Ok so I was dating this guy. And I have a second cousin. And he says that it's his second cousin too. Does that make us anything? He says it does. Are we related. I've never seen him at a family gathering or anything. Never heard of him!
2007-06-08 16:37:41 · 10 answers · asked by HollyAnn 1 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Genealogy
The only way to find out for sure is to trace back. It is possible you are not related at all. (Probable, since you never saw him at family gatherings.)
Suppose Mike McKinney and Marvin McKinney are brothers.
Mike marries Alice Jones.
They have a child, Albert McKinney.
Marvin marries Elizabeth Smith.
They have a son, Bruce McKinney.
Albert and Bruce are first cousins through the McKinneys, their dads.
Elizabeth, wife of Marvin, has a brother Edward Smith. He married Martha Mathis, and they have a child, Charles.
Bruce and Charles are first cousins through the Smiths.
Bruce and Albert, remember, are also first cousins.
Albert and Charles, both first cousins to Bruce, have no blood relation at all.
I used first cousins to keep things simple. When A, B and C have children, there will be second cousins all over the place, all related to Bruce's children, but again, Albert's children will have no relation to Charles' children.
You might want to get a big piece of paper and draw this out; it might be easier to understand with a picture.
I know a couple who met in Korea, when he was in the Air Force. She is Korean. She has brothers and sisters who married other Koreans. He is Iowan of Swedish extraction; he has brothers and sisters who married other Iowans. Their child is a beautiful medium-tall slender Eurasian. She has 1st cousins who are short, dark-haired Koreans and 1st cousins who are tall, blond corn-farming Iowans. Both sets of cousins are related to her, but her Korean cousins don't share a race, religion, continent or language with her Iowan cousins, let alone any blood relation.
If you have ancestors who lived in the USA west of the big cities before 1870, I'd be willing to bet several of them married a first or second cousin. It happened all the time. 24 states today have laws against marrying a first cousin. The other 26 don't. Very few foreign countries have alwws against it. No state and no country has a law against marrying a second, third, fourth or removed cousin.
Romancing a cousin does have some drawbacks; if the boy decides to set the county speed record for getting a bra off on the first date, or is otherwise a cad, there will be some long, ugly pauses if he shows up at a family reunion.
2007-06-09 12:39:24 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
The thing to do is sit down and trace both of your lines back and see if your bloodline connects in any way. You might be related but not in direct blood lines.
Most states have a law prohibiting marrying first cousins but you can marry anyone beyond that. Others are stricter and don't allow second cousins to marry. You two may be seconds cousins three times removed so see how your lines connect, if they do and go from there.
Check out the link below and print up the chart, then write in your information and have him do a chart of his own to see if you have a common denominator.
http://www.islandregister.com/cousin.html
2007-06-09 05:57:32 · answer #2 · answered by KittyKat 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Basically, you and your second cousin have the same great-grandparents. There are laws in many countries about marrying cousins (same grandparents), but second cousins may be a different story. It's a little odd, but possibly not illegal. Now, if it's the second cousin of a second cousin, it could be a pretty distant link so you'd probably be OK with it.
So if I'm reading it right, A & B are second cousins, and B & C are second cousins. So you'd go up from A to a great-grandparent and down to B, then up to another great grand-parent and down to C. There's a connection, but nothing legally wrong I would guess.
In researching my family tree, I discovered a man a couple of hundred years ago who had a couple of daughters who married brothers. Then the man's wife died, and the daughter's father died. So the two surviving parents married -- supposedly over the objections of the kids. So the daughter's mother-in-law became her stepmother, which is pretty odd.
2007-06-08 17:00:33 · answer #3 · answered by wdx2bb 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
All these answers sound like they are right on the money. Check out your family trees to be sure there are no common ancestors. In my family, we have sets of DOUBLE first cousins. My grandmother had 11 siblings, and 2 of her brothers and 2 sisters married 2 each of brothers and sisters from the same Jones family, so each of their children are double first cousins and we have a HUGE family reunion each year (some of the families last year had like 5 generations present). You didn't mention your age, so I'm wondering if this guy has a crush on you and is using this line to get closer to you.
2007-06-09 07:21:12 · answer #4 · answered by jan51601 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Wow, you got a lot of mixed up stuff.
You and your second cousins share the same great grandparents. You are related.
Your 2nd cousin and this guy who is His second cousin also share the same gr grandparents. They are related.
You could be related to your cousin via your fathers being first cousins.
They could be related to each other via their MOTHERS being first cousins.
Separate families.
Do YOU and the GUY share the SAME gr grandparents?? If you do, you are related. If you don't share the same gr grandparents.. you are NOT RELATED.
Remember that everyone has 4 grandparents, and 8 great grandparents. NOTHING in your message tells me that you have any ancestor in common.
2007-06-08 18:24:41 · answer #5 · answered by wendy c 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Do you share common great grandparents.
Remember you have 4 sets of great grandparents. A person can be your 2nd cousin and his 2nd cousin but that doesn't necessarily mean you are related.
2007-06-08 17:41:48 · answer #6 · answered by Shirley T 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
First thing to learn: this second cousin has parents. Who are they to each of you?
2007-06-08 16:57:40 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
you are related, second cousins at least one time removed. there is nothing wrong with this either.
2007-06-08 17:57:29 · answer #8 · answered by JBC 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
ya, it does mean alot..I saw this guy & we dated for a while. Found out it was one of my 2nd cos. We stop everything right there & can't look at eachother
2007-06-08 16:40:47 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
yes. you are related. he could be your first cousin, second, third, or fourth by marriage or blood.. depending on your specific circumstance.
2007-06-08 16:41:21 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