Who's on first?

Phrases like first "cousin, twice removed” confound the
most ardent family researchers. Defining cousinhood and
adding that “removed” phrase between two relatives is easy
with this formula from the Texas State Library Genealogy
Collection.


1. Find the ancestor common to two people. The common
ancestor is “zero.” Then count down the generations to the
subjects you are defining.
	
2. Subtract one from the smaller number of generations
from the 
common ancestor. This establishes the cousin
(first,second, etc.) relationship.


3 Subtract the smallernumber from the larger number
(number being generations
removed from the common ancestor) to yield "times removed.”


Example:
One subject is six generations,s removed from the common
ancestor; another, four generations. Choose the smaller
number, four, and subtract one to get three. They are
“third cousins. Four from six Is two so they are twice”
removed. Presto! Third cousins twice removed!