A term often found in genealogy is "removed," specifically when referring to family relationships. Indeed, almost everyone has heard of a "second cousin once removed," but many people cannot explain that relationship. Of course, a person might be more than once removed, as in third cousin, four times removed. In short, the definition of cousins is two people who share a common ancestor: First Cousin .... Your first cousins are the people in your family who have at least one of the same grandparents as you. In other words, they are the children of your aunts and uncles. Second Cousin .... Your second cousins are the people in your family who share the same great-grandparent with you. Third, Fourth and Fifth Cousins .... Your third cousins share at least one great-great-grandparent, fourth cousins share a great-great-great-grandparent, and so on. Removed .... When the word "removed" is used to describe a relationship, it indicates that the two people are from different generations. "Once removed" indicates a difference of one generation, "twice removed" indicates a difference of two generations, and so forth. For example, the child of your first cousin is your first cousin, once removed. That is, your cousin’s child would be your first cousin, except that he or she is one generation removed from that relationship. Likewise, the grandchild of your first cousin is your first cousin twice removed (two generations removed from being a first cousin). Many people confuse the term "first cousin once removed" with "second cousin " The two are not the same. There are many consanguinity charts available that attempt to explain these relationships visually. I find most of them to be more confusing than the words. However, I like the chart created by Big Al Creations at http://users chariot.net.au/~samhain/relation.html. I find this one easier to read than most of the others. Look first for the box labeled YOURSELF. From here you can see how other people are related to you as you go up and down the generations illustrated there. The following article is from Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter and is copyright 2002 by Richard W. Eastman. It is re-published here with the permission of the author. Information about the newsletter is available at http://www.RootsForum.com. Sally Rolls Pavia Sun City, AZ [email protected] List Owner: [email protected] "Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup." All incoming and outgoing email checked by Norton Anti-Virus 2002