Genealogy is about tracing the line of decent and
relationships within a family. Part of my excitement about family tree is discovering
family members. I now know about previously unknown relatives. I call all my new relations “cuz” because I
have not figured out our real connections. We all know the basic relationships of mother,
father, sister, brother, aunt, uncle and grandparents. It often becomes
confusing when trying to explain a familial relationship beyond the basics. It
is even more confusing when there is a blended or step family involved. I have decided to tackle and decipher the
family relationships in my family tree. I would like to mention the familial designations and terms maybe different in other cultures and countries.
THE BASIC (five generations)
Every child has parents; mother and father
A child may have siblings; sisters and/or brothers which
are other children of the same mother and father.
A child has four grandparents; the parents of the mother
and the parents of the father
A child has eight great grandparents; parents of the
mother’s grandparents and parents of the father’s grand parents
A child has 16 great-great parents; the 8 parents of
the mother’s great grand parents and the 8 parents of the father's great grand parents.
Aunts and Uncles
A child may have many aunts and uncles or none if both their parents were the only child of their grandparents.
A child may have aunts and/or uncles which are the
siblings of the mother and/or father or their spouses.
A great aunt is the sister of your grandfather or
grandmother.
A great uncle is the brother of your grandfather or
grandmother
A great-great aunt is the sister of your great-great
grandfather or great-great grandmother
A great-great uncle is the brother of your great-great
grandfather or great-great grandmother
COUSINS
A first cousin is a child of and aunt or uncle. First
cousins have the same grandparents
Second cousin share the same great grandparents. A second cousin is the grandchild of your great aunt or great uncle
Third cousins share the same great-great grandparents
(aka second great grandparent)
Fourth cousins share the same great-great grandparents (aka
third great grandparents)
The In-laws
In-laws are relatives by marriage. Usually the term is used for parents, sister and brother of your spouse. The terms aunt in-law, uncle in-law or cousin in-law is generally not used. I however used the term cousin in-law. It would probably be proper to say my cousin's wife or husband.
More information to come
-----The Tree Gardener
