A GENEALOGICAL RELATIONSHIP CHART

For a true "relationship" to exist, there must be an ancestor who is common to both individuals. If you examine the chart below the Common Ancestor is Box 1 on the horizontal scale (HS) as well as Box 1 on the Vertical Scale (VS).

BY WAY OF EXAMPLE if you have a grandson of that common ancestor, as seen in Box 3 of the Horizontal Axis, and you want to know that grandson's relationship to a great-granddaughter, who would be seen in Box 4on the Vertical Axis.

If you follow Box 4 (VS) down to where it meets the vertical pathway to Box 3 on the HS, then where those paths cross, it tells you the relationship -- they are first cousins once removed.

Alternatively

  1. Select two people in your family and ascertain which ancestor they have in common.
  2. Look at the top row of the chart and find the first persons relationsip with the common ancestor
  3. Look at the far left column of the chart and ascertain the second perso ns relationship with the common ancestor
  4. Determine wher the row and the column containing those two relationships meet

 

 

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1 Common Ancestor Son or Daughter Grandson or Daughter Great Grandson or Daughter 2nd Great Grandson or Daughter 3rd Great Grandson or Daughter 4th Great Grandson or Daughter 5th Great Grandson or Daughter 6th Great Grandson or Daughter 7th Great Grandson or Daughter
2 Son or Daughter Siblings (Brother or Sister) Nephew or Niece Grand Nephew or Niece Great Grand Nephew or Niece 2nd Great Grand Nephew or Niece 3rd Great Grand Nephew or Niece 4th Great Grand Nephew or Niece 5th Great Grand Nephew or Niece 6th Great Grand Nephew or Niece
3 Grandson or Daughter Nephew or Niece First Cousin First Cousin Once Removed First Cousin Twice Removed First Cousin Three Times Removed First Cousin Four Times Removed First Cousin Five Times Removed First Cousin Six Times Removed First Cousin Seven Times Removed
4 Great Grandson or Daughter Grand Nephew or Niece First Cousin Once Removed Second Cousin Second Cousin Once Removed Second Cousin Twice Removed Second Cousin Three Times Removed Second Cousin Four Times Removed Second Cousin Five Times Removed Second Cousin Six Times Removed
5 2nd Great Grandson or Daughter Great Grand Nephew or Niece First Cousin Twice Removed Second Cousin Once Removed Third Cousin Third Cousin Once Removed Third Cousin Twice Removed Third Cousin Three Times Removed Third Cousin Four Times Removed Second Cousin Five Times Removed
6 3rd Great Grandson or Daughter 2nd Great Grand Nephew or Niece First Cousin Three Times Removed Second Cousin Twice Removed Third Cousin Once Removed Fourth Cousin Fourth Cousin Once Removed Fourth Cousin Twice Removed Fourth Cousin Three Times Removed Fourth Cousin Four Times Removed
7 4th Great Grandson or Daughter 3rd Great Grand Nephew or Niece First Cousin Four Times Removed Second Cousin Three Times Removed Third Cousin Twice Removed Fourth Cousin Once Removed Fifth Cousin Fifth Cousin Once Removed Fifth Cousin Twice Removed Fifth Cousin Three Times Removed
8 5th Great Grandson or Daughter 4th Great Grand Nephew or Niece First Cousin Five Times Removed Second Cousin Four Times Removed Third Cousin Three Times Removed Fourth Cousin Twice Removed Fifth Cousin Once Removed Sixth Cousin Sixth Cousin Once Removed Sixth Cousin Twice Removed
9 6th Great Grandson or Daughter 5th Great Grand Nephew or Niece First Cousin Six Times Removed Second Cousin Five Times Removed Third Cousin Four Times Removed Fourth Cousin Three Times Removed Fifth Cousin Twice Removed Sixth Cousin Once Removed Seventh Cousin Seventh Cousin Once Removed
10 7th Great Grandson or Daughter 6th Great Grand Nephew or Niece First Cousin Seven Times Removed Second Cousin Six Times Removed Third Cousin Five Times Removed Fourth Cousin Four Times Removed Fifth Cousin Three Times Removed Sixth Cousin Twice Removed Seventh Cousin Once Removed Eighth Cousin

 

There is also another method that looks more complex but is quite easy once you get the hang of it. First, find the common ancestor. Let's say that JAMES is your Great Great Great Grandfather, and he's also your "cousin" Richard's Great Great Great Grandfather. Count the number of Great's in either case - 3 - Richard and you are third cousins. If the "Greats"differ then the following applies. JAMES is my Great Greaat Grandfather (Gx2 + G = 3), but he's Richard's Great Great Great Great Grandfather (Gx 4+G = 5)). In that case, the lesser number of Gs
determines the cousin level, (3) and the difference between the two numbers is the number of 'removes' (2) - you and Richard are third cousins twice removed.

