"The family tradition is that Israel was French. We have always been told stories of our old French grandfather, Israel the weaver; that he was one of four, or more, brothers who came from France; that the spelling of the name was changed; it was supposed the spelling was Revee, or was pronounced as if spelled Revee; that the family was of noble birth, which was not impossible amoung the Huguenots. Our g. grandfather, Luther, used to be very proud of his French blood, which he called "royal blood". He said he was one-eighth French blood, which was worth more than all the rest. The "one-eighth" which he claimed makes me look farther than his father for his French blood. As I count it, the Frenchman should be his g. grandfather. However, as our grandfather told us of his grandfather, the Frenchman, we had always supposed he was indeed the immigrant. We have so far failed to find either the parents of Israel Reeve, or record of his coming to this country. As others theorize, and do not hesitate to publish his parentage as they see it, I feel that our family tradition as to his nationality should receive as much consideration as their theories; especially the one which calls him sone of Daniel and Experience who were married six years after he was born! Of the year of his birth we are positive. Among the decendants of Bethuel we find, practically, the same traditions as our own. That of four, or more, brothers from France; the change in the spelling or pronunciation of the name; and they add that one of the brothers went South and his name is Rive or Rives. Thay also have the name Rumsey in their family. As we knew nothing of this family except an occasional rumor of a Rumsey Reeve who lived in Willoughby, Ohio, and had a prominent nose (as had my grandfather Rumsey) the tradition have now been handed from one to the other. After 10 years of research, we have not found the ancestors of Israel; nor thye, the ancestors of Bethuel. (Mrs. H.A.R.C.)"
The parallel traditions are significant even if the are not accurate. It certainly points to a relation of some kind. If Israel and Bethuel were immigrants to this country, there should be a record of at least one of them arriving. They did not spring from the ground fully grown. There are records of arrivals in the colonies far older that the time in which these men lived that still exhist, and if the records of arrival were destroyed, as we have seen from other lines, there are records of departure that can be referenced. In all this time no one had found such records for either Israel, Bethuel or the fictional boat that arrived from France with the four Reeve brothers. The Huguenots as a group are well documented and Reeve is not among the lists of names of of protestants fleeing France. If Israel and Bethuel are not immigrants, then they were born in the colonies to some family.
Rumsey Reeve of Willoughby, Ohio is no rumor, he is my ggg grandfather. In fact, there are only three Rumsey Reeves in Suffolk County, New York up to 1800. Israel's son who dies on the Prison Ship "Jersey", Luther's son who is born in 1789, and Joel's son (Bethuel's grandson) Rumsey who was born in 1790. There really are no other Reeve/Reeves families using the name Rumsey. Baker might be wrong about Isaiah and Zadok being brothers to Israel and Bethuel, he might even be wrong about Solomon being their father. However, I think there is significant and compelling arguments to say that Israel and Bethuel are related.
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