Allied Families:
Spears
Sapp Family Page
The Sapp Surname
According to the "New Dictionary of American Names" by E. C. Smith, the Sapp name is German in origin and means "descendant of Sabbe, a short form of names beginning with Sache - legal action." Names are usually of patron origin and are derived from the first name of a father. In this instance, the name is traceable to the old Germanic personal name Sabbe, the letters "B" and "P" being interchangeable in German. The surname came to denote a son of Sabbe. This personal name was literally translated from German as legal adviser and an early bearer of this name may have been a magistrate or Sheriff.
Some descendants saythat the family, originally in Germany, left Germany for Holland, and left Holland for different parts of the United Kingdom (Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and England). This premise is in keeping with every tradition passed down by the various lines.
Early Sapps in America
A history of the Sapp family, published in 1910 by J. Gooden Sapp and H.W. Stanley asserted John Sapp was brought to america by Lord Calvert in the second or third load of immigrants in 1650 and settled in Maryland. John had three sons: Frederick who went to New York.; William who went down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to New Orleans; and John who remained in Maryland. Grants have been found in Kent Co., Delaware for Henry Sapp in 1733-43; John Sapp in 1739-58.
Bibb and Twiggs Cos., Georgia
The earliest Sapp in the line was Henry Sapp, who was born about 1746 and served in the Revolutionary War [1,2]. The Sapps were closely allied with the Spears family. Srah Spears, who administered the estate of her husband Archibald Spears in Twiggs County, Georgia about 1812, was listed in the 1818 Tax Digest of Twiggs Co. directly after Henry Sapp. Presumably Archibald and Sarah Spears were the parents of Archibald C. Spears, Sr, who married Elizabeth Remillicent Sapp, Henry Sapp's daughter.
Archibald and Elizabeth's children were as follows:
- Eliza Spears, born September 27, 1797 in Georgia, married John Hathorn Powell, Jr., and died: January 17, 1884 in Alvarado, Johnson Co., Texas
- Henry William Spears, born January 07, 1801 in Georgia, married Betsy Barnes, and lived out his life in Stewart and Webster Cos., Georgia
- Patience Spears, born about 1804, married Ben Barnes, Sr., and died about 1841
- Archibald C. Spears, Jr., born about 1807 in Georgia, married Elizabeth (Betsy) Nelson, lived in Stewart Co., Georgia, then Jones Co., Mississisppi, and died at Alvarado, Johnson Co., Texas. Betsy was the daughter of Alexander Nelson formerly of Twiggs Co.. Archibald and Betsy lost three sons in the Civil War.
My Sapp Line
- M. Lee Murrah
- Ina Gertrude Johnson m. Earvin Elroy Murrah
- Florence Ophelia Largent m. Franklin John Johnson
- Eliza Azalee Spears m. Malcom David Largent
- Amos Jefferson Spears m. Frances Parker
- Henry William Spears m. Betsy Barnes
- Elizabeth Remillicent Sapp m. Archibald Spears
- Henry Sapp m.
Published Genealogies and Other Sources
None known.
Sapp Resources on the Internet
Sources
- [1] White, George, "Historical Collections of the Revolution"
- [2] Knight, Lucian Lamar, "Georgia Roster of the Revolution"
- [3]Carswlll, Kathleen Jones, "Collections of Twiggs Countians Here and There"
Updates and Corrections
The above information is based on the best s*ources currently available to the author and is subject to correction. If you have information that is different or additional to that shown above, I would like to receive it. Please contact me by e-mail and mention this web page in your message.