By Michael L. Hogue Hello, and welcome back to The Hogue Connection! Today, we are going to look at our kissin’ cousins. By that I mean first cousin marriages in our family trees. I imagine many folks out there have them; it is estimated that about 10% of worldwide marriages are between first cousins. In my paternal line, I have two of them I would like to use as examples.
Elvis Presley made a movie titled Kissin’ Cousins back in 1964. I thought I would watch that film as “research” for this article, and to have a little fun. Well, I made it through about 45 minutes and four Elvis vocal spots before I finally gave up on it. Bad acting, bad plot, bad stereotypes of Smoky Mountain hillbillies, and not much info about cousin marriage. Anyway, you can check out the trailer on YouTube here.
Is Cousin Marriage Legal?
Marriage between first cousins today is legal in 18 states. In the other 32, it is mostly or totally illegal. Before the Civil War, it was legal in all states. You can check out this Wikipedia link to read up on it. Basically, one anthropologist thought that if they put restrictions on cousin marriage, it would help “maintain social order”. Also, it would “uphold religious morality and safeguard the creation of fit offspring”. So, once again, religious beliefs take precedent over science in creating laws.
Birth defects among the general population run between 2% and 3% of all births. Birth defects in the offspring of first cousins does increase the percentage to 4-6%, but that is still considered low. Remember that first cousins share at least one set of grandparents. They also share about 12.5% of their genes, which could lead to a higher incidence of inherited disorders. Some states do require genetic counseling before marriage to help avoid future problems.
Have famous people married their first cousins? Yes, indeed. Here’s a short list… Albert Einstein, Igor Stravinski, Charles Darwin, Werner Von Braun, Saddam Hussein, Edgar Allan Poe, and H.G. Wells. Many of these folks had several children, too. Darwin and his wife had 10 kids. First cousin marriage among royalty internationally is very common. In fact, that list is way too large to print here.
A Look at My Gatlin Line…
My great great-grandparents, Mark and Analiza Gatlin were first cousins. They married 2 Dec 1866 in Tippah County, Mississippi. Their grandparents were Nathan Marion Gatlin (1782-1855) and Obedience Lucas (1787-1866). Here is how the line runs down to me:
You can see that Mark and Analiza’s fathers were brothers. Andrew Lucas Gatlin helped to found the town of Brownfield, MS which is just south of the Tennessee border. It was originally known as Gatlin’s Crossing. Mark and Analiza had 13 children.
A Look at My Addington Line…
My 3rd great grandparents, John Avery Huckabee and Mary E. Addington were first cousins. They married 6 Feb 1856, in Fannin County, Geogia. Their grandparents were William M. Addington (1759-1845) and Delilah Duncan (1765-1855). Here is how this line runs down to me:
John and Mary had 11 children and were from huge families themselves; John had 16 siblings (I haven’t verified all of them) and Mary had 9.
Not Enough Branches in Your Family Tree?
Just think, that’s less research for you to do! No worries. Usually It works out fine, and first cousin marriage is not that common anymore. Look at your full pedigree and see if you might have some missing branches. My ancestors were mainly from the rural farm south. They had many children to work those farms and usually lived near other close relatives. It kind of makes sense that some of them would get married and raise more huge families.
Thanks for stopping by my blog here at The Hogue Connection and checking out my kissin’ cousins article. As always, comments are read and appreciated. See you on the next one, which I hope to get done before the end of the year! If you would like to return to the Home Page, click here.