Greg- 1. Quite possibly REEVE/REEVES may have been preceded by RYVES. 2. No guess on Robert RYVES' "former (French) surname". 3. Names seemed to evolve due to carelessness, uninterest, uneducation, simply not bothering to ask, sound. In my research, the various spellings (or mis-spellings) of the surname often come from the failure of others to ask for the correct spelling if they were unsure. My earliest known relative and most subsequent ancestors have spelled the surname REAVES. I have property tax receipts of my grandfather and great-grandfather and, based on the handwriting, the name was spelled differently by each clerk and none bothered to ask for the correct spelling of their name or even to spell the name as written on the deed and other tax documents. The name was ultimately spelled REAVES, REEVES, REVES, RIVES, and RIEVES on various documents in the same office. The same problem apparently exists in the census. The same family's surname at the same address has been spelled REEVES, RIVES, RIEVES, and REAVES. The majority of the family seems to have used and still uses REAVES although some have used REEVES because they tired of correcting the spelling. Well, that's my trickle of light. Hope everyone's having a safe New Year's Eve and looking forward to a prosperous New Year. Happy 1997! -Linda (LAReaves@aol.com) ------------------------------