Figuring out Kinship

Hector, New York

 

 

 

Genealogy tip for today: Relationship Chart

When my mom was a girl, she and her brothers had a cousin named Glen. Their mothers were sisters and were very close, thus so were the cousins. Time moved on, the kids grew up and married. Their children came on the scene. 

Glen was an only child, and I knew he was Mom’s cousin, but being so much like a brother to Mom, I used to call him Uncle Glen. He didn’t mind either as he was an only child and had no one else to call him Uncle. But because I called him uncle and he was not, yet he was mom’s cousin, it got a bit confusing. Was he my second cousin, or was his kids my second cousins? He was Mom’s cousin (I rationalized), and I’m second in line, that should make him second cousin. But his kids and he couldn’t both be second cousins.

For years I insisted that he must be a second cousin, and his kids, therefore must be third cousins. Then I started into genealogy and discovered this “remove” thing. It didn’t make sense to me as a kid, but grown I finally got a handle on it. Glen was my first cousin, but once removed, i.e. one generation removed from my mother. His kids really were my second cousins. (Aaaaahhhh! That was great, ‘cause I had a crush on Glen, Jr. and second cousins could marry, right? Well that never happened. But he did marry someone that had the same first name!)

I found this chart that I thought I would include here. If you have trouble figuring out how one person is related to another, this chart will help you.

 

 

Genealogy Relationship Chart

 

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
1	Common Ancestor	Son or Daughter	Grandson or Daughter	Great Grandson or Daughter	2nd Great Grandson or Daughter	3rd Great Grandson or Daughter	4th Great Grandson or Daughter	5th Great Grandson or Daughter	6th Great Grandson or Daughter	7th Great Grandson or Daughter
2	Son or Daughter	Brother or Sister	Niece or Nephew	Grand Niece or Nephew	Great Grand  Niece or Nephew	2nd Great Grand Niece or Nephew	3rd Great Grand Niece or Nephew	4th Great Grand Niece or Nephew	5th Great Grand Niece or Nephew	6th Great Grand Niece or Nephew
3	Grandson or Daughter	Niece or Nephew	First Cousin	First Cousin Once Removed	First Cousin Twice Removed	First Cousin Three Times Removed	First Cousin Four Times Removed	First Cousin Five Times Removed	First Cousin Six Times Removed	First Cousin Seven Times Removed
4	Great Grandson or Daughter	Grand Niece or Nephew	First Cousin Once Removed	Second Cousin	Second Cousin Once Removed	Second Cousin Twice Removed	Second Cousin Three Times Removed	Second Cousin Four Times Removed	Second Cousin Five Times Removed	Second Cousin Six Times Removed
5	2nd Great Grandson or Daughter	Great Grand Niece or Nephew	First Cousin Twice Removed	Second Cousin Once Removed	Third Cousin	Third Cousin Once Removed	Third Cousin Twice Removed	Third Cousin Three Times Removed	Third Cousin Four Times Removed	Second Cousin Five Times Removed
6	3rd Great Grandson or Daughter	2nd Great Grand Niece or Nephew	First Cousin Three Times Removed	Second Cousin Twice Removed	Third Cousin Once Removed	Fourth Cousin	Fourth Cousin Once Removed	Fourth Cousin Twice Removed	Fourth Cousin Three Times Removed	Fourth Cousin Four Times Removed
7	4th Great Grandson or Daughter	3rd Great Grand Niece or Nephew	First Cousin Four Times Removed	Second Cousin Three Times Removed	Third Cousin Twice Removed	Fourth Cousin Once Removed	Fifth Cousin	Fifth Cousin Once Removed	Fifth Cousin Twice Removed	Fifth Cousin Three Times Removed
8	5th Great Grandson or Daughter	4th Great Grand Niece or Nephew	First Cousin Five Times Removed	Second Cousin Four Times Removed	Third Cousin Three Times Removed	Fourth Cousin Twice Removed	Fifth Cousin Once Removed	Sixth Cousin	Sixth Cousin Once Removed	Sixth Cousin Twice Removed
9	6th Great Grandson or Daughter	5th Great Grand Niece or Nephew	First Cousin Six Times Removed	Second Cousin Five Times Removed	Third Cousin Four Times Removed	Fourth Cousin Three Times Removed	Fifth Cousin Twice Removed	Sixth Cousin Once Removed	Seventh Cousin	Seventh Cousin Once Removed
10	7th Great Grandson or Daughter	6th Great Grand Niece or Nephew	First Cousin Seven Times Removed	Second Cousin Six Times Removed	Third Cousin Five Times Removed	Fourth Cousin Four Times Removed	Fifth Cousin Three Times Removed	Sixth Cousin Twice Removed	Seventh Cousin Once Removed	Eighth Cousin

