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From: <>
Subject: Re: [RHEA-L] Reagh [French]
Date: Sun, 13 Dec 1998 16:08:39 -0500

I'm not hung on the origin of the name so much as I was trying to solve an
old family mystery or disprove bad documentation. We have one document
written by another family member 4 generations ago that claims John W.
Rea's father (name unknown) was French and was a stowaway on a vessel
(don't know which one) when he came to America. John W. was born 1809
somewhere in or around Greenville, SC. I've not been able to find any
birth records about John W. in SC nor do I know who his father was. My
inquiry was simply to find out if any Rea's may have originated in France?
My father and grandfather always thought we were Scotch/Irish and we
presumed that until we recently heard the French story. It's certainly
conceivable that the story is wrong or it's also possible he came to
America by way of France and wasn't really of French decent.

The name "Reagh" or "Reaugh" is a new twist for me but an interesting one.
Since I'm not familiar with French or Gaelic I don't have an opinion
regarding the name origin or it's legitmacy as a French name.

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