Genealogy Resources & Information

Genealogy Resources

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Genealogy Relationship Chart

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
1	Common Ancestor	Son or Daughter	Grandson or Daughter	Great Grandson or Daughter	2nd Great Grandson or Daughter	3rd Great Grandson or Daughter	4th Great Grandson or Daughter	5th Great Grandson or Daughter	6th Great Grandson or Daughter	7th Great Grandson or Daughter
2	Son or Daughter	Brother or Sister	Niece or Nephew	Grand Niece or Nephew	Great Grand Niece or Nephew	2nd Great Grand Niece or Nephew	3rd Great Grand Niece or Nephew	4th Great Grand Niece or Nephew	5th Great Grand Niece or Nephew	6th Great Grand Niece or Nephew
3	Grandson or Daughter	Niece or Nephew	First Cousin	First Cousin Once Removed	First Cousin Twice Removed	First Cousin Three Times Removed	First Cousin Four Times Removed	First Cousin Five Times Removed	First Cousin Six Times Removed	First Cousin Seven Times Removed
4	Great Grandson or Daughter	Grand Niece or Nephew	First Cousin Once Removed	Second Cousin	Second Cousin Once Removed	Second Cousin Twice Removed	Second Cousin Three Times Removed	Second Cousin Four Times Removed	Second Cousin Five Times Removed	Second Cousin Six Times Removed
5	2nd Great Grandson or Daughter	Great Grand Niece or Nephew	First Cousin Twice Removed	Second Cousin Once Removed	Third Cousin	Third Cousin Once Removed	Third Cousin Twice Removed	Third Cousin Three Times Removed	Third Cousin Four Times Removed	Second Cousin Five Times Removed
6	3rd Great Grandson or Daughter	2nd Great Grand Niece or Nephew	First Cousin Three Times Removed	Second Cousin Twice Removed	Third Cousin Once Removed	Fourth Cousin	Fourth Cousin Once Removed	Fourth Cousin Twice Removed	Fourth Cousin Three Times Removed	Fourth Cousin Four Times Removed
7	4th Great Grandson or Daughter	3rd Great Grand Niece or Nephew	First Cousin Four Times Removed	Second Cousin Three Times Removed	Third Cousin Twice Removed	Fourth Cousin Once Removed	Fifth Cousin	Fifth Cousin Once Removed	Fifth Cousin Twice Removed	Fifth Cousin Three Times Removed
8	5th Great Grandson or Daughter	4th Great Grand Niece or Nephew	First Cousin Five Times Removed	Second Cousin Four Times Removed	Third Cousin Three Times Removed	Fourth Cousin Twice Removed	Fifth Cousin Once Removed	Sixth Cousin	Sixth Cousin Once Removed	Sixth Cousin Twice Removed
9	6th Great Grandson or Daughter	5th Great Grand Niece or Nephew	First Cousin Six Times Removed	Second Cousin Five Times Removed	Third Cousin Four Times Removed	Fourth Cousin Three Times Removed	Fifth Cousin Twice Removed	Sixth Cousin Once Removed	Seventh Cousin	Seventh Cousin Once Removed
10	7th Great Grandson or Daughter	6th Great Grand Niece or Nephew	First Cousin Seven Times Removed	Second Cousin Six Times Removed	Third Cousin Five Times Removed	Fourth Cousin Four Times Removed	Fifth Cousin Three Times Removed	Sixth Cousin Twice Removed	Seventh Cousin Once Removed	Eighth Cousin

Instructions:

Select two people in your family and figure out which ancestor they have in common. For example, if you chose yourself and a first cousin, you would have a grandparent in common.
Look at the top row of the chart (in blue) and find the first person's relationship to the common ancestor.
Look at the far left column of the chart (in blue) and find the second person's relationship to the common ancestor.
Move across the columns and down the rows to determine where the row and column containing these two relationships (from #2 & #3) meet. This box is the relationship between the two individuals.

Genealogical Maturity Model

The Genealogical Maturity Model is a
framework for personal growth.
© 1971. All rights reserved.

Want to be a better genealogist? The central skill needed by every genealogist is the ability to produce verifiably correct genealogists. I call that “Genealogical Maturity.” I developed the Genealogical Maturity Model as an easy way to grade your own maturity and to create small, attainable goals for improvement.

Let me be clear. I am no expert in this regard. I have based the model as nearly as I can on broadly acknowledged best practices published in BCG Genealogical Standards Manual, Helen F. M. Leary, editor; Evidence Explained, Elizabeth Shown Mills; and Genealogical Proof Standard, Christine Rose. Anything in the model that is correct you can attribute to these experts. Anything incorrect is... well... me.

Read more: Genealogical Maturity Model

Where to Look for Family Records

Family Sources: Don’t underestimate the value of bits and pieces of family lore, dates, names, and places. And don’t trust these gems to your memory. Record the information on standard 8 1/2 x 11 paper instead of assorted scraps. Add the date, the name and address of the person interviewed, and the circumstances or occasion that sparked the information. In addition, let me encourage you to make some journal entries about your own life. Wouldn’t it be a shame if your future descendants knew quite a lot about most of their ancestors, but nothing about YOU? Don’t wait to do a lengthy manuscript. Instead, write vignettes, just a paragraph or a page on a specific subject at the time the event or memory makes a vivid picture in your own mind. Be sure to organize your material so that others can find it, understand it, and appreciate it. You are contributing to the HERITAGE of others! Enjoy the search for your own heritage, and leave a trail for others to follow!

Where to Research: Perhaps your ancestors number among the rich and famous. However, ours were mostly poor and ordinary and that makes the search more difficult. We have relied heavily on family legends, photographs, Bibles, and letters for clues. From there we turned to county histories, census records, land plat maps, deed and probate records, vital records, church records, cemetery lists, and information about migration patterns. Visit your local libraries, historical societies, and courthouses. Seek advice over the Internet about specific geographical areas and surnames; there are many people out there doing family history, and you’ll enjoy exchanging information. Remember to ask for SOURCES so that you can follow up, confirm, and add to your storehouse of data.

David Ouimette of FamilySearch said that their collection of the highest quality genealogy records has surpassed Ancestry.com’s. He made the remarks at the recent Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) annual conference. He said FamilySearch has more Images of civil vital records, church records of vital events, and census records.

300 million

According to Ouimette, every month FamilySearch digitizes tens of millions of the 3.6 billion images in the vault. “We’re going as fast as we can, publishing indexes to high quality records first,” he said. “We have about 200 cameras that are currently active throughout the world,” said Ouimette. They digitize millions of images in archives weekly.

“As of last night,” he said, “FamilySearch has almost 300 million images.”

He showed a table of the number of images and records for each record type. I scribbled down the numbers as fast as I could, so you should probably regard them with suspicion. For one thing, the number of images doesn’t total to 300, so buyer beware. For another, I had to move the decimal point just to get them to add up half-way right.