What was a 'half-cousin' (1870s)?

[manui]

When Elizabeth Cairns died in 1878, the informant was her 'half cousin'. Would this have had a specific meaning in the 1870s, or is it a term that would have been used rather loosely?

I am trying to find the origins of Elizabeth's mother Euphemia McKellar (born about 1825 in Greenock), but I haven't found any records that confirm her origins - she wasn't living with her family in 1841 and even her 1898 death registration doesn't shed much light on the subject. There are reasons to believe Euphemia was related to the half-cousin informant - question is, how?

Some relevant Census and other clues:
Elizabeth Cairns was working as a servant at Rashfield Farm, nr Dunoon, in 1871. The informant at her death, Donald Marshall, was part of the same household.
Donald Marhsall himself died in 1883 - the informant was his cousin, John McKellar.
In 1861, John McKellar was aged 9 and living with another family at Rashfield, where he was supposedly the grandson of unmarried Donald Whyte. Donald Marshall was also living there as Donald Whyte's nephew - his mother, Mary White (sic), must have been Donald Whyte's sister. I can't confirm a birth for John McKellar, or (at least, not without risking spending a lot of money looking at wrong events!) a marriage or a death for him.
In short. all the records that I would expect to help are either missing or elusive.

One additional piece of information: another Euphemia McKellar from Greenock was working at Rashfield in 1881 - surely not a coincidence, especially as her mother was Catherine WHITE McIntyre, but I still can't find any records that will help me work out the connections! All in all, so many clues, but hardly any progress! Very frustrating.

Manui

[Hackstaple]

The normal meaning of "half cousin" is the child of a grandparent's second spouse. My grandmother married 4 times. Her daughters had children. Those of my mother's full-sisters are my cousins but those of her half-sister and half-brother are my half-cousins.

[manui]

Thanks, Hackstaple. That is what I would have thought, too, and a theory that I might have to work on.

However, if anyone else has come across it being used differently, I would be interested to know. It would seem more logical - and simpler! - in this instance if it could mean a parent's cousin. (I can never remember if I should call that a second cousin or a first-cousin-once-removed.)

Manui

[Hackstaple]

Yes, your parent's cousin is your first cousin once removed. Your second cousin is someone in the same number of generations as you with a common greatgrandparent.

[behindthefrogs]

There is a simple rule easy to remember called count the Gs.

Thus find the common ancestor.

If its their Grandparent then they are first cousin
If its their Great Grand parent then they are second cousin etc.

Now count the Gs for yourself to the same ancestor and if the answer is different then the difference is the number of times removed.

David