For what it's worth, as a comparison to what we see in the Azores, and especially in the smaller villages, I don't have any instances I've ever seen on my mother's Hungarian/Slovak side of cousins getting married. The villages were not huge, but still bigger than most Azorean villages. And so I guess they had a much easier time to find spouses who were unrelated. These were not big landowners, so property didn't seem to be much of a factor.
On the other hand, another in-law from Hungary has noble lineage and her tree has many examples of cousins being married. It was clearly a huge factor of property.
So it's something related to the social class and family wealth. Some of the more successful of my Pico ancestors have some descendants who married cousins related in up to three different ways. I'm sure most researchers have run across a couple related in something like the 2nd degree, and in the 3rd and 4th degree, but the one I have in mind was also related in another degree like maybe 3rd degree. And I have seen many examples of wealthy families on Terceira like this, as well.
Doug da Rocha Holmes
Sacramento, California
Pico & Terceira Genealogist
916-550-1618
Sacramento, California
Pico & Terceira Genealogist
916-550-1618
---------- Original Message --------
Subject: [AZORES-Genealogy] Re: first degree of consanguinity
From: Herb <herbandj...@verizon.net>
Date: Sat, April 05, 2014 7:40 pm
To: azores@googlegroups.com
I have never seen a first degree but I have seen lots of 4th, 3rd and second. Need to keep a few things in mind though. During the 18th and 19th centuries in Europe about 40% of marriages were among cousins. During someone's lifetime they might have travelled 20-30 miles from their home so they didn't know a lot of people to marry. Marrying cousins was a way to keep lands and other property in the family name and also seen as a way to keep blood lines pure. There is even an old Portuguese folk song about marrying cousins. I will ask my 85 year old mother and post it here. Herb
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