Jiggy with offspring
I had no idea that is was “OK” to marry your cousin! It seems that many people will, out of humor, associate that with the South. I was readin’ and came across this information - it actually happens and no NOT just in the hicktowns. Shocked? I was. As of September 2005 Texas doesn’t allow it but about 16 states still allow you to get jiggy with your cousins!
Did you know that Edgar Allen Poe married his cousin Virgina? How about that Christopher Robin married his first cousin Lesley? Albert Einstein and his wife were *double* cousins (first on his Mom’s side and second cousins on his Dads!) How’s them apples? Also, Jessie James married his first cousin. Queen Victoria and her husband, Price Albert were cousins, too! Franklin D. Roosevelt didn’t marry his first cousin but he did marry a cousin - she already had the same last name. I really didn’t know all this till now. Woah.
I read current studies indicate that cousin couples have a lower ratio of miscarriages — perhaps because body chemistry of cousins is more similar. It has been said that first-cousin couples inherit recessive genetic disorders in 7% to 8% of cases which is only 2 or 3% greater than the general population - however with modern technology the risk is potentially even lower.
I don’t think I personally know anyone who has married a cousin. What do you think? Do you think it’s OK to marry a 1st or 2nd cousin? How about a distant cousin?
On that note, we are all cousins. No two people are more distantly related than 50th cousins. Hehehe.
February 26th, 2006 at 12:25 pm
Wow - didn’t know about all the ‘famous’ people married to ‘family’. But my Sweetheart has cousins that are married to each other. Just not sure in what relation - I think it is 2nd cousins, but not sure. Well, I was tought that is ‘wrong’ to be married to family, but then again, who am I to judge…:???:.
February 26th, 2006 at 1:01 pm
Wrong or not that is just icky.
February 26th, 2006 at 1:25 pm
Eh, to each his own. If a couple of cousins want to marry, why should it bother me? Siblings, yeah, that’s creepy, but cousins…? No harm, no foul as far as I can see.
February 26th, 2006 at 1:56 pm
Then again, you’re married to family too, arent’t you? I mean, your husband is now family, right? XP
And indeed - we’re all related. Some people just seem to forget about that.
February 26th, 2006 at 2:50 pm
I am from Pennsylvania. The big joke there was people from West Virginia married their sisters, brothers, cousin. Kewl info Thanks!!!
February 26th, 2006 at 3:04 pm
I’ve known some of this but not all of it.
Personally if it’s cousins on lets say your Aunts side and she married your Uncle or mothers brother. It’s not truely blood relation. So I really don’t care about that. Though blood relation is a little sick. But, what you don’t know won’t hurt you.
February 26th, 2006 at 3:42 pm
Keep the insanity in the family?!
February 26th, 2006 at 3:59 pm
ew. And I don’t care how far removed… you can’t seriously think about that and hop into bed. If it is no harm no foul on a cousin, what’s the difference with a sibling? and aunt? an uncle? it’s all just wrong.
Plus, I am pretty sure you do get more genetically mutated with kin-folk mating. I can’t say for sure where I have seen this, but I am pretty positive proof is out there somewhere.
I have the ickys real bad now.. *shudders*
February 26th, 2006 at 7:39 pm
I live here in Arkansas and I no some one that married there couisan but they did not no it untill after they got married. Hi nice post I will have to come back and read more. I’m from the FFMB bunch.
February 26th, 2006 at 8:38 pm
That was cool info about the famous people marrying inside the family, but that to me just seems wrong. I couldn’t live with myself knowing that my aunt and uncle were now my in-laws. Just the thought of it makes me queasy.
Also just a heads up, I changed my layout for the final time. I fell in love with a layout I found last night and have no plans on changing it anytime in the near future.
February 26th, 2006 at 8:45 pm
My grandmother married a fourth or fifth cousin. But they didn’t know it until later, and they were over 55 at the time, so I suppose it didn’t matter. Marrying a first cousin you grew up with would just be icky. I knew royalty did it a lot to keep the blood “pure”, I didn’t know it about the others you mentioned though. Neat trivia.
February 26th, 2006 at 10:55 pm
I’m not in favor with the practice.
February 27th, 2006 at 2:13 am
In the Philippines, it’s legal to marry your third cousin, but not your first or second ones. Our current President’s son shocked everyone here when he married his third cousin. But they defended themselves by saying that it’s constitutional or something. Sheesh. But I am not in favor with marrying a 1st cousin or any cousins (just to be safe!), because according to what I’ve learned during my undergrad years as a bio student, it’s suicide. Marriage among relatives can increase the chance of pathological recessive genes. And I don’t want my baby to acquire hemophilia, like what those European royalties have.
February 27th, 2006 at 2:23 am
Nothing along those lines out here in Cali, but good point that we’re all cousins in a way; the damn horny human race.
Have a nice week TNC.
Cheers.
February 27th, 2006 at 9:37 am
When I was a youngin’, I had a crush on my 4th cousin twice removed..whatever that means, but nobody really thought much of it at the time….I guess that is something one would have to work out should they find themselves in the throes of lust with a cousin! First cousins? Now that just seems really really wrong in my book, but, whatever floats yer boat I guess!
February 27th, 2006 at 9:46 am
I think the whole genetic thing is what’s really important. The closer the relative the greater the likelihood of problems. So cousins probably isn’t that big a deal then. Of course, marrying your brother or sister, even if you’re not blood relatives is just plain weird.
February 27th, 2006 at 11:26 am
I can’t believe any one married any of my cousins period, much less family. I always knew that royalty practiced “imbreeding” as a way to preserve family power lines.
February 27th, 2006 at 12:49 pm
I love your post because I am one of those “sick” people who married their cousin. My third cousin to be exact.
I really appreciate your contribution to debunking the myths about cousin marriages . . .you should see some of the reactions I get when we tell people? I don’t think they can believe it because we are very well educated (physican, MBA) and reasonably attractive (at least enough to attract an unrelated mate).
We didn’t grow up together, but we met and fell in love. We have two beautiful, perfectly healthy, smart sons. And we’ve been married for 15 years.
I’ve blogged about this topic on my blog a few times . . .
February 27th, 2006 at 9:38 pm
I thought only royalty really married within the bloodline to keep it pure, but I hadn’t heard about the miscarriage stat before. I don’t know of anyone that has married a cousin before. You know what’s strange, though (or creepy) is that when some of the tackier people I know have heard I’m adopted, they’ll make a joke about how I could “really” marry my brothers. Nice.
March 1st, 2006 at 3:23 pm
Personally I don’t know anyone who has married to any relative at all, but I guess that it can happen.
I mean: how do you stop LOVE…?