Third Cousins

Third cousins? You mean I have more than just first cousins and second cousins? 

That’s right, folks! And I’m here to explain.

Let’s review, shall we? No, this isn’t a conspiracy meant to drive you insane although you may need to lie down with a cold compress and a hot cup of tea by the end of this.

What kind of cousins you are (first, second, third, etc.) depends on the most recent ancestor you share with your relative.

Your first cousin is someone with whom your closest (most recent) common ancestors are a set of grandparents. In other words, your first cousin is the child of your mother’s sibling or your father’s sibling. 

Your second cousin is someone with whom your closest common ancestors are a set of great-grandparents. You don’t share grandparents with your second cousin though. Click here for a refresher.

To demonstrate the meaning of third cousins, I (Mary Jane Culbert) have enlisted the assistance of my third cousin, Michael Gordon Dunsmore Culbert of North Bay, Ontario.

Michael Gordon Dunsmore "Mike" Culbert: my third cousin

Mike Culbert and I are third cousins. Our closest common ancestors are a set of great-great-grandparents named John Culbert and MaryWard. You might have heard of them?

 

John Culbert & Mary Ward are the great-great-grandparents of Mike Culbert & Mary Jane Culbert. These are the closest set of ancestors shared by Mike & Mary Jane. That makes Mike & Mary Jane 3rd cousins.

Mike and I don’t share grandparents. We don’t share great-grandparents either. However, we do share great-great-grandparents. 

My great-grandfather was Richard Culbert. Michael’s great-grandfather was Thomas Culbert. Our great-grandfathers Richard Culbert & Thomas Culbert were brothers, and their parents were John Culbert & Mary Ward. John Culbert & Mary Ward (our great-great-grandparents) are the closest set of ancestors from which we are both direct descendants.

Third cousins have a set of great-great-grandparents as their most recent common ancestors.

Got it? Good. Because we’re moving on now to third cousins, once removed. 

To demonstrate, I’ve enlisted the help of my third cousin, once removed ... Jillian (Culbert) Fleming of Powassan, Ontario.

Jill (Culbert) Fleming: my third cousin, once removed.

Jill (Culbert) Fleming is Mike Culbert’s daughter.

You already learned the meaning of “once removed” when you read about “first cousins, once removed.” Click here if you’ve forgotten. 

One generation of difference equals one remove. 

Jill is one generation removed (apart) from me and her father. Jill’s father Mike Culbert is my third cousin so Jill is my third cousin, once removed.

Mike Culbert (my 3rd cousin) with his daughter, Jill (my 3rd cousin, once removed)

Now that you're up to speed with the terms first cousin, second cousin, third cousin, and of course, “once removed,” you’ll understand when you read this article about how Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip are third cousins through Queen Victoria, and are also second cousins once removed through King Christian IX of Denmark.

Cousins. Fun for the whole family!

Culbert Family History Blog's First Anniversary

Happy 1st anniversary to the Culbert Family History blog!

Mary (Ward) Culbert pops her cork! This is the earliest known photo of the John Culbert-Mary Ward family c1865. For details about original photo click here.

The Culbert Family History blog began on 7 March 2018 when I posted The John Culbert - Mary Ward Family: Nine Branches followed that same day by JOHN CULBERT & MARY WARD: Their 11 Children.

Since then, we've covered a lot of territory and there's much more to come.

Thanks to all you Culbert descendants, near and far, who have contributed to the blog. 

Now let's get this party started!

In Search of Family Photos

Calling all Culbert descendants!

Do you have any family photos to share with us? 

Terrence Patrick "Terry" Culbert with his first camera. Photo taken in his darkroom at home in Lucan, Ontario, 1959.

If you're a descendant of John Culbert & Mary Ward and if you have photos to contribute from any era, please email me. Otherwise, we're eventually going to run out of images to post on the Culbert Family History blog.

My email address is:

Thank you!

Myron Culbert, Four of his Sons, his Mother, and an Unidentified Woman

Can anyone identify this woman?

She's standing in the back row, far left of the photo below...

Back row, left to right: unidentified woman, Jane (Fairhall) Culbert, Myron Culbert holding baby Earl Culbert. Front row, left to right: 
Mel Culbert, Ivan Culbert, Mert Culbert.

