[Genealogy] Some Cousin Humor, Percents and Genealogy, and More
Michael John Neill
mjnrootdig at gmail.com
Mon Aug 24 20:56:17 CDT 2026
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24 August 2026
** Some Cousin Humor---and More
** Notebook Class
** Percents and Genealogy
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Some Cousin Humor---and More
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For those who don’t understand how cousins are counted…it’s easy. My uncle
has three sons: the oldest one was my first cousin, the middle one was my
second cousin, and the youngest one was my third cousin.
------------------------------
Of course that’s not how first, second, and third cousins are determined.
First cousins share a set of grandparents. Second cousins share a set of
great-grandparents, and third cousins share a set of
great-great-grandparents. The pattern continues on successively. There
are charts
that attempt to show the relationship graphically for those who are visual
learners <https://www.familysearch.org/en/blog/cousin-chart>.
Then there are the removed designations when the two individuals are not
the same generation of descent from the common ancestor. Your first
cousin’s child and you are first cousins once removed–because that child is
one more generation removed from the original ancestor than you are. Your
cousin’s grandchild and you would be first cousins twice removed–because
that grandchild is two generations further from the original ancestor than
you.
Your child and your first cousin’s child would be second cousins. Your
child and your first cousin's child share a set of great-grandparents–the
people who are you and your cousins’s grandparents.
And of course, there several nuances:
- half cousins–would only share one grandparent or one
great-grandparent. This could easily happen if a person had multiple spouses
- double cousins–people who are related in more than one way. This most
often happens when brothers marry sisters, a brother and sister marry a
sister and a brother, etc.
Instead of stating the specific relationship between two individuals, I
prefer to clearly state the common ancestor.
Edward and Curtis Habben were both grandsons of John M. and Anke H. (Fecht)
Habben.
Cecil Neill and Edna (Rampley) Dion were second cousins, being
great-grandchildren of James and Elizabeth (Chaney) Rampley. Their son
Riley was Cecil’s grandfather and their son James was Edna’s grandfather.
Your mileage may vary.
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Notebook for Genealogy--a Four Week Class
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View this page as an email.
<https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/2026/08/12/notebook-for-genealogy-four-week-class/>
*Due to requests, we've added a set of classes on Tuesday mornings--see
below.*
Notebook for Genealogy–A Four Session Pick Your Own Problem Course
With Michael John Neill
Our focus is on being practical, exhibiting sound genealogy methodology,
and demonstrating responsible use of Notebook (Google’s suite of AI tools)
in genealogy research. This course is for those who would like guidance and
suggestions in how to use Notebook and have a place to get feedback and
additional direction.
*What is Notebook?*
NotebookLM (often simply Notebook) is Google’s suite of AI-driven tools to
analyze data from files and information you provide it. .
Notebook uses sources of your choosing, not what it found online. You
upload your own materials—including PDF files, text files, Google Docs,
slides, or web links—and the AI creates a private workspace built
exclusively around that data. You can upload any genealogy information to
it tht you wish , but it is recommended that only deceased people be
included and that you not upload DNA information on living people.
Capabilities
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Answers with Citations: When you ask questions or search your uploaded
files, every response includes citations to your uploaded documents,
allowing you to double-check sources.
-
Synthesis & Content Creation: Notebook automatically generates concise
summaries, outlines main themes, and identifies connections or conflicts
across dozens of sources at once. You do need to validate its summaries and
conclusions.
-
Audio-visual Outputs: Beyond text answers, Notebook can create study
guides, briefing documents, timeline charts, slide decks, podcast
interviews, and videos based on your content. Even if you never share the
created materials, just viewing them and interacting with them may give you
some insight into your genealogical problem.
Course Prerequisites & Required Materials You should have digital records
for one ancestor or a father-mother-children family, including every extant
record available.
-
Format: PDF or JPG for images; PDF, Word, or raw text for transcriptions.
-
Preparation: Be familiar with the specific ancestral research problem
you plan to work on to get the most from Notebook LM and AI concepts.
Gather all materials between registration and the start of class.
Course Format & Zoom Sessions
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Pre-Recorded Lectures: Students will view two hours of presentations
before group sessions begin.
-
Live Zoom Sessions: Held on Sunday nights (and recorded for later
viewing). Sessions combine live demonstrations by Michael working through a
set of family records alongside group discussions where students share
prompts, results, challenges, and questions.
