Cousins, exactly how are they related.
One of the questions that I am asked frequently, is how to tell how your cousins are related. How does a first cousin differ from a second or third cousin? And what is all of this about removed cousins.
Basically, your aunts and uncles are your parent’s brothers and sisters. The children of your aunts and uncles are your first cousins. Then, your first cousins have the same grandparents as you.
Your second cousins have the same great, grandparents as you. However, they have different grandparents than you. Then, third cousins have the same great, great grandparents. Then fourth cousins have the same great, great, great grandparents, etc.
The word removed can be confusing, but it is just used to differentiate one generation from another. In other words, the child of your first cousin, is your first cousin, once removed. The child of your first cousin, once removed is your first cousin, twice removed, etc.