What is a great-uncle?
Rick Charnes
OK, here's a question for you technical genealogists:
If my mother has a sister Jane who marries Sam, I say that Sam is my
uncle even though Sam is not a blood relative. I say that Jane is my
aunt and Sam is my uncle, and we don't in ordinary usage think of those
two different terms as connoting any inequality in 'closeness' to my
line. At least in popular culture and language, their marriage binds
them linguistically to me. Even though we know the facts of the
relationship, we don't say that Jane is my aunt and Sam is just Jane's
husband; we say they are my aunt and uncle.
OK. Now my mother Sally's father is Thomas, and Thomas has a sister
Susan. We call Susan my great-aunt. Now here's the question. Susan's
husband is Jim. What do I call Jim? Can I call him my great-uncle?
Usually we reserve the term great-uncle for the brother of a
grandparent, not the husband of a grandparent's sister. But according
to the above reasoning, it might seem appropriate. Just as I would
refer to Sam (above paragraph) as my uncle and not merely the husband of
my aunt, why would I only call Jim the husband of my great-aunt?
I guess the answer is that the term great-uncle has a given and
otherwise quite specific meaning: the brother of a grandparent.
Something to think about, though. What do y'all think? Is there
another term for the husband of a great-aunt, or can we stretch
'great-uncle' to include this relationship?
Rick Charnes <cha...@concentric.net>
G. Ewert
Rick,
...
> Is there another term for the husband of a great-aunt, or can we stretch
> 'great-uncle' to include this relationship?
My family has a history of living forever! Thus lots of great-aunts and
uncles are refered to as such, regardless of "blood".
Gene Ewert
gke...@terraworld.net
Christine O'Hara
On 22 Jul 1997 12:41:24 -0700, Rick Charnes <cha...@concentric.net>
wrote:
>
>OK, here's a question for you technical genealogists:
>
>If my mother has a sister Jane who marries Sam, I say that Sam is my
>uncle even though Sam is not a blood relative. I say that Jane is my
>aunt and Sam is my uncle, and we don't in ordinary usage think of those
>two different terms as connoting any inequality in 'closeness' to my
>line. At least in popular culture and language, their marriage binds
>them linguistically to me. Even though we know the facts of the
>relationship, we don't say that Jane is my aunt and Sam is just Jane's
>husband; we say they are my aunt and uncle.
>
>OK. Now my mother Sally's father is Thomas, and Thomas has a sister
>Susan. We call Susan my great-aunt. Now here's the question. Susan's
>husband is Jim. What do I call Jim? Can I call him my great-uncle?
>Usually we reserve the term great-uncle for the brother of a
>grandparent, not the husband of a grandparent's sister. But according
>to the above reasoning, it might seem appropriate. Just as I would
>refer to Sam (above paragraph) as my uncle and not merely the husband of
>my aunt, why would I only call Jim the husband of my great-aunt?
>
>I guess the answer is that the term great-uncle has a given and
>otherwise quite specific meaning: the brother of a grandparent.
>Something to think about, though. What do y'all think? Is there
>another term for the husband of a great-aunt, or can we stretch
>'great-uncle' to include this relationship?
>
>
>
>Rick Charnes <cha...@concentric.net>
Rick,
Actually, according to what I remember reading, there is no such thing
as a great-aunt/uncle...it's GRAND-aunt/uncle. (I usually slip anyway
and use great, but just so you know the possibilities.) I can't
remember where I read it - all I can remember is that it was in one of
the beginning genealogy books that I read when I got started.....
oha...@sssnet.com (Christine O'Hara)
Michael A. Rife
>>I guess the answer is that the term great-uncle has a given and
>>otherwise quite specific meaning: the brother of a grandparent.
>>Something to think about, though. What do y'all think? Is there
>>another term for the husband of a great-aunt, or can we stretch
>>'great-uncle' to include this relationship?
