A week or so ago I got an email message out of the blue from a family member, Pat. She introduced herself, saying she ran across my name on the ‘net when looking for other relatives and found my Dad’s obituary. Let’s see if I’ve got this right: Pat’s mom was my dad’s aunt. So what’s our relationship?? That stuff is always so darned confusing to me.
We’ve swapped a few messages and already I’ve learned more about that side of my family. It’s interesting! I hope we keep this up.
That’s an interesting chart, thanks for the link.
I tried plugging in known relations to verify that I was understanding it correctly. But I’m afraid I tired of the exercise before attaining enlightenment. There are some things that are destined to baffle me, plain and simple, and that’s one of ’em. I can accept that.
Hey, Cousin!
I, too, suffer from a friend who’s into every stupid chain email … after several explanations and “Yeah, yeah, I know, I know” sessions, I just forward it to “Undisclosed Recipients” and she has no clue she’s the only one preventing me from dying at midnight, winning a kajillion untamed meerkats, or being elected to catch the bear roaming the neighborhood.
Lest I appear smarter than I am — I’m taking my friend’s word on the Charlemagne and 33d cousin bit. Personally I think we have to go back to Noah and the Flood. I can figure out about as far as 2d cousins, unless I have the handy-dandy pyramid chart in front of me. http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~genepool/cousins.htm
The worst part of genealogical research is that a lot is done by amateurs who will never admit to an error.
Hey, I’ve been removed! I guess that’s better than being a figment of one’s imagination.
Seriously, I can nest braces with the best of ’em, yet this stuff truly baffles me. Thanks!
As an added note, I mentioned Pat to someone else who extolled the value of the stories she’d probably be able to tell. But the other day she sent almost 7 MB of spammy forwards into my inbox. I think I’ll just ignore it and delete it. But if it continues I’ll have to take the time to educate her that it’s just not welcome here and hope I don’t offend. The best thing that could happen is that she reads this, goes ‘oops’, and stops sending it to me.
Many people erroneously would say you and Pat are second cousins (your parents being first cousins).
However, you and Pat are first cousins, once removed.
I don’t claim expertise here, but my late ex-father-in-law always told his kids they where “Heinz 57.” Since I’m totally Polish, that bugged my ex into genealogy, so she’d have a label.
A friend with even more expertise says almost all Europeans can trace themselves back to Charlemagne; and you and I, Rick, are no further apart than 33d cousins.