Welcome to the "R" SURNAME GENEALOGY Books

The book follows some of the descendants of John Ratliff and Charlotte White, listing 4975 descendants for nine generations. John Ratliff is first mentioned in Russell County, Virginia tax records of 1787, although he was born in Augusta County, Virginia. The family soon branched out to Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Texas, Indiana, Colorade and Oregon, to name a few places. Appendices contain the Ratliff chronology; the search of Robert Ratliff of MD; Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina records; and a sketch of Abednego White.

The following information (if known) is given for each individual: birth and death dates, place of birth, and spouse�s parents. Every family member is assigned an ID number in sequential order by generation. The information was obtained from county courthouse records, state archives records and libraries. Also, all kinds of census records, newspapers and tombstones were searched. 1998, 718 pp., 2 vols., illus., append., paper, $60.00 #ZR074

George Rex Genealogy - Edward Birch Bower, Walter Scott Bower III and William David Thomas. George Rex was born in England in 1750, and came to America in the early 1770s. He eventually settled in western Pennsylvania, where he and his wife raised 12 children. The majority of this volume concerns the descendants of those 12 children. George Rex is historically significant, as his birth may have been the product of a morganatic marriage between King George III and Hannah Lightfoot, a commoner. Originally researched and published by Leda Ferrell Rex in 1933, this volume has been rewritten and updated to the present day. The style of the original has been retained for this new edition but many obvious errors, as well as archaic terms and abbreviations, have been corrected. Other updates include: many photographs of individuals, new information on George Rex, a new chapter dealing with Hannah Lightfoot and George III, and the continuation of various family lines with approximately 1300 more names. 1998, 270 pp., illus., fullname index, cloth, $30.00 #ZB581

A Genealogy of the Ricker Family - Percy Leroy Ricker and Elwin R. Holland. This 12-generation genealogy, covering from 1647 to 1990, begins with brothers George and Maturin Ricker, immigrants from the Isle of Jersey who settled in present-day Dover, NH, in the late 17th century. The Rickers were one of the first NH families; this genealogy traces their movement through New England, and then into Canada, as well as most of the US, as family branches moved north and west. A 1689 map of Cocheco, NH (present-day Dover area), portraits of Rickers and illustrations of Ricker homes and property complement the genealogy. 1996, 772 pp., 2 vols., illus., map, bibl., indices, paper, $56.00 #ZR315

Those Roving Rittgers, Volume 1 - Joyce Rorabaugh. John A. Rittgers immigrated from Prussia around 1795 to escape the turmoil of war there, married Catherine Comer and settled in the area of what is now Luray, Virginia, staying there until 1816, at which time he and his family moved to central Ohio. John and Catherine produced nine children, and these form the second of nine generations of descendants who spread from Ohio to various other states such as Indiana, Iowa and Missouri. Most of the book is about these descendants, following which there is an appendix of five generations of the ancestors of Catherine Comer. The main portion of the book uses a combination of the formats known as the Modified Register System and the Henry System, so that each descendant's name is accompanied by a number which indicates the person's generation and his or her position within the nuclear family. This book is called "Volume 1" in the hope that as a result of its exposure, readers will contact the author with additional information which might one day permit the compilation of a second volume. The fullname index contains about 5,000 names, of which 1,838 are Rittgers descendants. 1998, 294 pp., illus., bibl., appendix, fullname index, paper, $27.00 #ZR560

Reliques of the Rives (ryves) - James Rives Childs. 1929 reprint, 750 pp, 2 vols, illus, index, paper $51.50 #C334

The Robertses of Northern New England - Thomas A. Jacobsen. The Robertses first appeared in New England in 1614, six years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. This book focuses on all of the known Roberts-surnamed descendants of Thomas and Rebecca Roberts of early Dover, NH, and George and Mary Roberts of early Exeter, NH. 1995, 412 pp., illus., maps, bibl., index, paper, $33.500 #ZJ015

