As Brittney has found out you have to check all spellings. Back in the day some census takers didn't know how to spell. For that matter some of the people didn't know how to spell either!

Pam in IN.

Reaves from Arkansas? My maiden name is Gates. According to information handed down to me, my grandfather was Donald Reaves, born to Dawson McClean Reaves and Mary C Kranzt. He later changed his name to James C. Gates? I have birth records from bibles frrom 1848-1900 for Reaves (14 entries) and from 1924 to 1949 for Gates (15 entries). I couldn't help notice that Donna has "Gates" in her name as well.

My mother's maiden name was Reeves and I began searching for more information on the family over 40 years ago with her and her sisters.  My Reeves are first identified in Johnston and Orange counties of North Carolina when my ancestor William Reves (signtures of earliest family members use that surname variation) in 1746 is recorded with a 400 acre McCulloh grant on the Neuse River.

I'm an admin at The Reeves Project and although I research my other family lines, Reeves seems to be my favorite.  Maybe it's because it has the most mysteries.

I noticed someone else in this forum still spells their name Reves which I find quite interesting.