Ancient society

by Lewis Henry Morgan

In the female branch my sister’s children are my sons and daughters, each of them calling me father; and their children are my grandchildren, each of them calling me grandfather. With myself a female, the relationships of the persons above named are the same in both branches, with corresponding changes for sex.

The husbands and wives of these several sons and daughters are my sons-in-law and daughters-in-law; the terms being used in common gender, and having the terms for male and female added to each respectively.

Second collateral line. In the male branch on the father’s side my father’s brother is my father, and calls me his son; his children are my brothers and sisters, elder or younger; their children are my sons and daughters; and the children of the latter are my grandchildren, each of them in the preceding and succeeding cases applying to me the proper correlative. My father’s sister is my mother; her children are my brothers and sisters, elder or younger; their children are my sons and daughters; and the children of the latter are my grandchildren.

In the same line on the mother’s side my mother’s brother is my father; his children are my brothers and sisters; their children are my sons and daughters; and the children of the latter are my grandchildren. My mother’s sister is my mother; her children are my brothers and sisters; their children are my sons and daughters; and the children of the latter are my grandchildren. The relationships of the persons named in all the branches of this and the succeeding lines are the same with myself a female.

The wives of these several brothers, own and collateral, are my wives as well as theirs. When addressing either one of them, I call her my wife, employing the usual term to express that connection. The husbands of these several women, jointly such with myself, are my brothers-in-law. With myself a female the husbands of my several sisters, own and collateral, are my husbands as well as theirs. When addressing either of them, I use the common term for husband. The wives of these several husbands, who are jointly such with myself, are my sisters-in-law.

Third collateral line. In the male branch of this line on the father’s side, my grandfather’s brother is my grandfather; his children are my father’s and mother’s; their children are my brothers and sisters, elder or younger; the children of the latter are my sons and daughters; and their children are my grandchildren. My grandfather’s sister is my grandmother; and her children and descendants follow in the same relationships as in the last case.

In the same line on the mother’s side, my grandmother’s brother is my grandfather; his sister is my grandmother; and their respective children and descendants fall into the same categories as those in the first branch of this line.

The marriage relationships are the same in this as in the second collateral line, thus increasing largely the number united in the bonds of marriage.

As far as consanguinei can be traced in the more remote collateral lines, the system, which is all-embracing, is the same in its classifications. Thus, my great-grandfather in the fourth collateral line is my grandfather; his son is my grandfather also; the son of the latter is my father; his son is my brother, elder or younger; and his son and grandson are my son and grandson.

It will be observed that the several collateral lines are brought into and merged in the lineal line, ascending as well as descending; so that the ancestors and descendants of my collateral brothers and sisters become mine as well as theirs. This is one of the characteristics of the classificatory system. None of the kindred are lost.