How is He Related to Us Again?
Keeping track of family relationships can be complicated and it's sometimes hard to figure out how one person is related to another, especially when you come upon second, third or fourth cousins.
| Abbreviations Used: | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| CA | Common Ancestor | C | Child |
| GC | Grandchild | GGC | Great Grandchild |
| S | Sibling (Brother/Sister) | N | Niece/Nephew |
| GN | Grand Niece/Nephew | GGN | Great Grand Niece/Nephew |
| #C | Cousin Relationship, e.g., 1C = First Cousin, etc. | ||
| #R | # of times removed, e.g., 4R = 4 times removed, etc. | ||
- The box marked CA on the chart in the upper left-hand corner is the common ancestor of two people.
- Identify the relationship of the first person to the common ancestor, e.g., child, grandchild, 8th great grandchild, etc. Find that box on the top row.
- Identify the relationship of the second person to the common ancestor, e.g., grandchild, great grandchild, 3rd great grandchild, etc. Find that box in the left-hand column.
- Follow the column straight down from the top row and follow the row straight across from the left-hand column. The relationship of the second person to the first person will be the box where the two lines meet.
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | |
| 0 | CA | C | GC | GGC | 2 GGC | 3 GGC | 4 GGC | 5 GGC | 6 GGC | 7 GGC | 8 GGC |
| 1 | C | S | N | GN | GGN | 2 GGN | 3 GGN | 4 GGN | 5 GGN | 6 GGN | 7 GGN |
| 2 | GC | N | 1C | 1C 1R | 1C 2R | 1C 3R | 1C 4R | 1C 5R | 1C 6R | 1C 7R | 1C 8R |
| 3 | GGC | GN | 1C 1R | 2C | 2C 1R | 2C 2R | 2C 3R | 2C 4R | 2C 5R | 2C 6R | 2C 7R |
| 4 | 2 GGC | GGN | 1C 2R | 2C 1R | 3C | 3C 1R | 3C 2R | 3C 3R | 3C 4R | 3C 5R | 3C 6R |
| 5 | 3 GGC | 2 GGN | 1C 3R | 2C 2R | 3C 1R | 4C | 4C 1R | 4C 2R | 4C 3R | 4C 4R | 4C 5R |
| 6 | 4 GGC | 3 GGN | 1C 4R | 2C 3R | 3C 2R | 4C 1R | 5C | 5C 1R | 5C 2R | 5C 3R | 5C 4R |
| 7 | 5 GGC | 4 GGN | 1C 5R | 2C 4R | 3C 3R | 4C 2R | 5C 1R | 6C | 6C 1R | 6C 2R | 6C 3R |
| 8 | 6 GGC | 5 GGN | 1C 6R | 2C 5R | 3C 4R | 4C 3R | 5C 2R | 6C 1R | 7C | 7C 1R | 7C 2R |
| 9 | 7 GGC | 6 GGN | 1C 7R | 2C 6R | 3C 5R | 4C 4R | 5C 3R | 6C 2R | 7C 1R | 8C | 8C 1R |
| 10 | 8 GGC | 7 GGN | 1C 8R | 2C 7R | 3C 6R | 4C 5R | 5C 4R | 6C 3R | 7C 2R | 8C 1R | 9C |
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