 (6 - 2 = 4), which is the degree of removal (generational difference) ...

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The removal (once removed, twice removed, etc.) indicates the number of generations, if any, separating the two cousins from each other. The child of one's first cousin is one's first cousin once removed because the one generation separation represents one removal. Oneself and the child are still considered first cousins, as one's grandparent (this child's great-grandparent), as the most recent common ancestor, represents one degree ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cousin