Relatively Speaking

My great grandmother Della married William Waltern Chason, who went by Walter, when she was 15 and he was 19 years of age. That's the way they often did things back then. She and her tall, rawboned honey had 10 children by the time Della was about 44 years old. My Grandma Zonie Melissa was their third child and first daughter. I just got a picture of Della, with Zonie, and the fourth child, Ozzle, from my sister, Jamie.

Jamie also sent one of Zonie and her 10 year younger sister, Donie, in their later years. Grandma's wearing a scarf to cover up her pin curls. She must have been getting all dolled up for something. My sister, Julie, tells me they both look kind of grumpy here, but I can assure you that Grandma was no grump. On the contrary, I hear from a rliable source that Donie was! My uncle said she was "meaner than a striped snake!"

Wallace, our newly-found second cousin, sent us a picture of another of Grandma's brothers, John Harvey Chason, who went by Harvey. Here he is with his lovely wife, Annie Lora. They're Wallace's grandparents.

It's fun getting a little better acquainted with our great grandmother and some of our great aunts and uncles. My mother has a brother named Ozzle, and her mother does too. Grandma's brother is pictured with her above. My Uncle Ozzle told me that his Uncle Ozzle and his wife, Agnes, were childless. But they had two small Pekingese dogs that they dearly loved. The dogs ate at the dinner table right along with the family! For years, Uncle Ozzle claimed them as dependents on his taxes, saying he spent as much on them as he would if they were his children. He never got caught for it either. Not on earth, that is.

By the way, do you know the difference between a second cousin and a first cousin, once removed? I didn't, so I looked it up. From genealogy.com:

First cousin

Your first cousins are the people in your family who have two of the same grandparents as you. In other words, they are the children of your aunts and uncles.

Second Cousin

Your second cousins are the people in your family who have the same great-grandparents as you., but not the same grandparents.

Third, Fourth, and Fifth Cousins

Your third cousins have the same great-great-grandparents, fourth cousins have the same great-great-great-grandparents, and so on.

Removed

When the word "removed" is used to describe a relationship, it indicates that the two people are from different generations. You and your first cousins are in the same generation (two generations younger than your grandparents), so the word "removed" is not used to describe your relationship. The words "once removed" mean that there is a difference of one generation. For example, your mother's first cousin is your first cousin, once removed. This is because your mother's first cousin is one generation younger than your grandparents and you are two generations younger than your grandparents. This one-generation difference equals "once removed." Twice removed means that there is a two-generation difference. You are two generations younger than a first cousin of your grandmother, so you and your grandmother's first cousin are first cousins, twice removed.

Class dismissed!