Instructions:

1. Select two people in your family and figure out which ancestor they have in common. For example, if you chose yourself and a first cousin, you would have a grandparent in common.

2. Look at the top row of the chart (in blue) and find the first person's relationship to the common ancestor.

3. Look at the far left column of the chart (in blue) and find the second person's relationship to the common ancestor.

4. Move across the columns and down the rows to determine where the row and column containing these two relationships (from #2 & #3) meet. This box is the relationship between the two individuals.

Our Thanks go here.

 

(Mom's aunt and uncle and Glen lived in Hector, NY.  For lack of a picture for this article, the above panorama of Hector, NY was included at the top. Hector was a neat little hamlet, tucked away in the finger lakes region of upstate New York.)

 

 

If any of these posts are helpful drop us a line in the comments section below. We just want to know if the information we provide to you is helpful in anyway.

 

 

 

Today in History

1570		A tidal wave in the North Sea destroys the sea walls from Holland to Jutland. More than 1,000 people are killed.
1772		The first Committees of Correspondence are formed in Massachusetts under Samuel Adams.
1789		The property of the church in France is taken away by the state.
1841		The second Afghan War begins.
1869		Sheriff Wild Bill Hickok loses his re-election bid in Ellis County, Kan.
1880		James A. Garfield is elected the 20th president of the United States.
1882		Newly elected John Poe replaces Pat Garrett as sheriff of Lincoln County, New Mexico Territory.
1889		North Dakota is made the 39th state.
1889		South Dakota is made the 40th state.
1892		Lawmen surround outlaws Ned Christie and Arch Wolf near Tahlequah, Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma). It will take dynamite and a cannon to dislodge the two from their cabin.
1903		London's Daily Mirror newspaper is first published.
1914		Russia declares war with Turkey.
1920		The first radio broadcast in the United States is made from Pittsburgh.
1920		Charlotte Woodward, who signed the 1848 Seneca Falls Declaration calling for female voting rights, casts her ballot in a presidential election.
1921		Margaret Sanger and Mary Ware Dennett form the American Birth Control League.
1923		U.S. Navy aviator H.J. Brown sets new world speed record of 259 mph in a Curtiss racer.
1926		Air Commerce Act is passed, providing federal aid for airlines and airports.
1936		The first high-definition public television transmissions begin from Alexandra Palace in north London by the BBC.
1942		Lieutenant General Dwight D. Eisenhower arrives in Gibraltar to set up an American command post for the invasion of North Africa.
1943		The Battle of Empress Augusta Bay in Bougainville ends in U.S. Navy victory over Japan.
1947		Howard Hughes' Spruce Goose flies for the first and last time.
1948		Harry S Truman is elected the 33rd president of the United States.
1959		Charles Van Doren confesses that the TV quiz show 21 is fixed and that he had been given the answers to the questions asked him.
1960		A British jury determines that Lady Chatterly's Lover by D.H. Lawrence is not obscene.
1963		South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem is assassinated.
1976		Jimmy (James Earl) Carter elected the 39th president of the United States.
1983		President Ronald Reagan signs a bill establishing Martin Luther King, Jr., Day.
1984		Serial killer Velma Barfield becomes the first woman executed in the US since 1962.
2000		First resident crew arrives at the International Space Station.