Robey/Roby/Robie: The Family History from Early England to America - William Grafton Robey, Jr. The author has traced his family back nineteen generations to John Robey (b. 1455, d. 1515) of Castle Donningnton, Leicestershire, England, and on the way has documented over 20,000 direct descendants. Many of the female lines of the family are shown to as many as 7 or 8 generations. For ease of use each entry is cataloged using a modified New England Register numbering system. The author has included an appendix listing parts of the family that he was unable to fit into the main text. 1994, 1078 pp., 2 vols., 8.5x11, glossary, bibl., index, paper $80.00 #ZR509

The House of Robinson. The Robinsons of Rhode Island: Their Genealogy & Letters, and The History of the Robinson & Son Oil Company of Baltimore, Maryland - Paul J. Bunnell. This genealogy follows the Robinson family from the mid-1600s in England up to present day. Enjoy this story to the fullest as you read through their lives during the colonial years, and business years to the great fire that marked the final days of the oil company that established The House of Robinson. 1995, c225 pp., illus., index, paper, $22.00 #ZB857

The Rollins Family in the New Hampshire Provincial Deeds, 1655-1771 - Alden M. Rollins. This new research guide is sure to earn a place among the invaluable resources on the bookshelves of genealogists and other researchers interested in the early settlers of New Hampshire. John Rodman Rollins' 1874 book, Records of Families of the Name Rawlins or Rollins in the United States, still stands as a benchmark despite its numerous errors and omissions. With these thoroughly researched and meticulously documented abstracts, however, Alden M. Rollins has provided a much needed companion to the 1874 work.

Mr. Rollins strongly believes that deed records are still an under-utilized source of information for genealogists, and he has well supported his claim with the thoroughness of this collection. From the 100 volumes of the New Hampshire Provincial Deeds, Mr. Rollins has examined every recorded document for references to the Rollins family name. If a Rollins was mentioned in any capacity-whether buyer, seller, witness, relative, neighbor, spouse, etc.-the author has abstracted and partly transcribed the deed. The deeds usually contain such information as hometowns and occupations of seller and buyer, purchase price, a description of the property, signature or mark of the seller, names of witnesses and the date of transaction. The deeds are cited by volume and page number, and the Rollins names appear in boldface.

Mr. Rollins has included an elaborate and very helpful introduction, which explains in extensive detail the history, structure and variety of the deeds. He has also provided examples of how the deeds can be used to follow a family line, to confirm information from other sources, and to enhance understanding of the social and economic context of the period. In a few deeds, Mr. Rollins has added a note to explain a connection to a Rollins in the 1874 John Rodman Rollins book. There are three indices. The first allows the researcher to find all references to Rollins family members by indexing their Christian names. The second is an everyname index of all other individuals. The last indices the landmarks cited in the deeds. 1997, 204 pp., indices, paper, $20.00 #ZR544

The Rowell Family of New England and Their English Origins, 1560-1900: Descendants of Thomas Rowell 1594-1662 - William Haslet Jones. In this book the home of Thomas Rowell and his son Valentine Rowell, original proprietors of Salisbury, Massachusetts, has been traced to Atherstone, County Warwickshire, England. Part 1 of the book presents the Rowell and Hampton family genealogical findings in England from 1560 to 1700. Part 2 of the book presents 10 generations of the Rowell family findings in New England from 1638 to 1900. 1996, 335 pp., map, bibl., append., indices, paper, $28.00 #ZJ552

The History of the Rucker and Prihoda Families of Bohemia and America - Earl F. Skelton. 1999, 212 pp, illus, maps, fullname index, cloth $25.50 #S414

a Genealogy of Runnells and Renolds Families in America: With Records and Brief Memorials of the Earliest Ancestors, So Far as Known and Many of their Descendants, Bearing the Same and Other Names - 1873 reprint, 345 pp, append, original given name and full name indices, paper $28.50 #R855.