GUS-REEB-L Archives

From: John Reeb <>
Subject: Re: [GUS-REEB] Rayes/Rapes
Date: Sun, 9 Oct 2005 08:59:25 -0700 (PDT)
In-Reply-To: <1a9.40f4d161.307a1566@wmconnect.com>

I have not done any research to find who they are but
I am certain there are Rayes who are definately not
related to the Rapes who changed to Raye. Also, I am
certain that Rape was changed to Raye in more than one
branch of the Rape family. A few years before he died
James Weber Raye who was born in Charlotte, NC on 10
Jan 1930 and who died 30 Aug 19995 in San Antonio, TX
and I corresponded on an regular basis. James and I
became good friends and we had numerous telephone
conversations discussing the entire Reeb/Rape family
but even more pertaining to his branch of the Rape
family. James W. Raye's parents were Charles Lee Rappe
and Lucy Stewart. Charles Lee Rappe was son of Charles
Jefferson Rape and Nancy Jane Mills. James explained
to me that his father was one of a few who changed to
Rappe in Union and Mecklenburg Counties, NC. I am not
certain if other changes have taken place since James
died but my family group page for his parents family
shows the five youngest children had changed from
Rappe to Raye and the three eldest had not changed but
were still bearing the spelling of Rappe. I had
already learned to respect James Raye very much for
his willingness to discuss the family with complete
honesty and also open mindedly. James called me only a
day or two before he passed away. Only a week or two
before he had no knowledge of his cominng death. He
had just returned from NC where he had been checking
into acquiring more data on his Rape-Rappe-Raye
family. Cancer of some type caused his unexpected
death. Yet James had the courage to call me and
discuss the fact that he would be dying soon. I still
miss him at times but I am grateful for having been
able to have many telephone conversations with him. He
had become so interested in our family history and
learned much during the last months of his life.

Another family group in Ellis County, TX became more
known as Raye when some of their children culped their
hand while in school to hide the movement of their
pencils as they made Rape to look more like Raye due
to feeling uncomfortable with the Rape name. This
family traces their anestry back to Gustavus Rape, the
Revolutionary War Veteran who died in 1852 in Tenn.

Another branch of the descendants of Gustavus Rape who
lived in Sangamon County, Illinois changed their name
to Raye. And there are others.

What I find most interesting is that various
descendants of the Rape family from different branches
who never met one another and did not even know about
the others changed their name to Raye.

John V. Reeb


--- wrote:

> does anyone happen to know if the surname Raye with
> that spelling also comes
> from any other known sources besides us Rapes
> changing to Raye. I know there
> are other Rayes here in GA besides my family but
> earlier this week my Mom got a
> phone call from somebody looking for his Georgia
> Rayes. One he was searching
> for was a Donald Raye. Mom not caring that much for
> all my babbling on this
> subject does however remember once meeting Donald
> Rape/Rapp and told the guy
> she thought Donald had been dead for years but gave
> this guy my number. He
> calls me this morning at 8:30am EST and with only 2
> hours of sleep I think I may
> have cleared up the fact that our name wasn't Raye
> until relatively recently
> and we weren't from GA until again relatively
> recently and that our Donald was
> from Mobile (well last in that area anyway) so his
> Donald could be alive and
> well for all I knew. I wasn't coherrent enough to
> ask him any questions, I'm
> surprised I even remember the call. I don't know if
> he is calling all Rayes in
> the phonebook in GA or what- I guess I'll find out
> if he eventually contacts my
> two brothers. I know once when I was a kid my Mom
> got a thing in the mail
> wanting her to buy a book on the "Raye family
> genealogy" which we figured was a
> very short book since we were the only Rayes we knew
> (and certainly not
> related to any other Rayes) and we still laugh about
> that. Actually we knew of no
> other Rapes either but those in Mississippi and that
> one at least existed in TX
> because my Dad met him once in the navy and this TX
> Rape described reunions
> at the "old home place" in MS of course depending on
> the detail or vagueness of
> the description it may have just seemed so but there
> is no proving that now.
> I know the standard mispelling of the name is Ray
> and it wasn't until we
> moved to GA that I came across Rae from the Scottish
> "McRae". Since I know from
> John Reeb that there are other Rapes out there that
> also changed to Raye, I
> was just curious if anyone had ever come across the
> Raye spelling from anywhere
> else? Have a great day all.
>
> Rhonda Raye
>
>
> ==============================
> Census images 1901, 1891, 1881 and 1871, plus so
> much more.
> Ancestry.com's United Kingdom & Ireland Collection.
> Learn more: http://www.ancestry.com/s13968/rd.ashx
>
>

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