What Kind of Cousin Are You?
Posted on August 6, 2008 - Filed Under Pulskamps Today, World Wide Gathering of the Pulskamps
Generally, a cousin is a person who shares with you a common ancestor. Specifically, we use the word cousin to describe the children of your parents’ siblings (your aunts and uncles). That was not always the case. Prior to the Civil War, the term “cousin” referred to any relative or to friends and neighbors you knew well enough to greet with a kiss.
FIRST COUSIN
You are first cousins if your common ancestor is your grandparent. Your parents are siblings, brothers or sisters. This is the easy one. Most of us probably know our first cousins. (I don’t have any first cousins in the Pulskamp family because my dad’s brother and sister had no children.)
SECOND COUSIN
You are second cousins if your common ancestor is your great-grandparent. For example, my great-grandparents were John Bernard Pulskamp and Mary Klei Pulskamp. They had seven children, four of whom had children. Barry Edward Pulskamp is my second cousin. His dad, Eugene, and my dad, John Joseph, were first cousins so we are second cousins.
THIRD COUSIN
You are third cousins if your common ancestor is your great-great grandparent. For example, my great-great-grandparents were Henry Theodore John Pulskamp and Frederika Louise Schaefer Pulskamp. Megan Christine Pulskamp is my third cousin. Her dad, Vincent is my dad’s second cousin. Her grandfather, Vincent Joseph Pulskamp, is my grandfather’s first cousin. Her great-grandfather, George Henry Pulskamp is my grandfather’s uncle.
FOURTH COUSIN
You are fourth cousins if your common ancestor is your great-great-great-grandparents. Now were getting some distance here! For example, Stacia Anne Foss is my fourth cousin. Her mom, Mary Ann Doll Foss, is my dad’s third cousin. Stacia’s grandmother, Leona Doll, is my grandfather’s second cousin. Her great-grandfather, William Joseph Pulskamp is my great-grandfather’s cousin. Her great-great-grandfather, Gerhard George Pulskamp is the brother of my great-great-grandfather, Henry Theodore John Pulskamp.
What’s this “removed†business all about?
The degree (first cousin, second cousin, third cousin, etc.) is determined by the shortest distance from the common ancestor. The level of “removed†is determined by the distance between the generations of the two cousins.
COUSIN ONCE REMOVED
Where does the term “once removed†or “twice removed†come in? Cousins who are “removed†are from different generations of the same family. For example, Patricia Gallagher O’Hara is my second cousin, once removed. Our common ancestors, Henry Theodore John Pulskamp and Frederika Louise Schaefer Pulskamp are Patricia’s great-grandparents and my great-great-grandparents. Patricia and my dad are second cousins. Patricia’s children are my third cousins, but Patricia and I are second cousins once removed.
COUSIN TWICE REMOVED
Cousins who are “twice removed†are two generations apart on the family tree. For example, Victor J. Pulskamp is my second cousin twice removed. Our common ancestors, Herman Heinrich Pulskamp and Maria Katherine Steinke Pulskamp (the parents who brought the family to Indiana in 1845) are Victor’s great-grandparents and my great-great-great-grandparents. My grandfather, Henry John Pulskamp, was Victor’s second cousin.
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WHAT’S A KISSING COUSIN?
This is a term with several different meanings.
A “kissing cousin†is a cousin who is far enough apart on the family tree to allow marriage. Generally, marriage is allowed for fourth cousins.
Or, a “kissing cousin†is a relative you know well enough to greet with a kiss.
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2 Responses to “What Kind of Cousin Are You?”
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Gosh, there for a second I thought we were going to finally clear up the whole descended from a monkey thing…
Great job explaining this. Wish I could have made it to the get together.
I am writing because your last name and the word “monkey†came up in a search as I am trying to identify a person in some photos. It is labeled “Ray Pulskamp†and the man has an organ grinder and is holding a monkey. Photo was taken in Cincinnati likely in the 1940’s but I am not sure.