Family Affair

There was always a mystery around some photos that belonged to my paternal grandmother, Irene Sapp Keitt. These photos had been lying around for years and nobody ever talked about the people in the photos; and nobody ever asked.  When I was old enough to ask, I was just told that they were some cousins.

 I later discovered that some photos were of Jennie Sapp, and another photo was of  Emerson Sapp and his wife Hortense .  I never knew how they fit into this family at all, but I  discovered a great deal about them after moving to Los Angeles.

The first thing that I discovered was that Jennie and Emerson were siblings, but I still was not sure of the connection to my great grandfather Street Turner Sapp.
 I have been told on various occasions that Jennie and  Emerson’s father, William J. was one of the brothers of Street Sapp, but I was never aware of Street having a brother by that name.
Now I have often heard about a Sapp brother that was called Jack, but  when I discovered that brother Jasper's middle name was Jack, I merged the two people together.

 William J. was said to be a sibling of Street Turner, and he is probably the brother that was called Jack.  Further proof of William J. being a sibling is when I discovered that Street's brother Enoch named one of his sons William J. and this was customary of families during this time period.

It was not until I found Emerson’s obituary in the Los Angeles Sentinel, that I discovered that his  name was actually Walter Emerson Sapp and that he had two more siblings besides Jennie; two brothers named William and Jack.

Through Facebook I discovered a man by the name of Jack Sapp and sent a message asking him about his family background and if he had an Aunt by the name of Jennie and Uncle by the name of Emerson.  He was stunned and asked me how I knew his family, and I told him, because they were also my family.  After a few months we finally were able to talk with each other and discover that we were indeed family.  He says he remembers his dad talking about going to see his Uncle Street, which was actually my great grandfather.  So that would make Jack’s grandfather William J. the brother of my great grandfather Street Turner.

  The Jack Sapp that I met through Facebook,  was called Lil’ Jack growing up and his father was also called Jack.  Well his given name is not Jack and nor was his father's, his name is George Stanley Sapp, Jr., therefore his father was  George Stanley Sapp, Sr.  Lil' Jack, has no idea where the name Jack came from. 

My theory is that his grandfather William J. Sapp is in fact William Jack Sapp and this would explain why there was a Sapp brother named Jack and one named Jasper and they were not one in the same.  This would in fact connect William J. to Street Turner.
Jennie and Emerson along with his wife Hortense attended the funeral of Street Turner Sapp, which would have been their father’s brother. They are in many of the family photos taken on that day. This  would also explain why my grandmother Irene Sapp had photos of Jennie and Emerson and his wife, because they were her first cousins.

It appears as though William J. Sapp was born in Georgia but first shows up in the 1910 census with his family in Jacksonville, Florida.  In the 1920 Census  he and his family  are found in Brunswick, Georgia, but in the 1930 he and his family are found in Manhattan, New York, where he rented his house for $75.00 per month and worked as an Insurance Agent.   By this time he and his wife Carrie had been married for 28 years. 

The oldest son William Beauford was still in the household with his parents and siblings.

Also in the house was his adult son Walter Emerson and his first wife May.

Jennie Lee and George Stanley were still teenagers at this time.

It was told to me by  Lil' Jack that William Beauford remained in New York and married a lady named Mary.

However, I am so excited about discovering George Stanley Sapp, Jr. “Jack", and his two children Justin and Lauren.