RHEA-L Archives

From: Tomikin <>
Subject: For beginners in Rea research
Date: Tue, 2 Dec 1997 14:33:07 -0800

I have received messages asking for help with Rheas, Reas, Rays, Wrays, etc
from people with very little to go on. I can make a few suggestions for
beginners. Ancestors, especially dead ones, become increasingly difficult
to identify over time, especially when you see that the use of middle names
was not common 150 years ago. The way we start to identify and hunt for
ancestors is to identify 3 important and unique events in their lives, ie,
when and where they were born, when and where and to whom they were
married, when and where they died. Often, sad to say, those events are all
that survive for many people if at all. Towns and especially counties are
important as well as dates or ranges of dates. I believe you can estimate
dates loosely by considering that each generation goes back 20 to 40
years--averaging about 30 years. So one's grandmother's estimated age
would range from 40 to 60 years back from your age. You start with
yourself, your parents and grandparents and work backwards. You can not
proceed by just having a name with no other detail.

So you start with your Rhea ancestors full name and try to piece together
any of the above information from family bibles, tombstones, other family
members. Then you try to get birth certificates, death certificates from
the appropriate counties. Addresses and fees are available by asking help
on the internet from county and state vital record sites. You can search
U.S. census for area in which an ancestor lived. Many are indexed, etc.
Many people may be willing to help but you can not start without some
detail.

Another thing to keep in mind that all Rhea, Reas Rays are not related and
may even be from different countries of origin. Although it is not the
most common name, it is still complicated enough and there are millions of
Reas. Also in earlier times the spelling of the name varied so you have to
consider and study all the Rays in the area no matter how they spelled
their name. Only when you can get back a few generations is it more
likely that you will connect to families that may have been researched by
others. It is not as common to connect a recent grandparent as it is to
connect further back.

There are some broad generalizations to start with such as most Reas are
Scotch Irish and as such came through Delaware, and Philadelphia going to
the outer edges of the colonies. The Scotch Irish were rough and tough
people able to cope with very rugged and warlike conditions on the
frontiers of western expansion in the colonies. I believe Reas in Va may
be of various origin including English. Reas are of Anglo-Saxon origin as
pertains to the British Isles, supposedly not racially celtic people, like
the Scotch and Irish, but English although Rays have lived over a thousand
years in the British Isles spreading out into all the the British Isles and
Empire and have been inculturated as Scottish or Irish. But the
predominance of the surname in Northern England and Southwestern Scotland
seems to indicate being AngloSaxon invasion. The invasion of the Anglo
Saxons stopped at the Scottish highlands and Reas are not generally
Highland Celtic Scotch. But lowland, Anglo Scotch. There were English
Reas going back into English history to the 12th century. I have seen
record of Rays back to 700 AD. The surname, REY is common in Hispanic
countries also and the surname RAI is common in India too.

I am no expert but I suspect VA Reas and PA Reas are probably often of
different origin and different migration. Reas coming through New England
and PA were pushed Westward by the lure of free land and freedom from their
hated British oppressors. Presbyterian marriages were not recognized in
many of the colonies, esp. VA so the Scotch Irish Presbyterians went to the
frontier areas for freedom from tithing to the Church of England. Remember
taxation was partly imposed by tithing to the Church of England. Religious
tolerance in early America is a myth. It was very intolerant in most
places and people tended to seek and stay where they could be accepted. So
I would tend to think that VA Reas, esp if they stayed there, were not of
the Ulster and Scotland Dissentors who came in waves of migrations seeking
religious freedom from the oppression of the Church of England through the
British Crown. I have no data on the VA Reas so I may be completely wrong
except to say that they were Reas of English origin also and these were
more likely to VA.

Tom Rea
San Francisco <>
ADAMS (VA), ALFREY(KY), ANDERSON (VA),ARMSTRONG (OH), AYRES (OH),
BALDWIN(PA NJ), BANTA (KY), BLANKENSHIP (VA,OH), BRADFIELD (VA), CAREY(NY),
CROUCH (MA), ENLOW, FORMAN (KY), GARRETT (VA). GOODMAN, GRAHAM (MA, OH),
GRIFFEN (IN), HARTMAN, HAWLEY(NY,OH), HEDGES (KY), HENDERSON (MA<OH<IL),
HILL (PA), HOUSTON(PA<NC), JOLLY (PA), LEWIS(DE,PA,NC), MARTIN (VA< OH<
IL), PATTON(SCT,PA,NC, IN), PAYNE (VA), PIERCE(VA), REA(DE,PA,NC),
SHAFFER(VA), VANKIRK(PA, VESTAL(NC, KY,IN), WADE (KY), WAINSCOTT (IN),
WOOD(IA)

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