You might ask what happens when siblings marry siblings. As happened in my own family. (My brother and sister married a brother and sister of another family. I married their cousin, and my other brother married the other’s double first cousin.) Very complicated… I can only say that my brothers and sisters and I married brothers, sisters, and cousins of another family. Complicated but all good and all still together after 50+ years.
There are several other types of double relationships. They get very complicated, and I won’t go into them here. I shall only say that when the two couples share two pairs of grandparents and they have children, the children will be “double first cousins to each other.”
There are times when we share multiple relatives. We may be first or second cousins on one side of the family and fourth or fifth cousins on the other side of the family. That’s a job for a multiple chart and best explained another day.
Good luck to those researching their family history. It is one of the most rewarding journeys you will ever undertake and a great blessing to your children. Even if they should find it a waste of time today, trust me when I say, they will be so appreciative when they have matured enough to know what you have given them.
God Bless
Patricia Richards Harris
Doddridge County Historical Society
