Cousins, 1st, 2nd, 3rd ?? How to determine

[Macker]

How do you determine who is 1st, 2nd, 3rd cousins etc.?
Well I know about first cousins, but after that I kind of get lost.
How do inlaws fit into this formula?

[Wayne League]

Macker <fl...@netvoyage.net> wrote:

Here's how to compute your cousin's relationship:
Start with the one in the older or earlier generation and count back
the number of generations to the brother/sister pair that caused the
cousin-ship. That is the number of the cousin. Then count forward
from there to the other cousin. If that number is greater than the
backward count then you are removed by the extra amount. (One is
removed forward and the other removed back)
ie: Your 1st cousin's child is your 1st cousin once removed but your
child is the 2nd cousin of your 1str cousin's child.
You are (normally) not related at all to your spouse or his/her
parents but your children are.

Wayne League
wle...@mindspring.com

[Gawpn Suo]

Macker <fl...@netvoyage.net> wrote:

>How do you determine who is 1st, 2nd, 3rd cousins etc.?

Easy! To be cousins, you must share a common ancestor. Count the G's (grand
father, g-grandfather, etc.) between person "A" and the common progenitor and
between person "B and the common progenitor. The lesser number of G's is the
cousin level (3 G's = 3rd cousins). The DIFFERENCE between the two counts is
the removal. If person A has two G's and person B has four G's, they are second
cousins twice removed.

>How do inlaws fit into this formula?

Actually, they don't. Cousin is a blood relationship, not a legal one.

Hope that makes sense.

jas