 

Birthdays today

1734		Daniel Boone, American frontiersman and explorer.
1755		Marie Antoinette, Queen of France, executed during the French Revolution.
1795		James Polk, 11th president of the United States (1845-49).
1865		Warren G. Harding, 29th president of the United States (1921-23).
1885		Harlow Shapley, astronomer who discovered the Sun is not at the center of the galaxy.
1906		Luchino Visconti, film director (Obsession, Death in Venice).
1913		Burt Lancaster, American film actor.
1929		Richard Taylor, Nobel Prize-winning physicist who proved the existence of quarks.
1932		Melvin Schwartz, physicist who won the Nobel Prize for work on neutrinos.
1936		Rose Bird, first female Chief Justice of California (1977-87); also the first Chief Justice in California history to be removed from office by voters.
1938		Jay Black, lead singer of the group Jay and the Americans ("Come a Little Bit Closer," "This Magic Moment").
1938		Pat Buchanan, American conservative political commentator, syndicated columnist, author; a senior advisor to presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan.
1938		Queen Sofia of Spain (1975– ).
1949		Lois McMaster Bujold, science fiction and fantasy author (The Mountains of Morning; Paladin of Souls); her many awards include four Hugos for best novel, which ties Robert A. Heinlein's record.
1952		Maxine Nightingale, British R&B and soul singer ("Right Back Where We Started From").
1961		k.d. lang, Grammy-winning Canadian pop and country singer-songwriter, actress, social activist ("Constant Craving").
1972		Samantha Womack, English actress, singer, director (TV and stage); best known for her roles as Mandy Wilkins in Game On and Ronnie Mitchell in EastEnders.

 

 

Word for the Day

bumbledom

PRONUNCIATION:

(BUHM-buhl-duhm)

 

MEANING:

noun: Behavior characteristic of a pompous and self-important petty official.

 

ETYMOLOGY:

After Mr. Bumble in Charles Dickens's novel Oliver Twist. Bumble was a fussy, self-important beadle (a minor parish officer) of the workhouse where Oliver Twist was born. Earliest documented use: 1856.

 

USAGE:

"We regret to record the death of Albury-Wodonga with a hyphen. ... Bumbledom in the two councils has decreed the hyphen must go from stationery and signs."
Howard Jones; Political Doublespeak is Sad Legacy for Border Folk; The Border Mail (Wodonga, Australia); Aug 23, 2007.

 

 

Quote for the Day

If people knew how hard I worked to get my mastery, it wouldn't seem so wonderful after all. -Michelangelo Buonarroti, sculptor, painter, architect, and poet (1475-1564)

 

 

 

Now You Know!

 

 

Handwriting, #3: Tutorials, Helps and Tips

Genealogy tip for today: Handwriting, #3Tutorials, Helps and Tips

 

We have been talking about handwriting the last couple of days. I have discovered there is an overwhelming amount of information on the Internet of sites that are available for help.

 

Some sites are designed to help you with script of foreign languages (other than English) some are designed to help you with English during different time periods. We had said we would look at scripts from 100 to 500 years ago. But I think instead of rehashing what has already been said in other places I will give you several links for you to check out.

 

If this is something that you are seriously interested in, these websites will not only give you good information but easy tutorials, and exercises that you can practice to improve your reading skills of older scripts or foreign languages.

 

One thing that was abundantly clear as I looked over other websites was that you need to practice, practice, practice. The more you do, the better you will get at reading older documents.  That sounds like a lot of things in life, doesn’t it?!!

                            

Here are some of websites I found: 

English Handwriting 1500-1700 

Deciphering Handwriting, Genealogy Course 

The two links above came from this page, which has even more information.

Here’s another one  – an online tutorial. This looks like a good one and covers the time period I mentioned in the opening paragraphs.

About.com’s page on handwriting has several articles that are good to read.    

 As you explore this topic you will see there is a lot of information on the Internet regarding handwriting and how to read it.

 

~TIPS~

 

Here are some tips that I have gathered from around the web that are good points to remember:

-Buy and use a good magnifying glass.

-Don’t guess – read carefully, interpret only what you see, not what you think.

-Use letters/words from one part of a document to help interpret a difficult part.

-Look for dates. Familiarity with dates can help with figuring out handwriting or letters.

-Create an alphabet chart as you figure out letters.

-Find and watch online tutorials on old handwriting.

-For vowels, substitute other vowels till the word makes sense. See if you can decipher whether a letter is a vowel or consonance.

-Figure out lower case letters first.

-Sometimes letters are open (like “o”) even when they are not supposed to be.