>>
>>
>>
>>Rick Charnes <cha...@concentric.net>
>Rick,
>Actually, according to what I remember reading, there is no such thing
>as a great-aunt/uncle...it's GRAND-aunt/uncle. (I usually slip anyway
>and use great, but just so you know the possibilities.) I can't
>remember where I read it - all I can remember is that it was in one of
>the beginning genealogy books that I read when I got started.....
>From what I understand it goes Uncle, Granduncle (brother of your
grandparent), Great-granduncle (brother of your great-grandparent). Now I
beleive in Family Tree Maker, it indicates non-blood relations by the
phrase "husband of" or "wife of". So you Uncle (your father's brother) is
your Uncle. His wife is called "wife of uncle". (Not to be mixed up with
the "Man from Uncle" ;) Your grand-father's brother is you grand-uncle.
His wife is the wife of your grand-uncle.
Disclaimer: I am not a certified genealogist. I am just telling what I
beleive to be true. Hopefully one of the many certified genealogists can
verify this.
MR...@admin.usf.edu (Michael A. Rife)
Richard Pence
Rick Charnes <cha...@concentric.net> wrote:
>I guess the answer is that the term great-uncle has a given and
>otherwise quite specific meaning: the brother of a grandparent.
>Something to think about, though. What do y'all think? Is there
>another term for the husband of a great-aunt, or can we stretch
>'great-uncle' to include this relationship?
As you stated, we all call the husbands of our aunts are our "uncles"
by common usage - and I have encountered no instances where the same
title was not accorded to the spouses of our great uncles or great
aunts. In fact, just today I was reading a letter written by an
80-year old man in 1960 in which he refered to the various spouses of
his blood great uncles and great aunts as "Aunt" and "Uncle," sometime
calling one or the other "great."
>Rick Charnes <cha...@concentric.net>
Philip Fennell
One who sends $5 to his nephews and nieces at Christmas.
pfen...@epix.net (Philip Fennell)
R. Shader
It seems that we already have a term in common useage to cover things
like a greatuncle by marriage. Call him a greatuncle-in-law.
rlsh...@lamar.ColoState.EDU (R. Shader)
dr...@wco.com
.> oha...@sssnet.com (Christine O'Hara) writes:
.>
.> On 22 Jul 1997 12:41:24 -0700, Rick Charnes <cha...@concentric.net>
.> wrote:
.>
.> >
.> >OK, here's a question for you technical genealogists:
.> >
.> >If my mother has a sister Jane who marries Sam, I say that Sam is my
.> >uncle even though Sam is not a blood relative. I say that Jane is my
.> >aunt and Sam is my uncle, and we don't in ordinary usage think of those
.> >two different terms as connoting any inequality in 'closeness' to my
.> >line. At least in popular culture and language, their marriage binds
.> >them linguistically to me. Even though we know the facts of the
.> >relationship, we don't say that Jane is my aunt and Sam is just Jane's
.> >husband; we say they are my aunt and uncle.
.> >
.> >OK. Now my mother Sally's father is Thomas, and Thomas has a sister
.> >Susan. We call Susan my great-aunt. Now here's the question. Susan's
.> >husband is Jim. What do I call Jim? Can I call him my great-uncle?
.> >Usually we reserve the term great-uncle for the brother of a
.> >grandparent, not the husband of a grandparent's sister. But according
.> >to the above reasoning, it might seem appropriate. Just as I would
.> >refer to Sam (above paragraph) as my uncle and not merely the husband of
.> >my aunt, why would I only call Jim the husband of my great-aunt?
.> >
.> >I guess the answer is that the term great-uncle has a given and
.> >otherwise quite specific meaning: the brother of a grandparent.
.> >Something to think about, though. What do y'all think? Is there
.> >another term for the husband of a great-aunt, or can we stretch
.> >'great-uncle' to include this relationship?
