Hi Terry,
From what I have read, my response is similiar to others. My father told me that we were/are related. My grandfathers family (John) migrated to Il, but great-grands and great-great grands were from TN, close to the smokey mountain area. My fathers name is/was R.C. Dempsey. His 8 sisters always said the C stood for cantrell. My father told the story that our last name was alledgedly Cantrell, but was changed due to the reputation that went with it. I have no idea if any of it is true, except the part about his sisters. The remaining two sisters will deny to the their deaths that they were anything but Dempsey true bloods.