What does it mean if you were "____ times removed" in a family?

Question

What does it mean if you were "____ times removed" in a family?

Answer 1

Your father's 1st, 2nd, 3rd etc cousins are your 1st, 2nd, 3rd etc cousins ONCE removed.

Your grandfather's 1st, 2nd, 3rd etc cousins are your 1st, 2nd, 3rd etc cousins TWICE removed.

Each time you go "up" an generation you leave the degree (1st, 2nd, 3rd) unchanged and add a removed.

It works "down", too.

Your 1st, 2nd, 3rd . . . cousins' children are also your 1st, 2nd, 3rd etc cousins ONCE removed.

Your 1st, 2nd, 3rd . . . cousins' grandchildren are also your 1st, 2nd, 3rd etc cousins TWICE removed.

Answer 2

This chart may help a little bit.

http://genealogy.about.com/library/nrela...

Answer 3

The number of cousins (1st cousins, 2nd cousins, etc) can only change in parallel generations.  If you are first cousins, it means that one generation separates you from your common ancestor (your grandparents).  If your first cousin has a child, your relationship to your first cousin's child is first cousin, once removed, because you are not of parallel generations.

You the child is one generation further away from your common ancestor, thus, "once removed". Your child and your first cousin's child would be second cousins because two generations separate them from their common ancestor.

   JG