.> >
.> >
.> >
.> >Rick Charnes <cha...@concentric.net>
.> Rick,
.> Actually, according to what I remember reading, there is no such thing
.> as a great-aunt/uncle...it's GRAND-aunt/uncle. (I usually slip anyway
.> and use great, but just so you know the possibilities.) I can't
.> remember where I read it - all I can remember is that it was in one of
.> the beginning genealogy books that I read when I got started.....
.>
.>
.>
.> oha...@sssnet.com (Christine O'Hara)
.>
.>>>>
Actually, grand aunt/uncle is synonymous with great aunt/uncle.
Webster's dictionary says granduncle is "an uncle of one's father or
mother". I guess this means it can be the blood relative or the relative
by marriage, since my mother or father's uncle can be either one.
Webster's also gives the definition of great-uncle and granduncle.
So is the sister/brother of my great grandmother/father my
great grand aunt/uncle? :)
--------------------------|MY WEB PAGE HAS MOVED:------
Drema Swader | Visit the Trent/Saunders
dr...@wco.com | Family Tree at:
drema....@autodesk.com | http://www.wco.com/~drema
-------------------------------------------------------
Jessica Schein
R. Shader wrote:
>
> It seems that we already have a term in common useage to cover things
> like a greatuncle by marriage. Call him a greatuncle-in-law.
And you would be wrong. Any "in-law" is your spouse's relative. So
your gu-in-law would be your spouse's greatuncle.
Also, in response to someone else (Michael), back here in NY the term
granduncle has never, to my knowledge been used. Your grandparent's
sibling was a great-aunt or uncle. Kinda kills the symmetry.
dr...@wco.com
.> Jessica Schein <jessh...@worldnet.att.net> writes:
.>
.> R. Shader wrote:
.> >
.> > It seems that we already have a term in common useage to cover things
.> > like a greatuncle by marriage. Call him a greatuncle-in-law.
.>
.> And you would be wrong. Any "in-law" is your spouse's relative. So
.> your gu-in-law would be your spouse's greatuncle.
.>
.> Also, in response to someone else (Michael), back here in NY the term
.> granduncle has never, to my knowledge been used. Your grandparent's
.> sibling was a great-aunt or uncle. Kinda kills the symmetry.
.>
.>
.>
.> jessh...@worldnet.att.net
.>
.>>>>
..more than kills the symmetry when you start talking about a great grandparent's
sibling, it can get downright confusing...great grand uncle. I have always
referred to my great aunts as great, but it makes more sense in the overall
scheme to use grand aunt.
G K Salter & Associates
In the UK, a great-uncle is the brother of one's grandparent. The title
would be extended as a courtesy to the husband of one's great-aunt.
In article <33dd8927....@nntp.ix.netcom.com>, Silver Bullet
<nm...@ix.netcom.com> writes
>In the recent past, dr...@wco.com wrote:
>
>
>>
>>So is the sister/brother of my great grandmother/father my
>>great grand aunt/uncle? :)
>
>PAF 2.31 relationship calculator says first great grand aunt/uncle.
>
>Norris
>
>EMail: Norris Taylor <nm...@ix.netcom.com>
>Main Ancestral Lines:
> Beaty, Earhart, Feather, Johnston, Millirons,Taylor, Vatter
>"Most Wanted" Lines to connect with:
> Powers, McCart, McBride, Snodgrass, McCampbell, Brinning
> Connoly, Nellist, Fletcher, Donalson
>Genealogy Home Page: http://members.aol.com/ntgen/index.html
--
Mike Jennings
e-mail: po...@gksa.demon.co.uk
Chuck MacDonald
I can remember an uncle who always gave me money for ice cream -
he was GREAT!
Cheers. . . Chas.
Bjwake1639
Your Father's uncles are your Great Uncles. Your Mother's Uncles are your
Great Uncles.
Bob
schneck
Your grandparents siblings are your great aunts and uncles.
Martha Mohney Schneck