Genealogy - what relation is this person to my son?

[ExiledMainer3093]

There's a famous 19th century poet in my family tree (I'll call him "FP," for Famous Poet), and I want to determine what relation he is to my son, if there is a name that can be put on that relationship...My son's great-times-ten grandfather (that's 10 "greats") had a brother. That brother had a great-grandson, and he's the FP in question.So the FP's great-uncle is my son's great-times-ten grandfather. Is there a simple way to explain what the FP's relationship is to my son? My son is not a direct descendant, but the FP is definitely in the family tree!Thanks!

[Nothingusefullearnedinschool9329]

Each great or grand represents ONE generation; e.g., father is one generation, grandfather is one generation, so by that you are talking about a common ancestor 12 generations ago.Subtract 2 as you said FP is the great-nephew of the gggggg (x) grandfather, so he would be uncle X 10 greats.

[finch]

3rd cousins, 9 times removedEdit: It's 9 times removed, not 10...Genevieve's explanation is correct, but she seems to have accidentally added one too many generations in her second list (compare it to her first list).Please, at least give us a hint who "FP" is!

[TheWillowTree]

I believe that they would be third cousins, nine times removed. If I counted the generations correctly.G10 - BrotherG9 - (1st cousin) - SonG8 - (2nd cousin) - GrandsonG7 - (3rd cousin) - FPG6 - (3rd 1x rem)G5 - (3rd 2x rem)G4 - (3x removed)G3 - (4x removed)G2 - (5x)Great grandfather - (6x)Grandfather - (7x)Father - (8x)Son - (3rd cousin, 9 times removed)

[GenevievesMom9159]

You have to count relationships from the common ancestor. In this case that isn't the brothers, it's their father.1. FP's 2nd ggf (aka your son's 11th ggf)2. FP's ggf and your son's 10th ggf3. FP's gf and your son's 9th ggf4. FP's father and your son's 8th ggf5. FP and your son's 7th ggf6. Your son's 6th ggf7. Your son's 5th ggf8. Your son's 4th ggf9. Your son's 3rd ggf10. Your son's 2nd ggf11.Your son's ggf12. Your son's gf13. Your son's father14. Your sonThe first generation is the common link between FP and your sonThe second generation were brothersThe third generation were first cousinsThe fourth generation were second cousinsThe fifth generation were third cousins - so that's the last generation with a direct "cousin" relationship. From there, every generation is one removed6 - 3rd cousins once removed7 - 3rd cousins twice removed8 - 3rd cousins 3x removed9 - 3rd cousins 4x removed10 - 3rd cousins 5x removed11 - 3rd cousins 6x removed12 - 3rd cousins 7x removed13 - 3rd cousins 8x removed14 - 3rd cousins 9x removed15 - 3rd cousins 10x removedSo after 15 generations, they are third cousins, ten times removed. If you're looking for a chart, here's one that doesn't extend out 15 generations, but it will help him visualize it: http://genealogy.about.com/library/nrelationshipchart.htm