Myron Manford Culbert (back row, far right) is holding his son William Earl Culbert who was born 11 May 1929. Earl looks to be at least one year old so that's why I'm guessing the photo was taken sometime between the middle of 1930 to 1931.

Myron's sons in the front row are (left to right): Milward Taylor "Mel" Culbert (born 29 May 1920), Ivan Hector Culbert (born 3 August 1918), and Merton Manford "Mert" Culbert (born 21 December 1926).

The woman wearing glasses and standing beside Myron in the back row is Myron's mother, Jane Eleanor (Fairhall) Culbert. Jane's husband, Richard Culbert died 2 June 1932, presumably before this photo was taken.

Missing from this photo are Myron's wife, Effie (Taylor) Culbert and their two eldest sons, Clifford Burton Culbert (born 10 September 1912) and Kenneth Arthur Culbert (born 9 June 1916). Perhaps one of them is the photographer.

I don't know the identity of the woman on the far left. Is she a friend? A relative? A Culbert descendant?

I don't know whose house this is, the exact year the photo was taken, nor why Mel and Ivan were wearing their "Sunday best." 

There was nothing written on the back of this photograph. I only know the identities of the other people because I'm Myron's granddaughter. So if anyone knows the name of this woman or recognizes the house, please leave a comment or contact me by email.

Omar Westell and the Case of the Stolen Spirits

A whiskey thief is a tool that master distillers use to extract small portions of whiskey from an aging barrel for sampling or quality control.

Whiskey thief

Whiskey thief is also the term that could be used to describe Omar Westell.
 

Omar Westell

Omar Westell was born 30 June 1865. On 26 November 1890, he married Susan Dagg of Kincardine, Ontario, Canada; the daughter of Richard Dagg and Eliza Culbert.

Susan (Dagg) Westell, born 1 April 1860 in Biddulph Township near Lucan, Ontario. Susan was the wife of Omar Westell, the daughter of Eliza CULBERT & Richard Dagg, and the granddaughter of John CULBERT & Mary Ward.

Omar and Susan raised their five children in Kincardine: Oran Westell, Lorena (Westell) Casemore, Lillie Mae (Westell) Tout, John Earl Westell, and Lila (Westell) Wright.
 

The Omar Westell - Susan Dagg Family. Photo taken late 1914 or early 1915.

Omar Westell worked for the Grand Trunk Railway (GTR) in Kincardine.

Omar's wife, Susan (Dagg) Westell died on 5 October 1916, age 56. Her death certificate says she'd had a cerebral tumor for six months.

On the very day that his wife died, Omar Westell made the papers. 
 

Source: The Wingham Advance, 5 October 1916, page 5

Omar Westell, an employee of the G.T.R., was last week arrested by a warrant sworn out by Kincardine, charging him with theft. One morning last week he was discovered rifling a case of whiskey which he had taken out of the express office of the G T.R. station. He was taken before J. A. McKenzie, J. P., and Mayor Miller, who sentenced him to six months in Walkerton jail.

A week before his wife's death, Omar stole the case of whiskey. Why? There were no further reports about this incident and there's no record of Omar getting into trouble with the law ever again. 

It's most likely that he was immediately placed behind bars. Did this hasten his wife's demise? She died within a week of his sentencing. 

Most of Omar and Susan's children had left home by the time their mother died and their father went to prison. However, their youngest child, Lila Westell was only 13 at the time. 

Lila Westell

In the course of just one week, Lila's mother died, and her father went to prison. I don't know who cared for Lila during the six months of her father's incarceration but it must have been a confusing and trying time for the young girl.

In 1924, several years after he was widowed and imprisoned, Omar Westell married Margaret Anderson "Maggie" McEwan Campbell, a widow. But just two weeks after the wedding, Omar's daughter, Lila died of smallpox. She was 24 years old.

Omar lived to the age of 83. 
 

Omar Westell's funeral service. Courtesy of Ian Westell.

 
Omar Westell died 22 November 1948 in the Kincardine Lighthouse; the home of his son, lighthouse keeper, Oran Westell.

The Kincardine Lighthouse, 1940s.

Omar Westell is buried with his wife, Susan (Dagg) Westell at Kincardine Cemetery, Section D1, Row 11, Stone 72.

We're left wondering why Omar stole the whiskey. It may be a secret he took to his grave. And am I the only one tempted to leave a bottle of whiskey by his headstone?

