Interestingly enough, there were descendants from both Thomas and Benjamin (brothers who faught in the Rev. War) who settled in Illinois. Most, however, were from Benjamin from Kentucky.I would suggest that you contact Sherry Hood from Independence, KY as she has all the information on that side of the family. My dad, Kenneth Ishmael, of Oklahoma City, OK has most of the info on the Thomas Ishmael branch from Tennessee.

We find that the earlies reference to Ishmaels immigrating to the US was in 1740 by Philip Ishmell on the ship Robert and Alice into Philadelphia. The ship sailed from Rotterdam and had one stop in England or Wales, so we don't know from whence they came. There are two camps within the Ishmaels who think that they are either English or German from Palatine, now known as Rheinland.

Larry W. Ishmael
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil