Introduction

To

Remy Family Genealogy

By:

Nancy Sparks Morrison

Some of this material has been taken from an internet site which is no longer available:
Complied approximately 1980.
Sources:
Rhamy, B. W. The Remy Family in America
A. C. Ramey Bible Records
A. C. Ramey Family Papers
U. S. Census Records
Pike County Deeds
Pike County, KY Vital Statistics
Greenup County, KY Vital Statistics
Hand-written letters in possession of Louis S. Hardiman
Hand-written letters in possession of Kathleen G. Ramey

 

The Remy Family in France and Virginia

 

The ancient French family of Remi (Remy) was originally a tribe of Gaul (Northern France and Belgium). The family was represented in French history by Bishop Saint Remi of Rheims (437 -553), Abbot Remi of Strasbourg who died in 768, and many other famous people. Didier Remy of this French family was ennobled 13 Sept. 1554 and died in 1556. His son George Remy was also  ennobled.

 

George's son Jacques Remy was born in Ivoy in the Department of Ardennes about 1545-7.  Jacques Remy became a Huguenot and was killed in Ivoy.  His son Pierre Pemy, who was born abt 1600, was also a Huguenot and was killed.

 

Pierre's son Jacques Remy was born abt 1630 in Picardy, Lorraine. Jacques Remy married Francoise, daughter of Antoine Haldat II, Seigneur de Bonnet, and Madelaine Marchand.  Jacques and Francoise fled to England because of Huguenot persecution. Jacques Remy, a Huguenot refugee and a nobleman by birth was brought to Virginia in 1654 by Nicholas Spencer, Esq. under the indenture system. His wife Francoise started for Virginia under indenture to John Brayton also in 1654, but died at sea.  Jacob (his name was anglicized in Virginia) Remy served his indenture in Westmoreland County, Virginia.  Then he worked as a free man for other people until he was able to become a landowner in that county in 1671, and married Mary Miles that same year. Jacob died in 1721.

 

Jacob was naturalized in 1680.

 

The Remy name is also written as Ramey, Rhamey  and La Rheims.

 

I have NO genealogical PROOF for this story. I DO have some DNA proof that is interesting! :-) More on that below.

 

I was attending a conference on the Melungeons back in 1997. The surname RAMEY is listed as a common surname among Melungeon descendants. No one seems to know if our branch of the Remy/Ramey line IS Melungeon, but it seems likely.

 

In any case, I found a young man at the conference wearing a badge that had the Ramey name on it. I asked about his lineage. It matched mine. I was sick at the time and was on my way to the ER so I talked with him only for a few minutes and then gave him my e-dress. He promised to write to me with full details and documented proof of the story that I am now telling you. Of course, I never heard from him again!!

 

He said that the original surname Remy/Ramey was spelled Rhamey and that the family were JEWISH and lived in the area now Israel. He said at one point in time the family migrated to SPAIN where they lived and prospered over several generations. They gained land, jewels and money. In the generation where Isabella and Ferdinand were the royal couple, these Rhameys helped to finance Columbus' search for the new world by loaning money to the Royals. Of course this money was supposed to be repaid. But the King and Queen did not want to have to pay all that money back to our Rhameys and the others who had loaned them money. They decided instead to have a pogram against the Jews. Now we know this part actually happened. We can find this in history.

 

At the point where the pogram began, the Jews were told that they could convert to Catholicism and 'forgive' the loans to the Royals, and they could keep their land, money, jewels. This too is historical. It happened to some families. But if they chose not to convert, then they had to leave Spain, but in doing so their land reverted back to the Crown, and they could take NO MONEY or JEWELS with them when they left. We know that this also happened historically.

 

Our Remy family were intelligent. They were able to get money and jewels to France. They may even have gone over the mountains secretly to get there. In France they again prospered, became land owners, and were enobled (Didier Remy was ennobled Sept. 13, 1554.)

 

Because there was some problems with Jews in France as well at some point in time, our Remys did become Catholics. And later, some of them became Huguenots who were discriminated against by the Catholics. Now ALL of this change in religion may have been a way of HIDING their Jewish ancestry and the family might have been practicing Jews all along or what is known as Crypto-Jews. We may never know for sure.

 

As I said, this young man said that he had documentation for this story, but I never received it. What I do have is some interesting DNA evidence to prove that the story is TRUE at least in part,  and that our Ramey/Remy line is ACTUALLY JEWISH.  One of our Ramey/Remy cousins recently had DNA testing of his paternal Ramey/Remy line. Two other surnames also matched the Ramey/Remy DNA and they are Caldwell and Yates. What this means is that the Remy/Caldwell and Yates families all began with the same family. This means all three names originated from one surname. Remember Sephardic Jews were in hiding and changing names for their advantage was probably commonplace.