I just ran across a relationship in my tree that will test your skills. It used mine up quickly. I just received a reply from a "hint" on Ancestry and this person's great aunt (May) was married to a son (John) of my 2nd great granmother's daughter. I don't know how this complicates the relationship but the daughter (Sara) of my 2nd great grandmother (Sarah) was by her second marriage. My 2nd great grandfather died. To start with, is Sara my 2nd great aunt? Gale Gorman Houston On Jun 17, 2012, at 12:55 AM, Joan Parker wrote: Here is my way of figuring out who are "removed cousins" and "second" cousins. Many folks tend to mix the two terms and think they are interchangeable which they are not. Let's say you have a first cousin who has children. These children are your first cousins once removed because they are one generation down (REMOVED) from your first cousin. Time passes and these children now have children of their own. These children are your first cousins, twice removed because they are now two generations down the direct line of your first cousin. Therefore any direct descendant of your first cousin is your first cousin x-amount of generations removed adding one number for each new generation directly related to your first cousin. When the word "removed" is used to describe a cousin relationship it indicates that two people are from different generations therefore "once removed" indicates a difference of one generation while "twice removed" indicates a difference of two generations and so on.. Therefore your first cousin is just that, a first cousin, while his/her children are the "once removed" then her grandchildren are the "twice removed" from you. Now second cousins are your children and your first cousin's children because they are children of first cousins: you and your first cousin. I hope you find this an easier explanation. Happy Father's Day to the Dads on this list. Joanie Joan Parker Immediate Past President JGS of Greater Miami, Inc. Miami, FL

If you're descended from Sarah's 1st marriage, then Sara (the daughter by Sarah's 2nd marriage) would be your half-2nd great aunt. Drew Smith On Mon, Jun 18, 2012 at 1:55 PM, Gale Gorman <gale_gorman@me.com> wrote: > I just ran across a relationship in my tree that will test your skills. It used mine up quickly. I just received a reply from a "hint" on Ancestry and this person's great aunt (May) was married to a son (John) of my 2nd great granmother's daughter. > > I don't know how this complicates the relationship but the daughter (Sara) of my 2nd great grandmother (Sarah) was by her second marriage. My 2nd great grandfather died. > > To start with, is Sara my 2nd great aunt?