Tools

Here are some handy conversion tables and tools for genealogical research.

Consanguinity Chart

Who are all these cousins anyway? Use this chart to identify relationships between you and your relatives. Start with Self. Each row is a generation. Move down to identify children. Move across to identify brothers, sisters, and cousins. Move diagonally upward to identify parents. For example, first cousins are children of your grandparents' children. A cousin once removed is one generation before or after your own. GG means Great-Grand. rem means removed.

            4th GG Parents
          3rd GG Parents 3rd GG uncles/aunts
        2nd GG Parents 2nd GG uncles/aunts 1st Cousins 4 rem
      GG Parents GG uncles/aunts 1st Cousins 3 rem 2nd Cousins 3 rem
    Grandparents Grand-uncles/aunts 1st Cousins 2 rem 2nd Cousins 2 rem 3rd Cousins 2 rem
  Parents Uncles/Aunts 1st Cousins 1 rem 2nd Cousins 1 rem 3rd Cousins 1 rem 4th Cousins 1 rem
Self Brothers/Sisters 1st Cousins 2nd Cousins 3rd Cousins 4th Cousins 5th Cousins
Children Nephews/Nieces 1st Cousins 1 rem 2nd Cousins 1 rem 3rd Cousins 1 rem 4th Cousins 1 rem 5th Cousins 1 rem
Grandchildren Grandnephews/nieces 1st Cousins 2 rem 2nd Cousins 2 rem 3rd Cousins 2 rem 4th Cousins 2 rem 5th Cousins 2 rem
GG children GG nephews/nieces 1st Cousins 3 rem 2nd Cousins 3 rem 3rd Cousins 3 rem 4th Cousins 3 rem 5th Cousins 3 rem

Soundex Codes

Surnames in the United States federal census records are often encoded. This encoding, call the soundex code, is based on the way a name sounds rather than how it's spelled. This simplifies searching the census records, which generally have wide variations in spelling for the same surname.

Use this form to convert a surname to a soundex code. Use the code when searching census records from 1880 onward. I recommend trying different first letters for a surname. Sometimes the transcriptionist may mistake a P for a D, for example.

Surname:

Date Calculations

Here are some calendar date functions useful in genealogical research.

Pennsylvania Counties

If you are researching places in Pennsylvania, it is helpful to know how county boundaries have changed since 1682. View an animated history of Pennsylvania Counties.

Contact: Mike Voisin

Revised: October 11, 2024
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