Dear Cousins, I have been reading the discussions now for a number of days but still haven't heard anyone say anything about the fact our Sasser ancestors lived in MARYLAND before they moved to North Carolina in the 1730's. Has anyone done any serious research in Maryland yet? Unfortunately, the only time I visited there, I didn't have time to get started before I had to go back to Washington. I still do not know WHEN they came to America nor if they came to Virginia first (as many settlers did in that period). They lived in Somerset County, Maryland. There were SASSER's in several counties in ENGLAND. Remember, these were ENGLISH colonies and foreigners were frowned upon iniatially. The German's who settled in area of what is now Dorchester and Orangeburg counties, South Carolina in the 1730's and 1740's were a rare exception. I DO believe that it is a Germanic name. However, we must remember that our English ancestors were SAXON's and ANGLES--two Germanic tribes who invaded Briton during the 400's and conquered the region which later became known (because of the Roman pope) as "Angle Land" or England. It should have been called Saxon Land. Their language and religion was Germanic. English is still classified as part of the "Germanic" language family. They worshipped the same gods as their other German cousins. The confusion is that there are similar sounding names in Germany, France and other north European countries. We can quickly discount the various names in France. And the "origin" by one "authority" that the name comes from a "maker of sauces" comes from some British author who was simply infatuated with French cooking and has no real basis in OUR particular English family. For several years now, I have been doing research on the meanings and origins of three of my family names and oddly enough, all three can be traced back to ancient Saxon religious place-names and the Saxon language. I firmly believe our Sasser family name also is related to the old Saxon language in ENGLAND (not Germany). I also believe that the very name SAXON itself has its origins in the so-called "Old Religon" of the ancient Germanic peoples. More on this later (if anyone is interested) Robert Earl Woodham Columbus, Georgia ------------------------------