Can Someone Explain What Connections Mean?

Question

Afternoon Everyone,

I am so confused with what the Connections mean. Does it mean that there is a blood link/ancestor link with that person?

I appreciate your help.

Jayne 

Answer 1

No, it means that you are connected through marriages and sibling relationships.  The Relationship Finder will show you people who are your blood relatives.

Answer 2

I have found the Help Search menu item beneficial. It can be found by hovering over the Help item at the top of a page. For example, enter "Connections" to come up with a list including "Connection Counts" which explains this subject in detail.

Ben

Answer 3

If you can recall the game that used to be played - 6 degrees from Kevin Bacon - whereby people would wonder how many connections they had to the actor Kevin Bacon - this is the Genealogical version of that same game.

Generally not blood related but does make connections through marriages and siblings.

Done for FUN only.

Comments

Thanks for replying.

If it's not blood-related then to me, it's a waste of time as I am only interested in blood relations.

Also, our relatives are described as 1 degree, 2 degrees, etc, so I thought this was the same thing! My parents are 1 degree from me and my children are 1 degree from me.

Still confused.

But thanks for answering.

---

"only interested in blood relations."

Sometimes the connection finder can show you interesting paths that you normally would not find.  Or show larger family group connections.  It can be a useful research tool.

Answer 4

You and I have no genetic (Blood) relationship, but we are related by marriage.

https://www.wikitree.com/index.php?title=Special:Connection&action=connect&person1Name=Clifford-4622&person2Name=Cooper-1&relation=0&ignoreIds=

Answer 5

Some examples:

Your mother is related and connected to you. (1 degree)

Your mother's sister is related and connected to you. (2 degrees)

Your mother's sister's children (your 1st cousin) are related and connected to you. (3 degrees)

Your mother's sister's husband is only connected to you because one of the steps is by marriage. (3 degrees)

Connectedness is counted in degrees according to how many steps it takes to get from one person to another.

So...

You to your mother=step 1; your mother to your mother's sister=step 2; your mother's sister to her husband=step 3; so your uncle by marriage is connected by 3 degrees to you.

If/when your children marry, their spouses will be connected to you by 2 degrees (or steps.)

Your grandchildren will be both related to you and connected by 2 degrees (or steps.)

It is definitely a matter of personal preference how one chooses to study their personal genealogy, but I feel very enriched to have studied the genealogy of my husband's family and my children's spouses' parents (who are ancestors of my children and/or my grandchildren) even though they are not "blood-related" to me. I know my children and grandchildren have appreciated the work I've done on their behalf.