Word 'cousin' used in relation to half-siblings in 1600's?

[Nick Vogel]

Asking a question about my ancestor Jonathan Fairbanks of Dedham Massachusetts. He is mentioned in the 1650 will of George Fairbanks, clothier of Sowerby, Yorkshire. There are arguing theories about who Jonathan's parents were. In George Fairbanks' will (he died unmarried and childless), he mentions his own siblings, as well as his cousins, and mentions a "Mr. Johnathan Fairbanks" although he doesn't designate his relationship to Mr. Jonathan. A copy of the will was sent "to his loving cousin Jonathan Fairbanks in New England."

One site asserts that the "Mr. Jonathan Fairbanks" mentioned was not Jonathan in New England, but was some cousin who became a local vicar. That doesn't make much sense to me because why bother sending a copy of the will to New England to show someone who isn't even a beneficiary of the will? It doesn't state what the relationship is to "Mr. Jonathan Fairbanks" but then sends a copy of the will to Jonathan Fairbanks in New England "cousin" to George the clothier, so I can't think of why Mr. Jonathan Fairbanks mentioned wouldn't be the Jonathan in Massachussets.

A lot of sites have been claiming that Jonathan Fairbanks of New England was a younger half-brother of the George Fairbanks of Sowerby, and that because they weren't very close, George describes him as a cousin rather than a brother. They say that in the 1600's cousin was a term used in general to describe kinsmen. That doesn't make much sense to me when he describes his siblings in the will as brothers and sisters, but then sends a copy to his "cousin" in New England, but maybe I'm wrong. Has anyone else ever heard of someone describing a half-sibling as a cousin back in this time period?

[Rosinish]

Hi Nick,

Sorry I can't help but.......while researching a friends family, I came across a "half cousin" & to this day I have been unable to find the "true" connection but the surnames were very different.

Annie

[Nick Vogel]

Hey Annie, thanks anyway. Another thing people are trying to figure out is if one of the candidates for father of Jonathan, was a George Fairbanks of Heptonstall, and if that is the same as another George Fairbanks who lived in Sowerby (a few miles from Heptonstall) who was the uncle of the clothier George.

[roderickpaulin]

From memory didn't the British refer to North Americans as "cousins"? 

[ThrelfallYorky]

My grandmother used to refer to cousins, children of cousins, and cousins of cousins - if you see what i mean - as "Cousins". It seemed to imply a fairly close relationship, but not a sibling parent or child. A "Half cousin" as I heard it from the same generation, meant a child of a cousin, a step-cousin i.e., related only through marriage - or, to her, a cousin of a different generation! Oh dear. So hard to untangle. I'd quite forgotten about the "Half cousin" term until I read this

[clayton bradley]

I have never met anyone who is a half sibling being described as cousin. I would be surprised if it happened. After all, they were accustomed to describe stepmothers just as "mothers" in their wills, and I think a brother would be a brother, half or not. Cousin is a looser term for a more distant relationship, cb

[pinefamily]

For the era you are referring to, in my experience the term "cousin" meant kinship of some kind, and it was a rather loosely used word. I have seen it refer to actual cousins as we know them, nieces/nephews, and more distant kin as well. Half or step siblings however were usually referred to simply as brother or sister, which confused me the first time I saw it, as the there were two surnames involved.

[LizzieL]

In Shakespeare's time "Cousin" was used for a variety of relationships.
http://www.shakespeareswords.com/cousin

[Marmalady]

Cousin could be used to imply a relationship of any sort
As could the term "in-law"

So if the half-brothers were not particularly close, either through age, distance or any other reason, then describing him as a cousin is certainly feasible