GUS-REEB-L Archives

From: Janet Burks <>
Subject: John V. Reeb
Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2004 21:50:22 -0500

Dear Mr. Rapp and others,

I would like to comment on your post of 16th Aug to the Gus Reeb
list. There have been many post to the Reeb List in recent months from
various people that have not been in a manner of respect to others and
directed to our Reeb family genealogy. The Reeb Association appears to be
going through some resignations of various board members for one reason or
the other. It sounds like to me that all of a sudden John V Reep is no
longer important in this family Association. By these email post one can
tell something has happened.

We all need to remember what is most important. The contribution
to our documented family research by John V. Reeb. I am dismayed to find
on the Reeb website not even a thank you to John listed there on the front
home page nor to Nell Norvell the main authors of our family history
books. His email address is not on the front page either. I'm sure
the original lineage file on this website was first shared by John V. Reeb
because noone else had such a mass database of Reebs (with various
spellings) of our line in America (and later Europe) that I know
of. I've seen many cousins who have worked with John over these many
decades. I do not mean to slight you but cannot name you all here. I know
John would want me to do that but please understand that does not mean I
don't appreciate your contributions as well. My focus of this email is
on John V. Reeb.

I have known JOHN V. REEB since before 1982. He was the first
person I found that was seriously conducting genealogical research on the
southern Rape lines. I respect his knowledge and dedication for excellent
genealogical research. That is a high compliment coming from me. I can
remember many telephone calls from John back in the 80's when he would
locate a major genealogical Reeb record. The excitement he had in new
documents and when he found a new cousin. One such phone call was when he
realized the name was REEB and not Rape. How excited he was to change his
name back to that spelling.

There has never been anyone more willing to help Rape/Reeb
researchers than John V. Reeb. To this day he is still assisting new
cousins in finding their lines from information in his vast computer
database. He assisted Nell Norvell with the 1983 publication "The Rape
Family Tree". I knew Mrs. Norvell from high school in the Panhandle of
Texas as she was a friend of my Mother's. This of course was way before I
ever knew there was a Rape ancestor in our family lines. I also have an
Aunt by marriage who is a Rape descendant from a male line.

In his book "Reeb Roots" published in 1994 I have only one
regret. I purchased one book and now wish had another one for each of my
two children. In all these years John never asked for a penny nor did he
ever indicate he wanted any money for sharing all the records with me he
had found. Until much later did I realize the many hours, years, cost
and time he had spent on the Reeb research including the female
lines. The Rape(Reeb) females are extremely important. More often than
not it was a daughter whose responsibility it fell to care for her elderly
parents and thus keep the family Bible and documents. Imagine the people
who are only concerned with the direct male lines what they miss in regard
to family information! John has always searched the daughters of our
Reeb ancestors and my family is from one of those.

I believe we all need to take a BIG step back here and remember
where we started and who helped us. If people in the Reeb Family
Association cannot do that then I don't need to pay my dues because I am
not going to forget who helped me and all the others and whose knowledge of
this family I respect the most.

At this time I would like to say thank you to John V. Reeb for all he
has given to me over the years. To everyone on this list and the Reeb
Family Association to know he will not be forgotten in my family.

Thank you John !

Janet Burks

This thread:

• John V. Reeb by Janet Burks <>