 

Here are some more tips. Reading other people’s handwriting is or can be a real challenge. But with helps and some “tricks” and a lot of practice, you will be able to read old documents and even solve some riddles of writing, heretofore unsolvable.

 

 

If any of these posts are helpful drop us a line in the comments section below. We just want to know if the information we provide to you is helpful in anyway.

 

 

Today in History

1517		Martin Luther nails his 95 Theses to the door of the church at Wittenberg in Germany. Luther's theories and writings inaugurate Protestantism, shattering the external structure of the medieval church and at the same time reviving the religious consciousness of Europe.
1803		Congress ratifies the purchase of the entire Louisiana area in North America, adding territory to the U.S. which will eventually become 13 more states.
1838		A mob of about 200 attacks a Mormon camp in Missouri, killing 20 men, women and children.
1864		Nevada becomes the 36th state.
1941		After 14 years of work, the Mount Rushmore National Memorial is completed.
1952		The United States explodes the first hydrogen bomb at Eniwetok Atoll in the Pacific.
1968		The bombing of North Vietnam is halted by the United States.
1971		Saigon begins the release of 1,938 Hanoi POW's.
1984		Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi is assassinated in New Delhi by two Sikh members of her bodyguard.
1998		Iraq announces it will no longer cooperate with United Nations weapons inspectors.
1999		EgyptAir Flight 990 crashes into Atlantic Ocean killing all 217 people on board.
2000		Soyuz TM-31 launches, carrying the first resident crew to the International Space Station.
2002		Former Enron Corp. CEO Andrew Fastow convicted on 78 counts of conspiracy, money laundering, obstruction of justice and wire fraud; the Enron collapse cost investors millions and led to new oversight legislation.

Birthdays today     

1795		John Keats, poet.
1802		Benoit Fourneyron, inventor of the water turbine.
1860		Juliette Low, founder of the Girl Scouts.
1887		Chiang Kai-Shek, Chinese Nationalist.
1896		Ethel Waters, actress and blues singer.
1902		Carlos Drummond de Andrade, Brazilian poet, journalist and short story writer.
1917		William H. McNeil, historian (The Rise of the West).
1925		Charles Moore, influential post-modern architect.
1930		Michael Collins, U.S. astronaut.
1931		Dan Rather, journalist; anchor of CBS Evening News (1981–2005).
1936		Michael Landon, actor (Bonanza, Little House on the Prairie TV series).
1937		Tom Paxton, folk singer, songwriter, musician; received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (2009).
1942		David Ogden Stiers, actor; best known for his role as stuffy Maj. Charles Emerson Winchester III on M*A*S*H* TV series (1977–1983).
1950		Jane Pauley, journalist; co-host of The Today Show (1976–1989) and Dateline NBC (1992–2003).
1950		Antonio Taguba, retired US Army major general best known for authoring the Taguba Report on abuse of detainees at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq; Taguba is the second American citizen of Philippine birth to reach the rank of general in the US Army.
1961		Sir Peter Jackson, New Zealand film director, producer, screenwriter (Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit)
1961		Larry Mullen Jr., musician; drummer for U2 band.
2005		Infanta Leonor of Spain, second in line of succession to the Spanish throne.

 

 

Word for the Day

milquetoast

PRONUNCIATION:

(MILK-tohst)

 

MEANING:

noun: A timid, unassertive person.

 

ETYMOLOGY:

After Caspar Milquetoast, a comic strip character by H.T. Webster (1885-1952). A synonym of the word is milksop. Earliest documented use: 1932.

 

USAGE:

"Martin Oberman: This is a very tough place. You can't be a milquetoast."
Peter Slevin; Testing Rahm; The Washington Post; Sep 13, 2012.

Explore "milquetoast" in the Visual Thesaurus.

 

Quote for the Day

Poetry should please by a fine excess and not by singularity. It should strike the reader as a wording of his own highest thoughts, and appear almost as a remembrance. -John Keats, poet (1795-1821)

 

 

Today’s Recipe

Treats, No Tricks!

 

 

Pumpkin Carving Tips

 

This isn’t a recipe for something to eat, but it is about food!!! :-)

Click on the title above and it will take you to some tips in carving your best pumpkin ever!!

 

ENJOY!

 

Now You Know!