In the Beginning God Created the Heavens and the Earth...and He Created Every Living Thing - Floore Family



Two happy girls. They survived the Great Depression. They survived living for years in a Catholic orphanage. It is the early forties; they are young ladies eager to start their futures. Margaret is working in a pickle factory in Chicago. Dorthy is her sister and closet friend. Both are dating. They are soon newly married. They will soon have children and the responsibilities that go with stay at home mothers.



Thomas and three of his children, Burns, Johnny, and Martha. Missing from the picture is his daughter Ann. Thomas was living in Tennessee when his life started coming apart. His first born Thomas died when he was three years old. His wife died. His house burned down. He lost his radio business. He was diagnosed with tuberculous. He moved to Chicago to find work. He met Margaret and married her. He never told her about his former marriage and that he already has four children.



The family visits the farm in Mississippi. That's me with wheelbarrow. That's Johnny who lives with my grandmother. That's Mary. My grandfather died before I was born. My brother Burns, and my sisters Ann and Martha live with my Aunt Mary in New Orleans.



A stylish couple, my mother and father when they first met.



Years later on our way to Mississippi. Me, Jimmy, Ma, and Mary. My father called my mother Maggie and she called him T. His mother called him Clinton because his father was named Thomas.



Me playing in a ditch in Mississippi.



My father's car in the ally behind our house. I never knew my father to have a new car.



My dad, Jimmy, Mary, and me. That elevated train rumbled past our house about every twenty-five minutes. You became used to the shaking and the noise. You can learn to live with almost anything. A poor family in a poor neighborhood.