So by way of definitions

When the term "REMOVED" is used to desribe a relationship it indicates that the two people are from different generations. For instance you and first cousins are in the same generation (two generations younger than your grandparents) so the word removed is not used to describe the relationship

The words "ONCE REMOVED" mean that there is a difference of just one generation. For example your mother's 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 are two generations difference.

NAMING PATTERNS - by Mizzee, (Phyllis Edwards)

Obtained from a FH mailing list

Generally, there are four main types of naming patterns. The most common is the patronymic system, which involves taking the father’s name (both given and surname). Names were also derived from occupation (Barber), by locality (Forest), or acquired by the use of nicknames. Nicknames could refer to personal characteristics such as skin colour (White), size (Little), morals (Goodson), habits (Walker), or could be given without any particular reason (Polly for Mary).

The Italians, English, Scottish, and the Irish generally used the patronymic system (with variations): The first son was named after the father’s father; second son after the mother’s father. Third son was named after the father, fourth son after the father’s eldest (or only) brother, and fifth son after the mother’s eldest (or only) brother.The first daughter was named after the mother’s mother; second daughter after the father’s mother. Third daughter was named after the mother, fourth daughter after the mother’s eldest (or only) sister, and fifth daughter after the father’s eldest (or only) sister.

In addition to patronymics, the Scottish also had surnames patterned after localities (Galloway), occupations (Cooper - barrel maker), and nicknames (Campbell - crooked mouth). The Scots frequently used the prefix ‘Mac’ to denote ‘son of’ (MacDonald), while the Irish used the prefix ‘O’ (O’Donald). Note: the prefix ‘Mc’ (McDonald) or - M’ - (M’Donald) is merely a contraction for ‘Mac’.

The Welsh naming system was patronymic like the English, but with a twist: the children took their father’s given name as their surname. This caused surnames to change from generation to generation, a genealogist’s worst nightmare. Under this system, Evan, the son of Thomas William, would be known as Evan Thomas; his son John would be John Evan; John’s son Rees would be Rees John; Rees’s son David would be David Rees; and so on. Sometimes, the Welsh would string their names together with the word ‘ap’, which means ‘son of’ - so David Rees might be David ap Rees ap John ap Evan ap Thomas ap William. The Welsh also sometimes incorporated ‘ap’ into a surname. In this way Owen could become Bowen (son of Owen); Richard could become Prichard (son of Richard); Evan could be Bevan; and Huw or Hugh could become Pugh.

The Germans and the French (and other cultures) gave their children two given names at baptism: the first given name was a spiritual, or favourite saint’s name. The second given name was a secular name, which is the name the person was known by. The same saint’s name would be given to all the children of the same gender, with the secular name differing. For example, at baptism the girls might be given the names Marie Louise Chenet, Marie Aimee Chenet, and Marie Lillian Chenet. But after Baptism, they would be known as Louise, Aimee, and Lillian Chenet. This is important to know when you are searching. If you find a baptism record for Marie Louise Chenet, you might spend a lot of time searching for other records for Marie Chenet, when they would probably be found under the name Louise Chenet, as she was known to the world.

The Germans also added prefixes and suffixes to their surnames, to denote gender, localities, and occupations. For example, the word
‘Forst’ means a forest; adding ‘er’ or ‘ner’ (Forster, Forstner) would mean one who works in a forest, works with timber, or is from a
forest. The prefix ‘in’ denotes that the person is a female; so the surname Forsterin would indicate that the person from the forest is a
female.

Note on the original author:
She writes a genealogical column called "Relatively Speaking", by Mizzee, (Phyllis Edwards) for a local newspaper "the Tangi Digest"
(Amite, Louisiana) . email: lamizzee@earthlink.net. She has another column called "Relatively Yours", by Mizzee, which appears in the Sunday paper of the Daily Star (Hammond, LA) and it is online as well.   

There is also a page that I have posted that provides some useful genealogical links and another page that provides some general statistical information relating to population and censuses in the UK.

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This page was last updated on 15/09/04 11:52