What's in a name???? That depends on if it's yours....

by Micheal Dubhghlas
(OAK RIDGE TN)

I was born with the last name of Sapp and carry it to this day. However; that's thanks to a house fire that claimed the lives of my great grandfather and grandmother.

They were farmers somewhere in southern Georgia U.S.A., and during the night a spark from a smoldering wood stove or chimney (no one quite sure) the house went up in flames quickly. The children were saved by my great grandfather, but his wife had gotten lost in the smoke and when he realized she had not made it out he went back in after her only to join in her demise.

A family of German immigrants who were barren of children took them in and raised them as their own. The oldest was my Great Uncle Duncan, it's only through his memory that this knowledge lives on. The other two boys and one girl were too young to remember anything.

When the children were registered for school and made members of the church, the would be parents simply signed the children in with their last name (Sapp).

Unfortunately there's not much more about my great grandparents, the MacEwens, that's known or even searchable. In the deep south, back in those days, churches recorded most births and deaths etc but that doesn't always turn into a lasting source.

None the less we know that our family are by heritage and at heart MacEwens. Although we are grateful to our great grandparents (the Sapp's) and are a proud part of that extended family. Our true heritage and the knowledge of a couple who brought us life from across the sea shall never be forgotten.

Micheal Dubhghlas "MacEwen" Sapp