Did Omar have an insatiable taste for whiskey? Could that be why he stole an entire case of whiskey?...

Omar's grandson, John "Jack" Westell grew up in the same lighthouse in which Omar lived and died. When he was a kid, Jack recalled finding a trap door in the basement of the lighthouse, and much to his surprise it was full of whiskey bottles!

Second Cousins

Many of you have asked, "What's a second cousin?"

To answer that question, I've recruited my second cousin, Pat Rowell to be our example...

My 2nd cousin, Patricia "Pat" (Gowland) Rowell.

Pat and I share a set of great-grandparents: Richard Culbert & Jane Fairhall. However, we don't share the same set of grandparents.

Pat's grandmother (Hulda May Culbert) and my grandfather (Myron Manford Culbert) were brother and sister.

So what about the child of your second cousin? I'm glad you asked. Introducing Jeff Rowell, the son of my second cousin, Pat Rowell...

Jeff Rowell

Jeff is the son of my second cousin. He's one generation apart from being being my second cousin so that makes him my ....

Try to guess.

A round of applause for those who've figured it out. 
 

Jeff Rowell is my second cousin, once removed. "Once removed" means there is a difference of one generation separating us. If you've been reading the Culbert Family History blog since the beginning, you already know about first cousins, once removed.

So now you know! Go forth and impress your friends with your new-found knowledge.

Snowed Under

Snowy enough this week for you? Milward Taylor "Mel" Culbert shows us what it was like back in 1938...

I don't know where this photo was taken. It might be in or around Lucan, Ontario (in Biddulph Township, Middlesex County) where Mel grew up on Poplar Farm. Or it may have been taken in or around London, Ontario where Mel was living and working at the time.

In the winter of 1937-1938, a record 207.4 centimetres (81.5 inches) of snow fell in Toronto so chances are it was just as snowy in Middlesex County.

I wonder whatever happened to that Plymouth?

If you have photos of you and/or your family members in the snow, either past or present, send them to me and I'll publish them on the Culbert Family History blog.

Mary Elizabeth (Patrick) Culbert (1917-1989)

Thirty years ago on this day in 1989, my mother, Mary Elizabeth (Patrick) Culbert died.

Mary Elizabeth Patrick and my father, Milward Taylor "Mel" Culbert, circa 1940.

For at least a decade, Mum diligently researched her family history: the Patricks, the Players, the Donleys, the Kerslakes, and the Bowyers. Before the Internet, that meant trips to libraries, archives, and Land Registry Offices all over Ontario, journeys to the United Kingdom, visits to relatives near and far, and a lot of written correspondence and copious notes.  

Mum became too ill with pulmonary fibrosis to continue her research. In a letter to me in 1986, she said...

“I simply have to get back at this family history. Am so frightened that I may kick the bucket and leave all this mess of files for someone to sort out. Maybe after all my work, no one will want to do it, and it will have all been in vain. I shouldn’t say that, as I’ve enjoyed the experience.”

Mum left behind several large boxes of research notes. I'm grateful to my sister, Dana for storing those boxes at her house until I decided to take up where my mother left off. And thanks also to my sister for driving hundreds of miles to deliver those boxes to my door.

One of the boxes contained "A History of the John Culbert-Mary Ward Family and Their Descendants 1828-1995, Volume 1, Branches 5-6-7-8-9" by Grant W. Taylor. Reading that book was one of the catalysts for my decision to create the Culbert Family History blog. 

Mum would be happy that I continue to research her side of the family too, and document my findings on Ancestry. 

So no, Mum, your work wasn't all in vain and somebody still wants to do it. I do this in your memory. And I'm enjoying the experience, just as you did. "Thank you" doesn't begin to cover it. 

With love forever,
Your daughter, MJ

The Cousin Explainer

Tired of trying to figure out who's who at large family dinners?
Get The Cousin Explainer tea towel!

Then, toss the tea towel to your "first cousin, once removed" and tell him it's his turn to dry the dishes! (That's the child of your first cousin. However, your "first cousin, once removed" can also be the first cousin of one of your parents. Either way, it's not your turn to dry!)

The Cousin Explainer tea towel is available for £9.95 (about 16 Canadian dollars) from Present Indicative, a gift company in Reading, England.