First, Second, and Third Cousins

Note: this post is an updated one from August of 2007.

One of my Grandpa Neill’s few remaining cousins, Edna Dion, passed in August of 2007. What is interesting is how many great-great-grandparents he and this cousin shared: 14 out of 16.  Full siblings share 16 out of 16 great-great-grandparents.

“Normal” first cousins normally share 8 out of 16 great-great grandparents (because they have two grandparents or one-half of their ancestry in common). This cousin and my Grandpa were not just first cousins. They were also second cousins and they were also third cousins.

• Grandpa Neill (Cecil Neill 1903-1968) was the son of Charles and Fannie (Rampley) Neill.
• Edna Dion (1914-2007) was the daughter of James E. and Sarah (Neill) Rampley.

Charles Neill and Sarah (Neill) Rampley were brother and sister.

Fannie (Rampley) Neill and James E. Rampley were first cousins, children of brothers Riley and James Rampley.

But there is one more connection.

Brothers Riley and James Rampley both married Nancy Newman, just not the same one. Riley married Nancy J. Newman and James married Nancy E. Newman. Nancy J. was the daughter of William Newman. Nancy E. was the daughter of Edward Newman. These two Newman men were brothers. I can keep it straight, but explaining it sometimes is difficult.

When one looks at their great-great-grandparents on a five-generation chart, 14 out of the sixteen names are the same. Only one set of great-great-grandparents are different. Now that is related.

Note: I didn’t mention that there’s actually one more connection. Rebecca (Tinsley) Newman was the daughter of Enoch Tinsley–who was a first cousin of Melinda Sledd.