[JimRed]

But I assure you there were lots of first cousins, and cousins once removed that were prominent as well as hill-billy.

A way of keeping the family wealth in the family in many cultures. Not real good for the offspring, though!

[cloudmountain]

A way of keeping the family wealth in the family in many cultures. Not real good for the offspring, though

Yep.
They keep the land as well.
Over THERE: land = petroleum and natural gas fields.

Yes, VERY bad for the offspring.