I send out what I call "Family Factoids" periodically with little bits of information I've gathered. regarding our family as I researched I keep it very simple and send it out to nieces, nephews, my brother, my children, etc. I quote below one factoid about family relationships that I sent last January as a little teaching vignette. This is the scenario: I have one sibling----a brother named Karon He has a daughter named Charla and a grand-daughter named Molly. I have a son named Gunter and a grand-daughter named Heidi. Jack and Jill are hypothetical. Warmest Regards, Donna Okay, relationship factoid quoted below: ____________________________________ Hello---- Fear not; there are no pop-quizzes on factoids. You can read them and forget them; or read them and think about them and then forget them; or read and remember, whatever suits your personal interests. I swear I will never ask you about them at some future time. I pass along the information below so that next time you are watching Gone With the Wind, you will be on the up and up with the vocabulary. :-) Have you heard someone say, "He's my second cousin, once removed"? I was never really clear on what the "removed" part was until I started this research into family history. I can explain it now as follows: Consider this lineage::::: Donna <siblings> Karon ---------- have the same parents Gunter <first cousins> Charla ---------- have the same grandparents Heidi <second cousins> Molly ---------- have the same great grandparents Because their parents are brother and sister, Gunter and Charla are first cousins. Because their grandparents are brother and sister, Heidi and Molly are second cousins. But what relationship is Gunter to Molly? Gunter and Molly are of different generations, so (unless there is some weird additional marrying going on) they cannot be first cousins and they cannot be second cousins either. But they are "first cousins, once removed." That is, Gunter and Charla have a first cousin relationship, and Molly is one generation removed from that relationship.. Consider that Heidi has a son named Jack, and Molly has a daughter named Jill: Donna <siblings> Karon Gunter <first cousins> Charla Heidi <second cousins> Molly Jack <third cousins> Jill Jack and Jill would be third cousins. They are of the same generation. But what is the relationship of Gunter to Jill? Gunter and Charla have a first cousin relationship, but Jill is two generations from that relationship. So Gunter and Jill are said to be "first cousins, twice removed." And what is the relationship between Heidi and Jill? Heidi and Molly have a second cousin relationship, and Jill is one generation from that relationship. So Heidi and Jill are "second cousins, one removed." And, by the way, what is the relationship between Heidi's hypothetical son Jack and Karon? Jack is Karon's "great grand-nephew," and Karon is Jack's great grand-uncle." There's the bell for lunch. Don't push as you leave the room. No running in the hall. Love, Mom / Donna / Aunt Donna