Is there anyone on this list who knows anything about German as it was spoken and written about 200 years ago? I have a letter written in German in 1834 to relatives in Germany which refers to individuals as cousins. However, these individuals were not his cousins but were instead his aunt and uncle. Recently, I have just come across a German marriage certificate from 1819 which refers to two individuals who I think are cousins by marriage as uncles of the bride. We do not have proof of the actual relationships, but age wise, it would not seem possible to have the individuals be her uncles. My question: Is it possible that these terms, "cousin" and "uncle", were used interchangeably, or even oppositely, to what they mean today? Any insight would be appreciated. Jim Bridges