> I'm a little confused about cousins - once removed, twice removed. > What does that mean? > > I have found cousins that are related down the line to my gggf. Are > they cousins or are they removed cousins? > > Thanks for the help, > Emmy emmydbd <emmydbd@yahoo.com> The simplest way to explain 1st, 2nd, 3rd cousins vs. 1st cousins twice removed, three times removed, etc. is to look back to the common ancestor you and your cousins share and then count the number of number of generations from that common ancestor down to you and your cousin. If the number of generations is the SAME for each of you then you are 1st, 2nd cousins, etc. -- but if the number of generations differs then you are "removed" by the number of generations that differ. Example: Let's say you and cousin X share great-great-grandparents. This means your great-grandmother or greatgrandfather are siblings, and your grandparents are 1st cousins, your parents are 2nd cousins, and you are 3rd cousins. Your child and cousin X are 3rd cousins once removed--another generations has been added to one side only. Cousin X's child and your child would be 4th cousins. Got it? Joan JYoung6180@aol.com