Thanks to the wonders of the Internet I was recently contacted by Richard Young who had seen the blog posting about Grandma Coombes (nee Ann Gomm Young) and recognised the name from his family bible. As a result a CD of our family history information is on its way to him and in return I have a copy of the bible entry.
Ann Gomm Young was my great great grandmother and she was born in 1819. Her brother Richard (one of many siblings) was born in 1838. He had three children, one of whom, Richard Thomas Young, born in 1905, had a son – the very same Richard Young who, thanks to the wonders of modern science, had e-mailed me.
My first reaction was to work out our relationship. For those not familiar with how cousinship work I shall try to explain.
If your parents are siblings you are First Cousins.
If it is your grandparents who were siblings you are Second Cousins.
If it is your great grandparents who were siblings you are Third Cousins.
etc.
If someone is First Cousin to your parent then they are “First cousin once removed” to you.
If someone was your grandparent’s first cousin they are your “First cousin twice removed”.
In other words for every generation that goes by you add another ‘removed’.
Annette is Georgina’s First cousin
Annette’s daughter Annie is Georgina’s first cousin once removed.
Annie’s son Anthony is Georgina’s first cousin twice removed.
Since Richard is my grandmother’s second cousin he is my second cousin twice removed. OK, that’s pretty distant but I still find it quite exciting. And, I’m glad to say, so does he!
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Genealogy is very exciting stuff. On my maternal side I have one line that's been taken all the way back to the 1620s. They came over with the Dutch East India Company to settle the Manhattan Island area. But for all the other lines we don't know all that much. For some of them I think it's better we don't!
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