How's this for a distant relation??

[Headbanger Veron]

I was contacted a while ago by someone who had a name in his family tree he thought must be connected to mine owing to a peculiar collection of middle names which various people had in common. After much detective work we have established the following:

My great, great, grandmother's younger brother's grandson, married a lady who had a son by a previous marriage. The son by the previous marriage, married the half sister of the grandfather of the person who contacted me!

so...... what relation does that make me to him.... does anyone want to try and work it out? No prizes!

Veron     

[Fitty]

Sounds to me like they got as far as they could go at the top of the tree and then went sideways.

My gt gt gt grandmother wasn't married when she gave birth to my gt gt grandmother, she married another chap a couple of years later.  This family is proving to be quite interesting so i'm following that lead at the moment.

It's so far sideways my tree, i need a larger monitor!   

[Sloe Gin]

I won't attempt to define the relationship  but if these middle names are distinctive, could it be that there is another connection to your family, as yet undiscovered?  You don't say where they are, but if it's a close community it could be so.

I add a lot of sideways names to my tree if the people are easily found in the records.  You never know when they may provide a clue to something else.

[cms]

How about "Half second cousin", Veron! Anyone else agree with that?

[millymcb]

......did the step 2nd cousin three times removed marry the half great aunt of the person who contacted you?


I got lost at that point and my brain started to melt a bit


Milly

[Mogsmum]

My software works this sort of thing out for me!

[johnnyboy]

How about "Half second cousin", Veron! Anyone else agree with that?

Easily clarified by a simple calculation.

Genetically speaking, you're not related to the person who contacted you because your mutual connection, the son by a previous marriage, is not genetically related to you. However, by marriage, you are a half cousin (in law) of some degree, but it is not second.

It is first half cousin (in law) twice removed. Your grandmother and the gggranny's  brother's grandson are first cousins. The person who contacted you is two generations descended from his grandfather and his half sister, putting him in the same generation as you are. 

Here is a diagram that my lack of a social life gave me time to construct:

                          4xgmother
      3xgmother                       her brother
       ggmother                             ----
          gmother      (cousins)     grandson             ==                  half sister           grandfather
           mother                                                                                                          ---
  Headbanger Veron                                                                                        Contact person
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

There will be an examination at the end of the school term!

I was able to do this because I once had to figure out my relationship to someone who turned out to be a half fifth cousin.

Regards,
John 

 

[Headbanger Veron]

Well thank you everyone... and yes, you should get out more John!!   

Veron 

[cms]

I'm pleased we gave you something to do, John!

Better than Sudoku.

And no-one can prove you wrong, even though I still stand by my first analysis.
 
Caroline