I have been working with Ancestry's census records lately for N C,S C, and Ga. so in view of the recent discussions I decided to see what the early records held. It seems that the preferred spelling by the Census Enumerators was Reeves and Reaves.And it seems that that preference holds true through today with the way names have evolved. The enumerators seemed to hold consistent within the counties they were working on but seemed to be less consistent with the variant spellings indicating that some people actually knew how their ancestors spelled their names. This seems to be true for variations with different pronunciations like Reavis, but it seems that even some of them changed over time. The enumerators for Surry Co N C seemed to prefer Reavis in 1790 and Reaves in 1800, these people may have changed back later. You can follow the same first names from the Carolinas thru Ga. and west and find them changing the way the surname was spelled. Anyone that insist on following t! he current spelling of a surname back through time is in for a rude awakening, and some do. And as Beulah said our DNA project may be the only way to put some of the groups together. I only hope that every one gets with the project while their is still someone around who cares and will do the paper trail that is necessary. We need to do it for future generations. 1790 Census for N C For S C 23 Reeves 19 Reeves 16 Reaves 7 Reaves 1 Reives 0 Reives 6 Rieves 1 Rieves 1 Reves 1 Reves 7 Rives 4 Rives 1 Reavs 1 Reeve 5 Reavis 0 Reavis 1800 Census for N C For S C 17 Reeves 16 Reeves 14 Reaves 2 Reaves 1 Reives 0 Reives 2 Rieves 1 Rieves 6 Reves 3 Reves 0 Rives 1 Rives 1 Reave 1 Reeve 3 Reavis 0 Reavis Following these people from the Carolinas it seems that some came south into Ga. before going west, some went west through Tenn. and some went North into Ky,, Ohio and Ill. and a few stayed put in the Carolinas. These people may hold the key to putting groups together by DNA testing. Sincerely, James

James: This is wonderful.....We can check each spelling and, hopefully, reach an acceptable conclusion for our families. Thanks. Barb Reaves/Reeves/Reves/Reavis (all of them fit) ----- Original Message ----- From: "James Reeves" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, August 25, 2005 10:59 PM Subject: [REEVES] Names >I have been working with Ancestry's census records lately for N C,S C, and >Ga. so in view of the recent discussions I decided to see what the early >records held. It seems that the preferred spelling by the Census >Enumerators was Reeves and Reaves.And it seems that that preference holds >true through today with the way names have evolved. The enumerators seemed >to hold consistent within the counties they were working on but seemed to >be less consistent with the variant spellings indicating that some people >actually knew how their ancestors spelled their names. This seems to be >true for variations with different pronunciations like Reavis, but it seems >that even some of them changed over time. The enumerators for Surry Co N C >seemed to prefer Reavis in 1790 and Reaves in 1800, these people may have >changed back later. You can follow the same first names from the Carolinas >thru Ga. and west and find them changing the way the surname was spelled. >Anyone that insist on following t! > he current spelling of a surname back through time is in for a rude > awakening, and some do. And as Beulah said our DNA project may be the only > way to put some of the groups together. I only hope that every one gets > with the project while their is still someone around who cares and will do > the paper trail that is necessary. We need to do it for future > generations. > > 1790 Census for N C For S C > 23 Reeves 19 Reeves > 16 Reaves 7 Reaves > 1 Reives 0 Reives > 6 Rieves 1 Rieves > 1 Reves 1 Reves > 7 Rives 4 Rives > 1 Reavs 1 Reeve > 5 Reavis 0 Reavis > > 1800 Census for N C For S C > 17 Reeves 16 Reeves > 14 Reaves 2 Reaves > 1 Reives 0 Reives > 2 Rieves 1 Rieves > 6 Reves 3 Reves > 0 Rives 1 Rives > 1 Reave 1 Reeve > 3 Reavis 0 Reavis > > Following these people from the Carolinas it seems that some came south > into Ga. before going west, some went west through Tenn. and some went > North into Ky,, Ohio and Ill. and a few stayed put in the Carolinas. These > people may hold the key to putting groups together by DNA testing. > > Sincerely, > James > > > ==== REEVES Mailing List ==== > Join our DNA program go to this site. > http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~reevesdna/ >