Class Focus & Weekly Assignments
-
Weekly Assignments: One assignment per week focused on Notebook's media
outputs using your own research problem.
-
Scope: The course focuses on mastering the tools and capabilities of
Notebook rather than providing individual research advice, making it
accessible to participants working on problems from any region.
Community Discussion & Communication
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Private Google Group: Used for asynchronous discussion, peer
interaction, Q&A, and prompt sharing outside of live sessions.
-
Email Requirement: A Gmail account is strongly recommended. Accounts
with AOL, Yahoo, or Hotmail frequently experience delivery issues with
group emails.
Take the class live on Sunday Night or Tuesday Mornings!
*Tuesday Sessions--10 AM Eastern Time--stilll available*
*Important Dates*
- *1 September:* Pre-recorded lectures become available for download,
and the private Google Group opens.
- *Live Zoom Discussions (Tuesdays at 10:00 AM Eastern US time):* 15
September, 22 September, 29 September, and 13 October. Time: 10 am US
Central Daylight Time.
*Registration & Tuition*-
- *Fee:* $70–register now to save your spot
<https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=T8YR5W34FDC4L>
.
- *Availability:* Registration is limited.
- Register for Sunday Night Sessions
<https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=T8YR5W34FDC4L>
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Percents and Genealogy
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One often sees comments like these made on various blogs, mailing lists,
etc.
X% of families followed the pattern of naming the first born child after
the paternal grandfather.
I’ve never found statements like these particularly helpful from a
genealogical standpoint. Tendencies like these are clues and clues are
sometimes helpful, but they aren’t hard evidence of a connection.
One reason is that often these statements are made without reference to any
study in which they were “discovered” or what analysis was done to reach
the conclusion regarding why the percentage is accurate, etc. The source of
the statement is often one missing element in these posts. Numbers without
data to back them up are truly meaningless.
Even if there is a study to back up the number, one always has to wonder
how the study was conducted, how samples were obtained, how random the
samples actually were, how representative of the entire population the
extracted items were, etc. etc. Is the study really applicable to my
research, the family I am working on? Were certain records used that
inherently have some bias or tend to only mention members of a certain
socio-economic group? That always makes me wonder how applicable the
percentage is to my research.
And therein lies the real problem.
Let’s say that 75% of families from a certain ethnic background name the
oldest son for the paternal grandfather and that this statement comes from
a repeatable study that is done using sound research practices. What does
that mean for me and my research? It means that I can use the oldest
child’s name as a clue as to who the paternal grandfather is. That’s it. It
is not proof. And frankly it really doesn’t matter from the standpoint of
my research whether the percentage is 60%, 80% or 95%. I can use the fact
that there is a tendency to possibly guide my research, but personally in
most cases, I’m better off using local records and sources to guide my
research.
And rarely does anyone who makes claims provide any documentation of where
the number comes from. What about the citation of sources in regards to
numbers as well as genealogical facts?
Statistics are intended to help us see general patterns or trends for
groups as a whole. Genealogy is about proving what happened in specific
instances.
Current offerings:
-
Notebook AI–four week class
<https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/2026/08/12/notebook-for-genealogy-four-week-class/>
-
Metes and Bounds AI–one hour webinar
<https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/2026/08/16/using-ai-for-metes-and-bounds-deed-analysis/>
Upcoming Trips:
-
Midwest Genealogy Center–Independence, Missouri
<https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/mid-continent-genealogy-library-october-2025-research-trip/>--October
2026
-
Library of Virginia
<https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/2025-library-of-virginia-research-trip-richmond-virginia/>--March
2027--make deposit and pay balance later
Ready-to-Go Webinars–download immediate:
-
Creating Children’s Stories from Genealogy Events
<https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/creating-childrens-stories-from-genealogy-information/>
-
Creating Families from pre-1850 Census Records
<https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/creating-families-from-pre-1850-census-records/>
-
DeedMapper webinars
<https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/deedmapper-intro-and-more-deedmapper-webinars/>
-
Farming Ancestor webinars–landowner and non-landowner versions
<https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/rooting-around-for-farmers-and-tenants-and-laborers/>
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------------------------------------
Michael John Neill
Genealogy Tip of the Day
PO Box 17, Henderson, IL 61439
http://www.genealogytipoftheday.com
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