Hi Akhasa,
My REVELS/REVELL line is one of my prominant lines. In fact, it’s the oldest line I’ve been able to trace. It orginates with “James Revell, the Indian.” I’m not aware of any of my Revels ever having lived in Orange, NC, but who knows? Maybe.
Also, do you know about Senator Hiram Revels? Most history books will tell you that Senator Hiram Revels was the “first African American Senator in the United States Senate” (elected in 1870) but that’s misleading, because in fact, Senator Hiram Revels was an Indian. (He was descended from Lumbee Indian ancestors. However, it does appear that he seems to have self identified as African American.) What’s really interesting for me personally is that Senator Revels, before he became a senator, may have been in communication with John Brown during John Brown’s planning of the raid on Harper’s Ferry, which, of course, helped spark the Civil War. Well, it turns out that my Great, great, great, great grandfather, Nicholas Emanuel took in (as an apprentice) and helped raise the father of one of John Brown’s raiders; one Lewis Sheridan Leary, who died during the raid. It turns out that Lewis Leary and Hiram Revels were cousins and shared a mutual ancestor, one Aaron Revels, a soldier of the Revolutionary War. Here are a couple of supporting links.
http://statelibrary.dcr.state.nc.us/nc/bio/afro/revels.htm
Anyway, here’s what I posted several years ago on another board.
“It just may be that the following is an unbroken lineage of Indian Revells; from James Revell, the Indian right up to present. Because it gets too unwieldy, I’ll stop with Nathaniel, Sr. who was listed on the 1790 Sampson County census as the head of a household of 13 non-white persons. Subtracting from the 13 for Nathaniel and his wife, and assuming all the remaining persons in his household are his children, and subtracting a year for each one, and further assuming Nathaniel to have been 21 when be began having children, I put his birth at 1758 or earlier. [ Note: I believe Nathaniel to be the father of my gggg grandmother, Nancy Revell. ]
In all likelihood, this is probably NOT the precise lineage. However, it COULD be the lineage, inasmuch as the time frames for each generation are all properly accounted for. The reason I say it’s probably not the precise lineage is because I agree with _______ ______ that there were probably SEVERAL Indians legally apprenticed to, or de facto living on, the plantation of Edward Revell over a period of years, any one of whom, or more could have been the proginitor of the Indian Revells.
Here goes:
1st generation = James 1 Revell, the Indian (his Indian name never recorded in the Accomack County court records), born 1656. A full blooded Accomac Indian from the village of Matomkin. Apprenticed in October, 1667 (along with fellow 11 year old Matompkin villager, Wincewough). James Revell, the Indian was apprenticed to Edward Revell, possibly with his Matompkin village chief, or great man, Amongus in court to witness the apprenticeship. James and his Matompkin (?) Indian friend (relative ?), Dick Shooes, cooperated in a successful hog raising enterprize. James died in the autumn of 1681, at the age of 25, just days before his apprenticeship was to expire.
2nd generation = Charles 2 Revell, (James 1), born ? (before 1681). Per Paul Heinegg, Charles is a non-white person listed in 1725 as a taxable in the Manokin Hundred section of Somerset County, Maryland. [ I live in Baltimore, Maryland, and having visited the area last month (now known as Revell’s Neck), and having before me, a map, by Dr. Helen Rountree, showing the location of Manokin Indian Town, and having seen previous maps of Manokin Hundred, I can say with confidence, these are all one and the same area of Somerset County on the eastern shore of Maryland. Thus, it’s extremely likely that Charles and James are related. The 44 years that separate the death of James and the mention of Charles in the tax records make it easliy possible that Charles is the son of James. ]
3rd generation = Edmund 3 Revell, (Charles 2, James 1),born circa 1725, per Heinegg.
4th generation = Sabra 4 Revell, (Edmund 3, Charles 2, James 1), born circa 1742 per Heinegg.
4th generation = Elijah 4 Revell, (Edmund 3, Charles 2, James 1), born circa 1745 per Heinegg.
4th generation = Micajah 4 Revell, (Edmund 3, Charles 2, James 1), born circa 1747 per Heinegg.
4th generation = Burwell 4 Revell, (Edmund 3, Charles 2, James 1), born circa 1750 (before 1776) per Heinegg.
4th generation = Nathaniel 4 Revell, (Edmund 3, Charles 2, James 1), born circa 1750 (before 1758 [ by my calculations] ).”
p.s. – Wherabouts do you live in Baltimore? I live in Baltimore also; in Riveria Beach to be precise. Riveria Beach is near Glen Burnie, in Anne Arundel County.
