Relatives

(From 8/1/06 on my old blog)

Do you know what different types of relatives you have? Do you know what a second cousin is? How about a first cousin once removed? These are the most misunderstood relationships there are with relatives. Here are some definitions:

Father and Mother – most people know what these are. Everyone has one of each.

Brother and Sister – most people know what these are. I have one brother and two sisters.

Grandfather and Grandmother – parents of your parents. Everyone has two of each. I never met my grandfathers. I knew one of my grandmothers very well. The other died when I was very young.

Grand Daughter and Grand Son – children of your children. I don’t have any of these yet and I can wait a bit longer.

Aunts and Uncles – sisters and brothers of your parents. You usually count their spouses as well. My father’s sister is the only aunt on his side of the family. She had two husbands who were both uncles by marriage. My mother had two sisters and three brothers. They all got married once for a total of two additional uncles but only 2 additional aunts since one of my uncles married his brother’s widow. So my total is six aunts and six uncles.

First Cousins – these are children of your aunts and uncles. You and your first cousins have one set of grandparents in common. Usually, first cousins are referred to simply as cousins and usually you know who your first cousins are. First cousins are in the same generation with respect to the common ancestors. I have two cousins on my father’s side and twenty on my mother’s side. I have met them all but not all their spouses which I haven’t counted since they usually aren’t counted as cousins as far as I know.

Second Cousins – You and your second cousins have one set of great grandparents in common but no grandparents in common. It is not unusual for a person to not know the names of any of their second cousins. Second cousins are in the same generation with respect to the common ancestors. I didn’t feel like counting these up.

Third Cousins – You and your third cousins have one set of common great great grandparents but no common great grandparents. I’d be surprised if I know someone who knew more than one of their third cousins. Third cousins are in the same generation with respect to the common ancestors. I didn’t feel like counting these up.

First Cousins Once Removed – this is tricky because there are actually two types. Being removed means that you are in a different generation with respect to a common ancestor. For instance, your first cousin’s children are your first cousins once removed. And, you are also their first cousin once removed. Which means that your father’s and mother’s first cousins are also your first cousins once remove and you are also their first cousin once removed. For the generation that is younger than me (children of first cousins), I know of four of these on my father’s side and 33 on my mother’s side. There could be more that I don’t know about. I haven’t met more than 3 or 4 of them. For the generation that is older than me (parents’ first cousins), I know of 20 on my father’s side and 25 on my mother’s side. I have met a few of these. So, in total, I have 82 first cousins once removed!

First Cousins Twice Removed - The amount that you are removed is the number of generations different with respect to a common ancestor. So, an example of first cousin twice removed would be your grandparents’ first cousins. Or, stated in reverse, your first cousins’ grand children. I didn’t feel like counting these up.

Fourth Cousin Twice Removed – This is quite possible but I’ll leave this exercise to determine what it means. President Harding is one of these to me.

Grand Uncle and Grand Aunt – these are bothers and sisters of your grandparents. Sometimes called great uncles and great aunts. I had 16 great aunts and 12 great uncles. I have met some of them but it was a long time ago.

Nephews and Nieces – These are children of your brothers and sisters and you usually count the ones by marriage (that is, your spouse’s nephews and nieces). I have 5 nephews and 2 nieces ranging in age between 33 and almost 5.

Grand Nephews and Grand Nieces – These are children of your nephews and nieces. None of these yet.