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What happened to Marion? I was born in 1927 near Leicester, N.C. My mother, who gave birth at home, intended that my name should be Marion Curtis. My maternal grandmother insisted that I be called Fred. So I went through 11 years of school as Fred Curtis Murphy, thinking that my real first name was Marion. When I decided to join the Navy at the age of 18, I wrote to Raleigh to request my birth certificate. I received a birth certificate in the mail with a letter explaining that there was no record of the birth of Marion Curtis Murphy, but the certificate enclosed was for the son born to my parents on the date indicated. For the first time I learned that my name was Christopher Douglas Murphy. Did the doctor who delivered me forget my name, or did he confuse me with another baby he had delivered? I will never know. I often wonder if somewhere there was a Marion Curtis who thought his name was Christopher Douglas. Having spent nearly 50 years as a Christian minister, I am glad, in spite of the confusion, that I have a name that means “Christ-bearer.” C.D. ‘Fred’ Murphy |
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